Designing a Kids' Room for Two

When working on a shared room, Wadsworth says one simple factor can make a huge difference in the use of the space. "Color is the key to creating a cohesive environment," she says.

While Wadsworth says colors can complement and create a cohabitation-friendly palette, she adds that using paint to create separate areas can also be an aesthetically attractive idea. "Parents might think about using accent walls in the children's favorite colors," Wadsworth says, noting that even if the colors initially seem to be too different to work, parents can choose complementary shades. "If you look at paint chips at the store, you can find greens and blues in the same color family that will be very different, but will still look good in the same space," she says.

Barkley's advice for tweens and teenagers is to "think bold with a wall color: orange or bright blue, and then build up each individual area." For parents who don't want to paint wild colors on the walls, consider murals. Murals Your Way has many artistic impressions that can be customized for individual areas. There are many child-friendly designs to choose from, but you can even upload your own art and the company will create a mural just for your space. And when it's time to take it down and move on, your walls will be left intact, unlike with wallpaper.

Let Kids Express Themselves

Giving kids a place in their bedroom where they can express their personality is important, particularly in shared rooms, says designer Jennifer Delonge, who shies away from bunk beds for that very reason.

"Bunks just don't seem very individual to me," Delonge says, adding that when you choose twin or double beds, you can create unique spaces within the room by tailoring design for each child's sleep area. For example, give kids an area to express themselves with a corkboard above their bed, she says.

Giving children a place to display their own photos, artwork or posters is an inexpensive and easy way to pump up the personal style in a room, Barkley says. "Creating a 'brag' space for each child, like a wire clothes line to hang the day's artwork, can be the ultimate in personalization," she says.