These days it’s common for siblings to share bedrooms. Homes are getting smaller and families are getting bigger, meaning shared bedrooms are on the rise. At the minute, my children don’t share, but I’ve just been helping my friend plan to move her youngest daughter into her older daughter’s room, ready to make way for baby number three.
I was enlisted because I’m known to be able to sniff out a bargain, so doing anything on a budget is my specialty. It also helps that I’m pregnant as well, so I’ve been pointing her in the direction of my baby bargains too.
We’ve been also over both my hometown and the internet to find some of the best ways to do a sibling shared bedroom on a budget.
Top Tips for doing a Shared Bedroom on a Budget
Whether you’re starting from scratch or only need to make a few tweaks, this handy guide for making a child’s bedroom fit for two should really help you out. Sibling fallouts have also been taken into account, so most of these tips should hopefully be conflict-free.
Sort Out the Bedding Situation
Whether the room is big enough for twin beds or you’re looking for space-saving solutions, you’ll need another bed in that room – whichever way you look at it. Browse through a range of cheap kids beds at Children’s Bed Shop before you make any decisions. If it were me, I’d always go for a type of bunk because it frees up more floor space for other things.
Reuse What You Can
Your children probably had their own chests of drawers and toy storage before you merged bedrooms, so it’s best to try to keep using them after the move. If the colours clash, think about doing some painting yourself, you can pick up trendy colours quite cheaply and it’ll cost much less than updating the furniture.
Use Beanbags for Seating
Get your child a beanbag each for them to sit on in their room. They’re comfy for little ones, cheaper than sofas and can be moved from room to room, so they can even drag it into the lounge if they want space away from their sibling.
Pass Clothes Down
If your bedroom sharing siblings are different ages but have similar tastes, save the big one’s clothes for the little one. If the age gap is relatively small, you could easily transfer any outgrown clothes directly into the younger child’s wardrobe or drawers. This will save a huge amount of money over the years.
Personalise Each Side of the Room with Stickers
Rather than taking on the expensive task of redecorating a room to suit two children’s tastes, go for an easy (and temporary option). Lots of home décor places sell fun and beautiful wall stickers to help change the look of the room. When your children have grown out of the designs, you can peel them off and update them.
Colour Code Everything
When siblings have to share a living space, there is a temptation to try and nab each other’s stuff. Sadly, this causes arguments almost 100% of the time, leading parents everywhere tearing their hair out. One sibling may even claim some of the other’s possessions as their own or blame the other for leaving toys out. To save on arguments, pop down to one of your local bargain shops and invest in some colour coded items. For example, one child can have a yellow theme while the other has purple and everything you buy for each child should fit in with their colour scheme. It’s best to pick up, pop up wash baskets, toy storage and any other storage you think might help keep things tidy and fight-free. You can even buy coloured stickers to mark the ownership of any toys that are likely to cause rows.
*Collaborative post