Shared Spaces: Kids Rooms

As I mentioned in the previous post, our new baby is bringing lots of new changes! My older two boys will be sharing a room so shared spaces are on my mind! Some things that may be going through your head: twin beds or bunk beds, boys or girls, matching or not, symmetrical or asymmetrical, neutral or colorful, does it need a play area or desk area or reading nook, the list goes on.  Even if you aren't planning a shared room, it is still fun to explore the possibilities and inspirations in shared rooms.

Enjoy!

Clever Children's Book Storage

Whomever of you has kids, you know that reading is an important part of yours and their lives.  I love reading and hope to instill that same love in my children as well.  Having books on display appeals visually to kids and shows them its importance. We keep books stored in various parts of our home so that if we are ever having a bit of down time, we can just grab a book and read, easily accessible.  So if you are like us and have acquired quite the library of picture books, storing and displaying can be a challenge.  Here are some ideas to help you with that....some traditional, some not so traditional:

love these books in the wagon!

Notice the baskets and shelves. Baskets are an obvious and chic way to store children's items, especially in a grown up space

My favorite most inexpensive storage display is by using the ikea spice racks and a bit of paint (I'll probably use this idea for baby no. 3's nursery):

Putting the shelves at a lower level allows little hands to reach them better.

Project Nursery

As described in my last post, I am planning to design and fully decorate a calming, soothing, neutral nursery space for Baby Boy No. 3 (still no name- not even close).

With every home decorating project, I am on a budget. My goal is to give the nursery a luxurious feel at minimum cost.  Here is what I need: chair, rug, new bedding, artwork, changing table pad cover, lighting, bookshelf/display, pillow, dresser repainted.  With repurposing current furniture and a lot of DIY, I am hoping to decorate the nursery for under $300.  It is going to be tough, but I think it can be done.  

So far, I have found a few things that I may end up using:

Scoutmob Shoppe art print $15

Etsy DotsOnTheWall Art print $6

A pendant similar to this... perhaps a DIY

Pier 1 frame $22-$35

Mohawk 5x8 shag rug from Home Depot for only $77. I
 couldn't believe my eyes!!
And it has excellent reviews!!!

That's what I got so far.  I have a few other ideas but still narrowing down options, etc....  That rug is a definite go though- I mean, how can I go wrong with $77!?!?

Neutral Nursery Inspiration

If anybody is still out there and actually checks in on my blog and is interested in my inspirations, this one's for you (well and me).  I am 8 months pregnant and have nursery on my brain, bigtime.  Within the next few weeks I plan to move the two boys into a shared room (the current crib room) and then create a nursery.  This is my 3rd baby (another sweet baby boy!) and my first time truly committing to getting a room set up.  Ive never had a chair/rocker to nurse in the room, and only partially decorated. Sad, I know.  But we have been moving so often (basically every year in some form or another) that this is the first time we know we will be here atleast 2 more years. So the incentive is there.

In any case, I'd like to do a calming, soothing, cozy nursery space.  I'm thinking whites, creams, greys, gold, natural fiber textures, etc.  I tend to like color in my home, so this will be a different kind of space for me.

Here are is one of my biggest inspirational spaces:

(this is the set of the Tracy Anderson Pregnancy Project. It's the only photo I could find. Isn't it so soothing?)

Here are a few more inspirational spaces:

Stick with me as I will show you my progress and insights throughout the process (and of courser eventually a final product).  So here it goes...and please hold me to it!!!!