Make way for readers | One room, several children: your ideas

Many of you have responded to our call to all and shared the ingenious ideas you have found for fitting out your shared rooms. Three mothers, with very different realities, shared their solutions with us.

Laila Maalouf
Press

Custom beds – and hiding places –

The two daughters of this family of five, who live on the outskirts of Montreal, had to move to the same room when they learned of the arrival of their little brother in 2019. But everything has been thought through so that the sisters, from 9 years old and 6 years old, each have their own privacy, with a personal storage space that can accommodate clothes and toys, and even hiding places. It was the dad who designed the plans for the bed himself, and the whole extended family was involved since it was the mum’s aunts, Vanessa Bevilacqua, who then built it. Everything was finally arranged with IKEA furniture and travel souvenirs. The youngest, who occupies the lower bed, has made a “secret garden” under the bed on the second floor, well guarded by her giant unicorn; the eldest is storing her books and her treasures in a small house hanging on the wall. The sisters also have space in the bedroom to play Lego and make necklaces, and this proximity has allowed “a very beautiful bond” to develop between them.

A double room for two children

Many Montreal ground floors, in central neighborhoods, have a large double room that can pose a real organizational headache. Karine Villeneuve chose this piece for her two children aged 10 and 7. The natural separation of space made it easier to divide the furniture, but finding storage is always a challenge. This is how she came up with the idea – and after browsing extensively on Pinterest! – use the upper part of the bunk bed to create a cabin and a small play area for his son, who sleeps on the lower bunk. And even if the toys are found there “in a pile”, the room still remains tidy. Next to the other bed, she has set up a desk for her daughter that serves as a sewing and crafting corner. For now, her two children are still enjoying this open-concept cohabitation and her son even has fun sleeping on occasion in his sister’s pull-out bed. If a physical separation becomes necessary one day, the mother of the family thinks of installing a bookcase, curtains or even a half-wall between the two spaces, but nothing permanent (like a complete wall) since an entire section would then be found. windowless.

Four girls in one room

Mother of eight children, Mélissa Massicotte lives in a six bedroom house. Her four older children each occupy a room and her four youngest daughters – aged 6 to 8 months – share one on their own. The way she has found to optimize space (and simplify the bedtime routine!) Is to take all the toys out of the bedroom, which is thus exclusively devoted to sleep or a quiet activity such as reading; other leisure activities are reserved for the games room. Since her four daughters love pink, this is the color she chose, while trying to keep the decor as neutral as possible so that everyone will like it. A few years ago, for a room shared by another of her daughters and one of her sons, she had opted for a theme of princesses and knights that appealed to both children: the walls of the upper half of the room. (which corresponded to her daughter’s floor in the bunk bed) were in pink, with decorations evoking princesses, and the lower part, in green, was reserved for knights.