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If you ever shared a room with a sibling when you were a kid, you know how it created a special bond, knowing your sister or brother was nearby, even though you weren’t afraid of the dark. Ok, so there were also a few declarations of “this is MY side of the room” (cue the visual of the white tape dividing a room as seen on a million TV shows from The Brady Bunch to Friends), but we won’t go there! Now that we’re the parents, we know it’s important to create a comfortable space for two (or more) kids, especially when space is limited.
We searched high and low for some stylish space-saving furniture and décor accents that will make any room special, regardless of size.

Image via ApartmentTherapy

Bunk beds were of course the first thing that came to mind – who didn’t have a bunk bed when they were little?! Finding ones with built-in storage is an important added bonus when conserving space.

Image via HGTV

Look at space differently and think about how to divide it up. We love how this closet has been repurposed to include a desk and chair, as well hanging clothes. And of course, these adorable storage bins are just as cute as they are functional.

Image via Apartment Therapy

Double duty furniture, like this Lego storage container with play center on top, is brilliant for keeping clutter under control while giving kids an ultimate place to play.

Personalized growth charts can offer a variety of design options while giving kiddos a sense of shared ownership, like our new Monsterrific personalized growth chart, can be customized to say “Sisters” or “Brothers,” Picture Me can include pics of siblings posing together as well as individually, or multiple names can be highlighted, like on our Color Me personalized growth chart.
Want more ideas? Check out this is a great post from one of our favorite bloggers, Ilana at MommyShorts.com.
 

AND, we’re back! Check out this first half of this blog post here.
Part Two
Now, re-freshening the nursery was significantly easier (and cheaper) in nearly every way… since the bones were already there. I ended up being very, very glad that the first time around we A) went with a basic, neutral paint color B) picked basic white furniture C) went with a neutral colored glider and D) had lots of gender neutral nursery accessories. It made it very easy to strip down and re-decorate.  I’m pretty sure my husband was even more glad!!

My only significant expense and purchase was the bedding. I had originally intended to re-use the grey geometric crib skirt from the littlemiss’ bedding set and just get new sheets… but lucky for me, Serena & Lily’s private sale email came around and I scored a full set for nearly half price. (Turns out it does occasionally pay off to be on all those email lists!) The sheet has a tiny stripe of brown in it, which helped me to tie in all the leftover accessory elements from Leah’s nursery. The chocolate brown rug, barrel shade, hamper, storage bins and changing pad covers all stayed and didn’t need to be replaced.

I wanted a big mirror to go above his crib and just so happened to have an old black one that I was no longer using. I really liked the chunky frame, but obviously didn’t want black… so with a $3 can of white spray paint and a free afternoon, a new white mirror was born!
I struggled a bit with decorating for a little boy… it seemed that all the fluff and cutesy accessories were overkill and unnecessary. There were a few fun items from littlemiss’ original nursery that I kept in there, but since I was on a budget, I opted for super practical and inexpensive décor items to fill in the blanks….mostly toys and books. I picked up some fun wooden toys that I know he will love playing with someday soon, along with a few vintage items we had around and finally some of my favorite little boy books. And just like that, it was essentially done!

In addition to his custom and perfect Petite Lemon Alphabet Poster, the only other projects in the room were a monogram shadow box and his mobile. The “C” monogram came together in less than an hour and for less than $15….nothing more than an inexpensive wooden letter from Hobby Lobby with fabric (or scrapbook paper) mod-podged to it, attached to a fun sheet of scrapbook paper and inserted into an inexpensive 12×12 shadow box frame. Cheap, easy and cute is a great combination in my world!

For the mobile, I knew I wanted something fun. I felt that littlemiss’ mobile made her whole room…. So I enlisted the help an amazingly talented and creative friend who literally “creates” for a living. She made the simple, adorable felt ball mobile that hangs above his crib and will lull him to sleep each night. It couldn’t be more perfect from my little man’s new room!

The nursery is classic and simple and that’s what I love about it. I love that so many of the items that make it special will be things that I hope he will one day play with and love and cherish. I love that there are so many items that I carefully selected when I first got the opportunity to create a nursery for a sweet new baby that still have a home in there. But mostly I love that very soon it will be home to a sweet baby boy….my baby boy!
What is your favorite thing about Kim’s new, re-designed nursery? Do you have a favorite personalized growth chart that you think would match?!
Credits:
Crib | Dresser | Book Shelf | Glider  | Bedding | Felt Ball Mobile | Light Fixture | Elephant Lamp | Abacus | Wooden Train | Wooden Airplane | Blue Stuffed Elephant from Target | Push Wagon | Vinyl Lettering | Funky Stuffed Monkey and Elephant | Wall Color: Dulux/Glidden “Legend Tan”