The muted colors are great, but I find the giant letters oppressing.

You did not include a picture of the chair where you sit at night to read to the "little guy" and older daughter. Love the serene neutrals. Kids toys, clothes and books will provide enough colour.

@Lindamyers, I really did a double take but then it occured to me that it might read "sweet dreams." No joke.

Lessons in bad photo cropping.

Not what I'd call cosy. Maybe I'm missing something.

As a parent, I wonder if the 10 year old and 5 year old had any say in this design?

I'll agree that it looks a little institutional. A few brightly colored objects or textiles would go a long way.

I feel like the kids are being commanded to sleep. SLEEP. SWEET DREAMS. DO IT NOW.

@WMJR, that is if the toys are allowed to be out. ;-)

As a child I would have loved this. It wasn't until I was twelve before my mother allowed me to paint my room with charcoal grey, and even though I've now moved to several new places, you can still find dark grey in my house.

Not all children love primary or pastel colours, and that white is certainly bright enough. I think it's an amazing room for a boy and girl to share. Well done. :)

It's a lovely serene room. I'm surprised at all the negative comments too.

@MSJESSIEMEGHAN:

That's EXACTLY what I thought! Your post made me giggle and snort this morning. Thank you!

@FINLAY128

"I was twelve before my mother allowed me to paint." This is a great comment and I wonder if the kids had any say in this design. My attitude as a designer is that I have say over the design in the house except in the kid's room where I let them own it. Kids are creative - let them explore their creativity and give them ownership of their space.

I think some people are projecting. If you think this is "institutional", you're not familiar with institutions. As Finnlay said above, not all kids love pastels, and that owl is super cute--we all loved stuff like that when we were kids. And kids in general love lettering and whatnot. They don't have the associations that we as adults do with Orwellian mass media.

In short, I think it's awesome, and as is always the case when it comes to kids, most people can't separate what kids might *actually* like from what they think kids should like.

Lovely room! I love the monochromatic style, it reduces the busyness when toys and clothes are out and about.

@Duane

Oh, she let me paint long before that. :) It was the dark grey she was hesitant about. 'Don' you want a bright blue, like the last time?'

Mind you, I wonder now if it's because she knew she'd have to cover it when I moved out.

How did the blue ribbons on the bed posts get past the monochromatic police? A citation is in order. I hope the kids in exchange for living in this room got to decorate the parents' bedroom. I don't like how the parent wrote "my monochromatic scheme". Yes, this does look like it is a design that belongs to the parent.

Kudos for room sharing though.

I like the modern feel to this room but, the monochromatic theme overall is a bit cold.

Just curious: "With two larger bright bedrooms on the third level," and with neither of the kids wanting to move to the smaller darker bedroom on the bottom level, why did this move have to happen? Sounds like you now have an empty large bright bedroom. Why couldn't the kids share that?

Minus the huge decals, I like the scheme as an adult's space -- my place is pretty monochromatic now. As a kid's space? Not so sure. Where do they hang their art, shelve their books, keep their toys? It looks peaceful and quiet, but also tends towards the utilitarian and antiseptic. I love design throughout the home, but I'm also deeply grateful that when I was younger, my parents let me do what I wanted (within reason!) in my room, even if it didn't match the rest of the house.

From a parent's stand-point, I absolutely love this room. The monochrome look seems very calming to me and the textiles look soft and inviting. My own son has some sensory issues and actually requested we remove toys from his room one night while he was trying to sleep because there was too much to look at. Let's give this family the benefit of the doubt; the rest of the house could be an explosion of color and blinking wind-up toys. I bet it's soothing to unwind in a bedroom like this.

Meh, I like it. I know it'd go over well with my kids, especially my oldest, since he has sensory issues and this room isn't visually distracting and overwhelming. I'd add a few pops of colors via art or cushions, maybe a not-too-bright rug. The giant letters are not my favorite, but overall, this room is nice.

While I realize this room isn't for everyone—my own kids' room looks quite a bit different—I think insulting the mother as a joyless color-policing bully is inaccurate. My understanding is that the kids are sharing one of the bright, top-floor rooms (it certainly looks bright to me). They may well use a family room or other room in the house as a play room. My kids like to be in the main space with us, so their bookcase and toy baskets are in the living room. A lot of parents/kids do well with "rest only" bedrooms and this serene color scheme promotes rest/sleep. If they have another space where they can build/draw/play/explore, they don't really need to be intimately involved with choosing their own bed linens. Plus, it hardly sounds like the mom is so overbearing—after all, she created the whole room to grant their wish of not being on separate floors.

Yes, American kids will absolutely die, if forced to share a room with their siblings.

LOLAX - hehe your comment is spot on.

My thoughts exactly, Lolax. She might even, actually, LIKE (gasp) her little brother. Wouldn't that be so strange?!

I find the words ominous and oppressing as well. But overall, I like the streamlined design. And you guys weren't alone on the sweet dreams thing... I actually wonder if the cropping wasn't maybe intentional? And maybe I'm not the only one with a twisted mind...

Let's hope they're using that other bright bedroom as a play room, because this does not look like a room you're allowed to have fun in.

This room is for SLEEP. Also for REST.

@duane hill, I thought the exact same thing about the cropping. I'm glad you suggested "sweet dreams," because that didn't occur to me.

This is just the kind of room I would have loved as a child. Instead, I had to endure a
stereotypical, uber girly, hot pink bedroom, complete with a freaky, giant Barbie head. Sigh. Kudos to you for creating such a wonderful space for your children.

What's up with all the self-righteous commenters on AT? People, your way is not the only way. This is a beautiful room, it is for sleeping (hence the name "bed"room). This family is obviously working within the constraints of their home to make their children as happy as possible. Unless you actually see something indicating real neglect or abuse of a child, keep your preachy comments to yourself.

I never had a fancy bedroom, but I slept well, had all the books I could ever need, and liked to play outside - gasp, how shocking. There don't need to be primary-coloured plastic toys in every picture just so that a mother can prove she loves her children.

Nice job Heather, I love it!

Thanks for the post. I have been looking for a low-lying bed for my toddler, and will check out the Tillary Sofa. I Thin the room is serene, and love the grey tones!

It looks great but black and white is too stark. I say that only because I have an all white and black bedroom and it sure needs another color but I just can't seem to commit to anything.

@rapunzel - Possibly the adults are sleeping in the second of the two brighter 3rd floor rooms and don't want to move down to the bottom floor either?

There is nothing wrong with bright, colorful, typical kid room but this room is a refreshing break from the norm. I love the use of bold graphics, gray and pattern.

If I were a kid living in that room, I would bide my time, planning and waiting. As soon as my painting skills were developed, I'd wait until the parents went to sleep and then I'd fill a wall with the word "SCREAM." I promise I would.

I really think its a very nice room. Put together nicely. I love the grey. It does need a little bit of color for my taste.

HOWEVER, Am I the only person on the planet who is tired of seeing words and phrases used as art? All of this super literal art in rooms, "EAT" in the Kitchen "Sleep" in the Bedroom...it's just tired.

what's with words on walls telling you to do in a room trend lately?

Evidently there are a lot of decorators who work in offices where someone has painted "PAINT WORDS ON WALLS" on the walls.