I debated on topics for this blog post.  I wanted to show that it is possible to create a room for siblings to share, but as I went through and photographed the room I couldn’t help but think of where each piece came from, and how little I spent.  I thought ‘Children’s Room on a Budget’ would also be an appropriate title, and so both will be combined!

I grew up sharing a room.  In my entire life I have only had my own room for about three months.  As much as I hated it as a child, it also created some of my most intimate memories with my sisters.  Yes, we fought; who go the top bunk, who got which drawers, whose stuff got to go where.   With three sisters, two older and one younger, we were desperate to switch it up every once in a while.  When I was the oldest in the room, I ruled the roost.  When I was the youngest in the room, well I was told where my section of the room was.  It was in this shared room that we shared secrets and fears.  Where we rolled up in the covers and pretended we were mermaids.  Where we had ‘hold your legs in the air’ contests long after we were supposed to be asleep.  I wanted this for my girls.

We bought our three bedroom house one month before Miss Margaret joined our family.  We knew she was a girl, and we knew that three girls would have to share one room, but we bought it anyways.  While the number of rooms is not abundant, the spaces we do have are very large – thank you 1970’a home builders :)  But having a house that ‘meets our needs’ helps us maintain a ‘simple living’ lifestyle.  We have just enough toys and things to fill the space.  When birthdays and Christmas come, it is a time to sort through toys and donate the less-used ones to others.  We have one hallway closet that is used to store extra toys and games, and we have a Barbie stash under the crib.

From the pictures it will look as if I am OCD. I am not.  We just had the carpet cleaned and I took these pictures when everything was off the floor!

I hope this helps you get a vision of how you can have your own children share a room either by choice or by circumstance.  And I hope I can teach you a thing or two about getting everything your children need without breaking the bank.  It is all about patience!

 

Without further ado, their room.

Everything fits perfectly and each girl has a bed and a dresser.

 

 

 

 

I took of the closet doors because they were difficult to open with the carpet.  I purchased these darling ruffle curtains on eBay.  They are made by Restoration Hardware Baby & Child.  I bought the pair for $40 and they were brand new.  I used a shower curtain rod inside the door frame to hold them up!  I love that with a simple lift of the tie backs it becomes an instant fort! Of course I hung a light inside for when they play :)

I did a little remodeling of the inside by sawing the long bar into three pieces.  So instead of one long bar across the closet, there are three layers of hanger space on one half of the closet.  Now they can not only reach their clothing, but it frees up half the closet for the fort!

 

Simple tie back made from scrap fabric.  A couple zips on the sewing machine!

There are two 8×10 Organic Bloom ‘Ellie’ frames in white.  I need to add a third one!

My favorite vintage dresser that I bought for Davis’s nursery. $50.  I have not done a single thing to it.  I just love it.

 

We have a total of SIX of these lamps in our house.  I used to nanny for a family with a little girl who had this lamp in her room.  I loved it so much that when I had kids I started searching for them on CL and eBay.  They were made by Pottery Barn Kids but were retired by the time I had kids.  They are a touch lamp with three light levels, which I love because they also work as a nightlight.  The girls have one on each dresser/night stand and Davis has one in his room, too.  Right now he doesn’t realize it’s a little girly :)

I bought this crib for Annie, never guessing I would use it for two babies!  I bought the crib on CL.  The mattress is new and probably the most expensive item in the room (I did a little research on how harmful baby mattresses are and forked over the cash for an organic mattress).

I found these darling beds on Craigslist back when Haley was a baby.  They are also Pottery Barn Kids and I bought the pair for $80.  Yes, eighty bucks for BOTH!  Now I am on a mission to find a third bed for Margaret that matches.  I am estimating the beds to be about eight years old so hopefully a little girl who owns one is getting ready for college and her parents want to sell! :)  The quilts are from yard sales but were brand new!!  Whoop!

Yard Sale nightstand $20.  Could use a paint job but I love the vintage look :)

 

Annie’s dresser back there was also a yard sale find.  $40. It will eventually need new hardware, but for now it works!  The growth chart that is in this picture is a favorite find.  I try to get all of my new mom friends this as their baby gift.  You can write on it and it folds up as a keepsake!  I record all of the kids heights on it, each in their own little section. They have added their own art, and it is just such a nice reminder of my growing babies.

 

A Barbie house that I bought off my neighbor to give to Haley for Christmas.  It came full of furniture from the 90s!  So many great memories playing with Barbie dolls <3<3

 

As far as storage, under each bed are three under-bed storage containers, without the lids ).  They slide in and out like drawers and are used for extra shoes, pjs, and off season clothes.  All other clothing tubs are stored behind the little doors.  I just move the dresser and there they are!  The laundry basket usually sits next to the closet, and the doll clothes, stroller and beds are in the closet, the Barbie things are under the crib!  Since Davis has an equal size room for only himself, the extra stuffed animals and books are stored in his room.

I love their room.  It has taken years to collect all of the pieces but that is the fun part for me.  I like having a story to go with each piece; where I found it, who it belonged to, the bargain I got it for.  Also, it helps my kids to learn that things don’t have to be new to become theirs.  Whether your house is big or small, your budget big or small, it really only takes a little love and effort to create a meaningful space for your little ones!

Thanks for stopping by!