Shared Kids' Room Design Ideas

Designing one bedroom that works for two (or more!) children can be a challenge, but we’re here to help. Create a shared kids’ room that’s both fun and functional with these tips and ideas.

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April 17, 2019

By: Maria Conti and Lili Zarghami

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Mirror-Image Matching

For siblings who share a sense of style, go all-in on the matching. Each side of this lovely girls' room is an almost exact mirror image of the other. Matching beds, linens and lamps with a bold dresser in the center give the overall effect of a unified, designed space. If you can get them both to make their beds, the whole family will be pleased.

From: J&J Design Group

A Big Kid and a Little One

Everything doesn't have to be equal in a shared room. Age differences can be a huge source of strife when kids have to bunk together. Eliminate the struggle by acknowledging the difference with the furniture you choose. Try a mixed bunk like this. The big kid in the room share will love getting to have a large, full-sized bed, and your little kid will be stoked to have the top bunk.

From: Laura U Design Collective

Privacy, Please

Kids want to have a sense of privacy, just like their grown-up counterparts, even if they're sharing a room. You can give it to them with curtains on their beds. These custom bunk beds give each of their occupants a hideaway when the curtains are drawn. Added bonus: They'll feel like they have their own little fort every day.

From: Sarah Barnard

Keep It Classic

If your children have opposing tastes, stick to classic colors for a design they can both appreciate. Mixing red, navy and green hues together is a great way to create a gender-neutral space that is anything but neutral in design. This space features twin beds with identical navy bedding and matching blue-and-white striped headboards and bedskirts. Forest green cornices dress the windows, and a rich ruby rug provides softness underfoot.

From: Jordan Shifrin

Calm Canvas

City dwellers know a thing or two about creating stylish shared bedrooms. This urban apartment features a modern, black-and-white bedroom complete with a bunk bed and a cool, cloudy wallpapered ceiling. When working with super-small spaces, keeping colors to a minimum will create the illusion of a more expansive space. This minimalist bedroom achieves a much-needed sense of calmness for the kiddos, within the never-ending hustle and bustle that comes with city life.

From: m monroe design

Unifying Wallpaper

A twin nursery has two of nearly everything, which can feel a bit overwhelming. Try tying everything together with a striking wallpaper. The dark color palette is pulled together with this large-print paper that anchors the room and will grow as the babies mature.

From: Sara Touijer

Work, Sleep + Play

When designing a joint bedroom, take stock of the activities that may take place in the space, aside from sleeping. This transitional boy’s room is equipped with an expansive homework station and a cozy seating area to tie tennis shoes before practice or play video games with friends on the weekends. The designer cuts down on visual clutter within the space by using a cohesive color palette of orange, navy and white throughout the entire room.

From: Caitlin Jones Ghajar

Personal Touches

Soft, sky-blue walls serve as a fresh backdrop for a pair of twin beds and a lacquered orange desk in this shared bedroom. Symmetry is achieved throughout with matching bedding, but the kids put their own, personal twist on each side through unique wall art and special plush accessories on the bed.

From: CLOTH & KIND

Put Corners to Use

When you've got more than one person in a bedroom, space can be at a premium. You're doubling up on large furniture like beds, which eat up floor space and can create awkward, unused islands. A corner like this one gets transformed from dead space into a useful and cozy nook with the addition of a shared bookcase and a dedicated spot for musical instruments.

Airy + Easy

This shared girls’ bedroom appears breezy and bright with crisp, white bedding and matching snowy walls. White bedding for kiddos? Hear us out! You’d be surprised how resilient a bleach-friendly duvet cover is against sticky fingers and smuggled snacks. Use white bedding and walls to create a clean and cohesive backdrop for your kids’ space, then add a punchy accent color of their choice throughout. Pops of turquoise bring a vibrant, youthful energy to this shared space, through whimsical birds on the ceiling and a geometric area rug underfoot.

From: House of Jade Interiors

The More, The Merrier

It’s no easy task to create comfortable sleeping quarters for four kiddos, but this navy-and-white bedroom manages to pull it off. The design features white quad bunks, flush against the wall. By building the beds vertically, the designer creates ample floor space for work and play. White shiplap walls create an airiness in the space, while matching navy quilts on the four beds bring balance and cohesion to the design. Hot tip: Place two sets of bunk beds side by side to create a custom, built-in bunk look.

Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

If their room allows for it, give your kiddos as much personal space as possible by pushing the beds against opposite walls. The two twin beds in this pretty, periwinkle-striped bedroom are pushed against each wall to leave open floor space in the center. Not only will they appreciate the extra play area, but they’ll love having a little corner of the room to call their own.

From: Massucco Warner Interior Design

Storage Nooks

Each custom bunk in this bedroom has its own storage niche, so each child can keep his or her favorite toys or books close at hand. The built-in stairs are a kid-friendly feature between the bunks, while the full-sized bottom mattresses are big kid worthy.

From: Erica Islas

Divide and Conquer

A single closet can lead to gripes about whose side is whose, so fix that by cutting it up. This shared closet had the upper shelf removed and a bookshelf and desk built down the middle dividing the "his" side from the "hers" side. Adding two clothing rods on each side gave the space back lost to the shelving.

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Back-to-Back Bunks

Encourage your kiddos to put their heads together, literally. This unexpected alternative to traditional bunk beds is sure to be a hit with your fam. We adore this chic, shared headboard because it offers a natural (and necessary!) division within the room, and creates the opportunity to add built-in storage overhead for books and toys.

From: Nest Design Co.

Hidden Hideout

Bright green bunk beds leave enough space for a built-in desk in this bedroom. From the top bunk, a secret door connects to an adjacent reading loft.

From: Pippa Lee

Packed With Personality

If your girls have girly personalities with a little edginess, they'll be so into a design like this. Double down on the whimsy without seeming too young by adding bohemian-inspired design to their room. Tweens will be crazy for the unique style inspiration, and it will grow with them well into their teens.

From: Urbanology Designs

Creative Collaboration

Step one to recreating this stunning, bohemian bedroom? Convince your tween daughters to choose the same colorful quilt. (We fully appreciate the challenge involved here, but it’s worth a shot, right?) Next step: Create a shared, symmetrically styled nightstand between the beds with a console table and twin table lamps. Tuck two garden stools beneath the console to create a stylish study space or to bring out for additional seating for friends.

From: Terracotta Design Build

Smart Use of Space

This cozy, coastal bedroom makes the most of a small footprint with L-shaped bunk beds that sleep four. Colorful, nautical bedding appears cheerful and fresh against the creamy white walls and furniture, while built-in sconces bring an inviting glow to the bottom bunks.

From: Long & Foster® Real Estate, Inc.

Fresh Focal Point

If your kids’ shared bedroom is on the small side, a mural can make it feel much larger. In this space, a mountain scene in shades of green adds depth behind the bed and pairs perfectly with the wooden twin beds and vintage-style national park map on the wall.

Fun With Minimalism

This bright, contemporary kids’ room wins our heart with its inky triangle decals, fuzzy floor rug and fly airplanes, dangling from the ceiling. The clever, shared bedroom design sticks to a minimalist, black-and-white color palette and wields playful patterns and unexpected accessories to bring youthful energy into the space.

From: Chango and Co.

Happy Hues + Hip Prints

Take your girls to pick out a bold geometric or floral wallpaper. Use their top pick to create a stylish, and affordable, statement wall behind their headboards. We’re obsessed with the way these bright aqua beds pop against the warm gold and coral, flower-power wallpaper in this shared girls’ bedroom.

From: Kelly Rogers Interiors

Dreamy Loft

This girls’ bedroom appears ethereal yet warm, with taupe walls and plush white duvets and matching upholstered headboards. The top takeaway from this design, though? That sweet, suspended loft overhead. The plush addition serves as a cozy space to watch movies, chit-chat with friends or catch up on summer reading lists.

From: Melanie Millner

Tailored Design

Balance and symmetry reign supreme in this shared boys’ room. Take notes and create a similar space by using art, bedding and decorative wall molding to create a cohesive bedroom design. Add a traditional monogram accent pillow to each bed for an extra-preppy and polished touch.

From: Butter Lutz Interiors

Playful + Polished

Stripes, diamonds and dots — oh my! This contemporary bedroom achieves an inspiring and lively design by mixing several bold, geometric patterns together throughout the space. The playful color palette of rust orange, navy and gold works together to anchor the design and tie the whimsical prints and patterns together for a polished, put-together look.

From: Laura U Design Collective

Minimalist Bedding

By their teen years, your kids will have accumulated an eclectic collection of room decor. Offset the neon frames and varied accolades with crisp, cohesive bedding. The chic black-and-white bedding in this teen room serves as a bright anchor against the colorful accents that line the walls and fill the floors.

Playful Privacy

Play-meets-privacy in this charming kids’ bedroom. The top bunk doubles as a playhouse with farmhouse flair, complete with custom sliding barn doors and a vintage-style sconce over the ladder. Craft a similar top bunk for your kiddos to play on, or use it to create privacy during bedtime.

From: Chip Gaines

Communal Play Space

In a go-big-or-go-home design approach, these parents paired bold color with bold texture for a fun, fresh kids' space. Twin beds positioned on either side of the room give each child his or her own space, while green carpet tiles create a play "yard" the kids can share.

From: DKOR Interiors

Color Coded

Bold, colorful bedding turns each compartment of this fun kid's space into a private haven, despite the uniformity of the design. Built-in bunk beds with integrated ladders make maximum use of the room's square footage.

From: Dawson Design Group, Inc.

Room to Spare

The owners of this massive, old school house had the square footage to spare but chose to put the kids together in one room. Six built-in beds are tucked away behind privacy curtains leaving a huge, wide open space for hanging out, doing homework and horsing around.

From: G Design LLC

Sleepover Ready

When friends spend the night, a shared bedroom has to work even harder. Add extra sleeping space for slumber parties by lofting a bed perpendicularly over two twin beds, as seen in this kids' room.

From: Cortney Novogratz

Lofty Design

With a little creativity, you can even carve out a separate play area in a shared kids' space. In the kids' bedroom at HGTV Green Home 2012, a wooden ladder leads to a loft area with beanbag chairs, a TV and a game console. There's even a clever bucket and pulley system so the little ones can send up snacks or other supplies without having to carry them up the ladder.

Screens for All

No fighting to get the best spot for TV viewing here. Each bunk in the kids' bedroom at HGTV Dream Home 2014 gets its own wall-mounted flat screen. The space also features dramatic floor-to-ceiling drapes with a playful buffalo check pattern, which separate the sleep area from the play area.

Dual-Purpose Divider

Open shelving is one of the easiest ways to divide a shared space without closing off the different areas from each other completely. You can use one stand-up bookcase like this to separate one sibling's side of the room from the other or use two bookcases so each roommate has their own shelving.

Think Vertically

High ceilings provide the perfect opportunity for dividing up space, so take advantage of yours. Kids who share a room like this will feel like they have a place of their own when they're tucked up in their lofts. When all the sleeping is done up high, the floor is opened up for dressers, shelves, desks and toys.