totally cool

i was looking at this issue of cookie a couple days ago. i miss the crap out of that magazine.

Nice seeing this since we may have the same shared situation coming down the road. Like the floors and the runner. And the framed artwork is really the best focal point of the room - very great.

Does anyone know what the floor treatment is? I'm about to move into a new studio with concrete floors and I like what's going on there but have no idea what it is.

I think this room is very cool-looking but not kid-friendly at all. Am I the only one? Everything looks like twigs and rusty old metal.

i love this room, but i just want to say there's nothing hard about a boy-girl room if you can get over being afraid of using the "wrong" color for a boy. it's so stupid.

What a great room! Love the quilt that's hanging on the end of the girl's bed. R.I.P., Cookie.
My husband shared a room with his sister growing up (along with two other brothers). I'm pretty sure it wasn't this cute.

I tend to agree with kickette. Although super-cute, it would be nice to see some "real" children's rooms in action. Try as I might, I cannot convince my 2-year-old to keep her toys on the shelf or her books put back the right way, and her room looking the way I wish it did all the time. I am a huge fan of beauty and good design, but it's just that much better when the element of reality is added in.

Go to www.charmandwhimsy.com and see the shared room I designed for a brother & sister that gave this family a few more years before moving.It certainly is not bland. I am currently creating another bro/sis room and this time with a fabric divider to give each their "own" space. Soon there will be photos of this room.

I love the idea of siblings sharing a room, regardless of gender. The opportunities for bonding become greater the more time spent together... Especially when little! I love the idea of having each child represented by their bedding and have the rest of the room be more neutral. (I think that would make things easier for transitioning tastes and interests as the children get older too...) I am sure that the photo is staged, as so many of them are... (But if not, do you think they have tips on how to get little ones to keep their things so picked up?) Overall, I like it! And would LOVE to see more inspirational ideas for room sharing!

GORGEOUS room, but very much 'designed'. I certainly couldn't imagine my kids not ruining that (what I assume is a very costly) ottoman, and my kids have their own 'stuff' that isn't always quite this attractive. That being said, I think it's easy to make one side of a room look great for a photo, and this photo in particular makes for great inspiration and a springboard for designs of many facets. :)

Cool room. But I disagree with the intro which implies that most gender-neutral rooms are bland... far from it!

I agree, lovely room but not super kid friendly. Our kids, a girl who is 3 and a boy 7, also share. it took us some time to figure out the right balance in the room but it's starting to get there. One of the beds was mine as a kid and I didn't want to give that up (it has drawers in the side so no need for a dresser. To "make" another bed like it we bought a base with drawers in the same wood and used the footboard from the origional as the headboard for the new one. Seems to be working and our kids love to be together.

http://driedfigsandwoodenspools.blogspot.com/2010/01/buntings-and-dustcovers.html

Love!

Of course it's staged. No child would leave those hangers on the end of the bed alone for two minutes. I'm okay with that though. I see enough reality when I look into my own children's room every day. :p

My 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter share a room. I've always managed to keep it neutral by using fun bright colors: turquoise, orange, lime green, hot pink. (Yeah, hot pink. I said it. My son doesn't know there is a "wrong" color for him.)

We are moving, and I'm tired of the "theme" but I'm just changing it up slightly so that the main things will work. Now it will be turquoise, orange, red, and yellow.

I think I'm totally going to steal this artwork idea. I suck at drawing, though, so I'll be printing them off the internet. But I love this!

It's a charming room, but I think it looks like what someone would dream up for a guest room for children. Curious and interesting, but not really livable.

I also tend to think that "decorating" a child's room is self-indulgent for the parent. Paint the walls, and buy the best furniture you can afford, then stand back. Over time the child will create a living space that he/she likes (with parental oversight).

Yep, I agree with everyone else. Not very real. As soon as my kids walked into that room the glass over the bird would break and the little chair on the table would break and then they would immediately begin investigating how to get a twig out of that table to play with. I like the idea of the inspirational artwork though. My littlest definitely needs an inspiration area for all the artwork he produces.

Uh, yeah. There's no reason "girl furnishings" and "boy furnishings" need to be any different.

GillianG, i love your kids' room!