I get inspired by the ones that I love and today is one of my dear friends birthdays. It used to be when I thought of her it was of our good memories and her amazing creativity but now she has two adorable babies that are the light of her life and when I realized today was her birthday I thought how blessed she must feel today with so much to be thankful for!
When I think about a boy and a girl I instantly think of famous pairs like Dick and Jane or Jack and Jill... Did you know a shared bathroom, specifically one that is accessed by two bedrooms is called a Jack and Jill... there is a long history of brothers and sisters fighting over bathrooms so I really don't understand how they end up on so many floor plans I see (actually I do understand square footage and all but for practical reasons, if you can afford 2 bathrooms- do it! you will thank me when they are teenagers!)
The classic Jack and Jill bathroom is similar to a classic 2 sink master where the sinks are side by side and typically there is a door on either side leading to the bedrooms. However I have recently seen two more interesting takes on the Jack and Jill... the first uses the angles of the room to separate the spaces more and place all the counter space between the two sinks.
While i do see the possibility for one child to easily get knocked out by that door it is a solid concept.. The one I loved the most was floating the vanity area in the center of the space and giving truly separate counter space to each.
The idea of sharing with siblings is something I am quite accustomed to but since I mostly shared with my sister decorating was only as tricky as our two different personalities. Decorating shared spaces for boys and girls does not have to mean beige! Yes I will concede pink is a girlie color but blue doesn't have to be reserved for boys only areas.
I am a firm believer in giving kids a space of their own and making it a space that fosters creativity and inspires them...and what better to do that than colors! Colorful stripes are a great unifier for shared spaces, they allow you to bring in all colors!
While primary colors are a safe bet for shared spaces don't be afraid to mix in variations on those hues, like different tones of blue- everything from light blue and aquas to deeper navy tones!
And with the idea of inspiring tiny minds, use things that will help them learn as well- go ahead and introduce things that they will find at school and make them a part of their daily world, like letters and maps...
and globes! I love globes- do they still have those at school? probably not so adding globes can pull double duty and teach them history!
I think it is better to steer clear of themes in shared spaces but if you do want to go with a theme keep it gender neutral too and obviously colorful- like Dr. Seuss
The most fun part of decorating for one of each is that you get to incorporate two really different personalities and bring them both into one space! Get inspired by both of them and make sure they both shine though in their shared space!
photos: houzz, potterybarn kids, benjamin moore
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