Names & Ages: Simon (4) Levi (3) and Josie (7 months)
Location: Seattle, WA
Room size: 95 square feet

This month has been all about Small Spaces at Ohdeedoh and this Room Tour is the perfect example of not letting small spaces deter you from creative possibility. Rebekah and her husband knew they needed to fit their three children into one space (with little sister on the way!) so they made it work. And not only did they make it work, they created a space that is functional, beautiful and reflects both genders perfectly.

I recently completed my two boys' (small) shared room and I know how much of a challenge that was to fit everything in there. When I saw that Rebekah had not only created one space for three kiddos but did so so flawlessly, she immediately became my hero. Here she shares the evolution of this tiny but all encompassing (and gorgeous!) room.

How would you describe the look and feel of this room? What decor styles did you draw from?
This is a hard one - My style is pretty eclectic and I like to use what we have on hand so this room is simply a mix of bright colors and things that make me smile, some vintage, some handmade. It has all evolved over the years too as we have added to our family.

Other than the obvious small space challenge (one room for three kids!) what other challenges did you face? I can imagine creating a space for two boys and one girl and keeping the girly/boy decor ratio equal was a challenge in itself.
Yes, making the space feel appropriate for a girl and the boys was really important to me as well as finding room for Josie's crib. One night while still pregnant with her I was tucking in my son Levi when I suddenly had the inspiration to measure the closet opening to see if the crib would fit. When it ended up being just the right size I got super excited and the rest came together almost instantly. I knew I wanted to paint the wall with the scallop detail to match the scallop shelf we already had and this was enough of a dedicated "girl" space to infuse the room with the perfect balance of girl and boy!

What is your favorite piece or element?
The beds, they are all vintage hand-me-downs and we have painted them all multiple times.

The closet nook you created for your daughter is just so lovely and clever! It doesn't look like it was formerly a closet, but rather a space built just for her from the very start. And the colors you chose for the recessed area and how they compliment the wall color is nothing short of genius. (The scalloped detail is just perfect!) Did you have a vision of what you wanted to create for this nook from the very beginning? Or did it just sort of evolve?
After I realized the crib fit it truly was pretty instant. I love bright colors and wanted to pick up the orange in the boys duvet covers so I chose a bright orangey/coral to off set the mint green walls in the rest of the room.

From what I can tell, it looks like you have quite a few handmade elements in this room. Are you the maker of those things? Or did you purchase from handmade artists?
I did make many of the items in the room including the laundry bag, crib sheets (with help from Mom), the doily bunting and embroidered hands hoop which was a gift for my husband a few Christmases ago (pre baby sister). The adorable tree pillows were made by my talented Sister in law, Kristen. There are also several gorgeous handmade quilts all gifts from another Siser in law, Jenny. The green change top was a gift that my Mom made when our second son Levi was born. She built it to fit the dresser. The birth posters and the sunshine poster are both etsy finds as well as some of the artwork on the shelves.

I love the vintage items you have sprinkled throughout the room. Was vintage an inspiration for you as you were decorating this room?
Vintage is always an inspiration for me. I am so drawn to old things with a past and love finding ways to repurpose them into my decorating.

I think what really sets off the nook for your daughter and really accentuates dimension in the space is the doily garland. Did you make this? If so, can you share how you made it?
I did make it - I used a collection of vintage doilies and carefully cut them in half. I then used a piece of binding tape to bind them together at the top making it look like a matching scallop.

If money were no object, what’s your dream source?
Truthfully if I had a boatload of money I think I would still spend it on vintage - but maybe splurge on the really gorgeous mid-century stuff that is harder to come by and a little bit more expensive. I do truly believe that you don't have to spend a lot to make a room look put together though. And of course I could spend millions on etsy - too much gorgeousness for words over there vintage and handmade heaven!

How do your boys like sharing their room with their baby sister? Do things get complicated at night if someone wakes up? I have two boys that share a room and have had issues with this (one waking up the other). Would love to know your experience.
Our boys are just sixteen months apart and when they were both babies we lived in a house that wasn't even 800 square feet. There were a LOT of nights where they would both be up crying but somehow in the midst of all that craziness they ended up learning how to sleep through each others noise. Nap time was also an issue back then but the pay off of being able to have them in the same room has been great. Now that Josie is here they are SO excited when she goes to bed with them. It can sometimes be hard to get them all to sleep but we are starting to get into a good routine. And even now when Josie wakes in the night the boys can sleep right through, although I am sure they might sleep in a bit longer in the morning if they were in their own rooms. But that isn't an option right now so we do what we can with what we have!

Resources:

- Wall paint in Sprinkle (the mint blue) and Tropical Bloom (Josie's nook): Valspar

- Boys' bedding, scallop shelf: Land of Nod

- White dresser and shelves: IKEA

- Custom birth posters: chaiv

- You Are My Sunshine Poster: The Wheatfield

- SING letters: Anthropologie

- Deer bookend, mushroom nightlights: Modcloth

- Large map: vintage

Thanks, Rebekah! Be sure follow Rebekah's blog where she talks about photography, design, family life and shares many adorable DIY's.

(Images: Rebekah Gough)