Name: Daniel (2) and sibling on the way (Sept.)
Location: Perth, Western Australia
We are expecting our fifth child, and after moving into our beautiful new home a year ago, we still had to give quite some thought as to what the new sleeping arrangements are going to be. The older three children all have bedrooms that they (and I love) and weren't keen to rearrange (two boys in one room, and our only girl in a room of her own). Given that having the baby in our room is not an option in my mind, we have decided to put the new baby in with the two-year-old and pray that they both transition smoothly!
I bought neutral bedlinen (we don't know the gender of our baby), including an extra quilt cover set which I will cut in half to make coordinating cot quilt covers when the baby outgrows the cradle.
My husband Phil made Daniel's bed (we have a matching one which fits on top to make a bunk bed when we need it) and Phil's dad made the cradle. (Phil and his four brothers slept in it as babies, as well as our own four children). The rocking chair was a gift from friends.
Daniel is excited about his new 'treasure drawers' (white HELMER drawer unit from IKEA). All our children have one of these for storing (and sorting) their treasures in. I bought one for baby already too - perfect for containing baby paraphernalia until the baby is old enough to accumulate his/her own junk treasure.
The elephants, Parsley and Beet, were made with one of Jodie Carleton's gorgeous patterns. Visit her blog to see more of her wonderful handiwork, including my new favourite, Red Riding Hood.
To add a splash of colour to the otherwise neutral room, I screenprinted and stitched up some large softies. These are based on early drawings by each of the older three children. On the wall above the cradle is one of my own artquilts, 'Crawl', which actually features Daniel as a baby.
The art wall (which includes a built in wardrobe and drawers) features a cross stitch which Phil's mum made when Phil was little, and a print by a dear friend.
Thanks Ruth! Readers, visit Ruth's blog to see her textile art and for inspiring ideas for creating art with kids.
(Images: Ruth de Vos)
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Your room is beautiful! I shared a room my entire childhood and maintain that it is good for children. You learn early about compromise and tolerance. I don't think I could sleep in the same room with my husband if I'd never shared with my sister.
I am always amazed at how few toys I see in rooms for children on Apartment Therapy. I think I need to invest in storage that makes them less visible or I just need to have fewer toys. I have two in one room and there are bins EVERYWHERE.
Thankyou! I must say, though, that most of our toys are stored (discretely) in the family living space, because that is where I want the children to do most of their playing. It encourages them to play altogether, and makes it easier for me to monitor their activities (especially the younger children). All their toys are shared except for a few personal things which are kept in their bedrooms.
I'm curious about the walrus. Is it a bean bag chair? I think my daughter would LOVE it.
Yeah, I love the walrus too. Where did you get that?
We're hoping for a second child and definitely would want them to share, though even though we're both only children, my husband and I have enjoyed sharing a room with each other and now our son - maybe you like it if you shared as a kid and also if you missed out on that chance.
The walrus is a bean bag, sewn from a pattern in an old issue of Knippie Baby or Knippie Idee (Dutch sewing magazine). Unfortunately I can't find my copy right now, so I can't tell you exactly which issue - but probably a 2002 issue...
beautiful! Love the light colors on the bed and room, so soothing.
I LOVE THIS ROOM! It's so fresh and original yet in its own funky way very classic.
Lately, all the nurseries shown on AT are, while pretty, kind of the same. Some chic color (usually gray) on the walls; white crib/furniture with obligatory splash of bold color; a chevron or other boldly patterned rug and a string of little home-made flags strung above the crib. Yawn!
With many children sharing them, it makes sense to have to toys in the family space. We just have two little ones and a LARGE age difference with our eldest so their room houses most of the toys but I love the clean look and we might have to invest in a "toy cupboard" of sorts...
Congratulations and enjoy them while they are little :)
Love the pillows bases on the kid's drawings. Very cute & clever.
Yay!! Great to see Perth on here! (Fellow Perthite.)
This is gorgeous, fresh and personal. My absolute favourite is those softies you made out of the kids' drawings - am so stealing that idea. And the cradle is beautiful, and so special.
Just perfect!
Thanks for all the lovely feedback! For those who are interested, this blog post:
http://ruthdevos.com/blog/screenprinted-softies-2/
shows how the softies based on the children's drawings were made.
Gulp. The children are so lucky to be born into a family of such accomplished artists.
When my son was going through his robot phase, I made t-shirt stencils using freezer paper and fabric paint. I still have a stack of the freezer paper in the basement. Thank you for sharing your blog--now I have more projects to consider!
Gorgeous. I love everything, but especially the quilt (I'm in awe!) and the softies.
My impression of this room is that it's perfectly stylish but would have been perfectly stylish twenty years ago as well. That's what I call timeless! It's very refreshing, since most of the time baby rooms tend to be trendy.
I love the idea of the little drawers for each child - genius!
Thanks so much for sharing!
lovely room. wondering about the in wall drawers or storage. is there more on the other side. why was only this small space used and not above. is it common to have the drawers in the wall??
I have often wanted to join our 4 yr and 2 yr old children. one boy and one girl but have yet to get the guts to do so! I was an only girl and my brothers always shared a room. Idk if I could have lived with one of my brothers they both drove me crazy as I them??? let us know how it works out for you!
Thanks Jackied,
The built in cupboards are that configuration because they are using the otherwise-empty space under the stairs that are on the otherside of the wall (hard to explain in a few words). We owner-built this housem which gave us the opportunity to make use of spaces like this in our design.
My two oldest children shared a room in our old house, but my daughter was nearly two when we moved her in with her brother. They loved sharing. Just not sure how it will go this time around, with a newborn!
Thank you. It makes sence to use all the space avalible.
We will address the idea of letting the kids share a room again. I think they are old enough and one bed room already holds two twin beds. Perhaps we can build raised beds with play area under each for there own "rooms" or space. Thanks for the input.