Names: James (7), William (5), Lillian (3) and Baby (due any day!)
Location: Lakewood, CA
Room size: kids' room, 145 sq. ft.; parents' and new baby's room, 115 sq. ft.
Greta of Picnics in the Park may be the foremost expert on fitting the maximum number of children into the minimum amount of space. In her home in southern California she has managed to comfortably and beautifully ensconce her three kids into one small room. When the family's next baby arrives (any day now) he or she will join Greta in the even smaller bedroom she shares with her husband. When this baby reaches 6 months, the family will manage an amazing feat: fitting all four kids in a 145 square foot bedroom.
Greta has written about the room re-do on her blog Picnics in the Park, and she offers much more than a glimpse of the kids' space. She also provides lots of fantastic tips on how to manage several kids in a small area, from ideas for organizing toys to using common bedroom elements to the best advantage. The room she's created for her kids is full of beautiful vintage pieces and thrifty finds, and together they all add up to a welcoming, practical and fun place for kids to play and live.
Greta and her family are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their fourth child; when the new baby arrives, he or she will spend the first six months in the parents' bedroom, and they've created a lovely nook for that period. After that, it's into the kids' room, where they will all cozy up together. In the meantime, Greta was gracious enough to answer our questions in between practicing her Lamaze breathing and scouring the oven.
How would you describe the look and feel of this room?
Bright, light, colorful and cheerful. Making a room that feels right for a 7, 5 and 3 year old of both sexes can be a challenge. We chose colors that work for all the kids as well as things they all love. It is whimsical without being decidedly childish. We use real art and beautiful things because we believe that children appreciate beauty just as much as adults do.
What is your favorite piece or element?
My favorite things in the room are the different pieces of art. I am a huge fan of vintage children's books and have incorporated the art work from them in various ways around the room. I've also used lots of other things as art: vintage postcards, a friend's birth announcement, a cross stitch piece my sister made for me when I was little, a vintage travel poster and a mobile made from IKEA fabric. Each piece tells a story and has meaning to us. The kids know that and it matters to them too. I am sure they will carry memories of those pieces with them into adulthood.
What was the biggest challenge decorating this room?
Finding a place for all the furniture and still making the room feel spacious and uncluttered was our biggest challenge. We wanted room for the kids to play in their room. The boys spread out on the floor with their Legos. Lillian makes up meals for her animals and babies in her kitchen. We needed a place to neatly store their clothes and toys. Making the most of the closet space and not having too many clothes or toys helps keep the room feeling spacious and open. Everything has a place. Teaching the kids not to take out all their toys out at once and cleaning up every evening helps too.
What do your friends say about the room? Are they surprised you can fit four children in it?
Our friends love it. Many of them have children sharing a room also. It is always inspiring to see what other families are doing with their space. Everyone has wondered where the new baby will fit, but we always tell them we're more concerned about having 1 bathroom with a family of 6 than we are having all 4 kids in 1 room!
You have a lot of tips for making a small space work for several kids. What do you think is the most important thing to remember?
When making a room work for multiple children, you have to start organized and stay organized. For example, rather than have a few big bins for all the Legos, we separated them by color and placed them in lots of smaller bins. Yes, it takes up a bit more space, but it keeps them from dumping thousands of Legos on the floor to find a particular piece.
You also have to be flexible. We started with the all the clothes stored in baskets in the closet. After 2 years, we decided it wasn't working. The baskets kept the clothes a mess and were difficult for the kids to access.
We moved in a large dresser and even though it is a big piece in the room, the organization it allowed for has been a huge help. It also freed up closet space so we could we could use that space better also.
Most importantly, you can't have too much stuff. Kids have so many toys and clothes. We try to hold onto the things that they really play with and not bring home the rest. It requires editing every few months, but it is worth it to keep the clutter at bay.
You "shopped your house" to help re-do the kids' room. Any advice for people who are looking to do something similar?
Don't assume something has to be a cartoon character to belong in a kid's room. We hung a poster from a trip to Chicago pre kids. It is a reproduction travel poster and the kids all loved it when we hung it in their room. They responded to the colors and the beauty of the illustration. There are probably lots of things around your home that would work wonderfully in a child's room. Stop thinking Bob the Builder and start thinking real art!
If money were no object, what's your dream source?
I love vintage, mid century furniture and lighting. Outfitting their room in those kinds of pieces would be amazing. Amsterdam Modern has beautiful pieces. Anthropologie is a favorite place for unique rugs, textiles and trinkets. Three Potato Four is a favorite shop for unusual and vintage toys, trinkets and art. I also love all of the unique finds on Etsy. It would be so much fun to buy cartloads from all my favorite shops on Etsy.
Resources:
• Bunk Bed: an unfinished furniture shop near our home
• Dresser: IKEA Malm series
• Lillian's toddler bed: Dream on Me Toddler Bed, KMart
• Play Kitchen: handmade by a friend's dad and saved in my parent's garage for 20 years until I had kids!
• Paint color on walls: Dunn Edwards, Let It Snow
Thanks Greta! Readers, visit Greta and her family at Picnics in the Park.
(Photos: Picnics in the Park)
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where is the crib in that room? from the pictures it looks like a completely separate room? Very cute room though!
Very cute and inspiring. We have three boys in a two bedroom, I wish our kids bedroom looked this great!!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ForgetMeNeverVintage
I love this.
I grew up in a 2.5 bedroom, 1 bath, ~1000 sqft home. We say 2.5 bedrooms because it’s two normal (for the time) rooms and one that’s literally smaller than some modern walk-in closets.
My parents raised a family of four in that house, to much awe and wonder from friends and family. But WE always marveled at the first family to live there, which had five children. Now I can finally get a mental image of what that would have looked like, and it’s pretty darn inspiring.
I’d love to see more about the day-to-day of shared rooms. My husband and I are preparing for our second child in our 2 bedroom home and are full of questions like “How do you do bedtime? And naps?” and “What about when the baby wakes in the middle of the night?” Our parents don’t remember these details, and I don’t know any current parents in this position.
peachypear- yep, we will be adding baby 2 to a shared bedroom in a few months, trying to anticipate issues, any advice from others would be great! of course we'll learn along the way like anything else, but i worry about disrupted sleep, etc. baby will be in our room for the first few months, but once they're together full time how do people put to bed- same time, staggered, etc??
This is lovley! And so nice to see happening. In my neck of the woods, our family is the odd one with two kids *gasp* of two different genders sharing a room! How inspiring to see three and soon four sharing. Bedtimes and naptimes went waaaaay smoother than i ever anticipated. Bedtime I usually put the baby down first and we do stories in mum and pappas bed OR put eldest down first and then nurse baby in my bed OR get eldest all ready and send him up to the top bunk and then nurse on the bottom with the baby and deposit into her crib when done! Night time wakings don't ever stir my eldest from his deep slumbering so i don't have any tips on that. But what we did do was get a bunk bed in there a.s.ap and then also had the crib in there as well. I was able to lay in the bottom bunk and nurse some nights, we also used it to share our nightly stories. Getting the bunk before we actually needed it was like adding a third bedroom to our apartment! Again so happy to see that more people are doing this! Just yesterday I had a convo with a husband of a good friend of mine whose kids WANT to share a room but because he spent uber bucks to add two more bedrooms to his three bedroom home he feels he shouldn't let them. his words were " I work hard so my kids don't have to share a room" UGH I can't stand those kind of remarks! Anyways this i long enough - Great Work!
I have 3 sharing a bedroom. I often put the "baby" (he's 3 now) into our room for a nap. and out bedtimes are usually the same for all 3 kids. When he was a baby he slept with us in our bed or on a toddler matress on the floor. sometimes it was hard but we made it work...and they can all sleep through almost anything ;)
I grew up in a 2 bedroom, 700 sq ft townhouse sharing a bedroom with my younger brother until I was 12 (he was 10). Throughout the years, my parents came up with inventive ways to divide the space and let our individual personalities have some room (as well as give some "ownership" and privacy). People were always shocked that a girl and boy could share a room for so long without detrimental effects to our delicate psyches... as an adult, it is odd to look back and see how prevalent gender division is in our society. Children are able to share their space with siblings, regardless of gender. :)
this room - the best I've seen on Ohdeedoh thus far! :)
Who is the artist who made the turquoise piece on the right in the first picture?
Love this room! It is so fresh and fun and totally seems to meet the needs of all of the kids.
Where did you get those great orange comforters? They are exactly what I am looking for to use in my son's room.
I am also looking for orange comforters! I'd love to know where you purchased them.
We've got 3 sharing a room and a new baby in an adjoining room to ours. One bathroom too in our little bungalow. I can't tell you how many people who come by comment on how *spacious* it feels. I agree. It is all about editing and only keeping what you love. The vintage is a great feel. I also like your idea about the legos...something I have yet to get organized!
I have the same poster in my living room :)
We plan to start trying for a second child soon, and if it's a girl (our son is 18 months), they will share his current room (11 x 11). There are mostly gender-neutral elements besides some art and the curtains (robot art and cowboy curtains) which can be switched out. And I'm already planning where to put the bunkbed. Hey, you gotta think ahead in such small spaces!
And I shared a room up til age 9 with a brother (12) and sister (7). We only separated because we moved and gained an extra room, which my brother got. People are shocked when I tell them the kids will share a room until they're older, even if we have a girl next. What's the big deal? My sister's boy and girl currently share (4 and 2) as did we. We all turned out just fine.
this room is fantastic. one of the best i've seen here!
Really love this one! Such great colors.
Our three daughters shared a room for years. When we moved into a 4 bedroom home, two of them wanted to share a room, with only the oldest (by then age 13) wanting her own space.
My three brothers shared the finished attic when we were growing up, and when only one boy was left at home and an aged aunt moved in, I was moved into one of the "L's" of the attic, too. A curtain gave us each a little privacy.
We managed very well because it was back in the days when girls didn't have a sleep-over every weekend.
Let's see if I can make the comments unbold...
Yay!
Why are robots not gender neutral?
Bunkbeds and loft beds are a life-saver with multiples in one room! Just make sure they're nice and sturdy, my favorite bunks are from EpochDesign!
I have three in one bedroom too! I wasn't sure if we'd be able to make it work for much longer but this tour has given me some new inspiration! Thanks!
Hey - what color did you use for the walls?