A Shared Space...And Loving It!

We live in an older home, with limited space.  But, we didn't want that to be the deciding factor in how large our family would be.  One of the main questions we were asked when we announced that #3 was on the way was where we were going to put the little babe.  We played out some scenarios, and decided that a home remodel was not in the cards at the moment.  The cabin needed a little roofing and siding work this year, and home remodel is going to be down the road a bit.  We decided that we were going to have to make due with what we had, and we would all fit nice and cozy in the little space we have.

Eli and Adi were going to share a room!  This seemed like a great idea at the time we made the decision, but, let me tell you- it was no easy feat trying to figure out how we were going to combine 2 completely filled bedrooms into one.  His closet and dresser were already filled with all of his things, and she also had a dresser and closet that were full.  We don't have a toy room in our house, so their toys were also going to be an issue.  Most of their things are housed in their rooms, other than what is in the basement family room.

I was also a little nervous as to how they would adjust to this.  Adi loved her bedroom.  She spent lots of time in there, and it was perfect for her.  She had a very girly space filled with all of her favorite things.  And he loved his.  It's where he would go to chill out and have some alone time when he needed it.  I didn't know how/or if their relationship would change if they were always together!

Well, we worked hard, and were determined, and somehow it all came together!  I have to say, other than the van, this is one of the better decisions we have made!

Here's a little tour of their space and how we made it work.  Never mind the un-made bed, and other normal out-of-place things.  This is life in our home.


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I was finally able to frame their interviews that I took of them.  They are so fun to read...and I'm hoping I can stay on top of updating these each year!

I pulled most of the decor out of her room and put it together in one corner.  We also solved the clothing dilemma buy purchasing this great free-standing wardrobe from IKEA.  The only thing we did to it was update the knobs to these cute little crystal pulls.  All of her clothes fit inside, other than her jammies.  I was so happy with this purchase- it is perfect for the space!

Eli is in the top bunk.  We already had the bunk beds down in storage, so we pulled them out and I painted them.  We realized when we put them together that there was no guard rail, and we needed to fix that!  I still need to give the rail another coat of paint...I'll add that to my list:)  Eli is very into the day of the week and the date, so we put his calendar right by his bed so he can check it out whenever he needs to know the day.  I had ordered a set of the chicken wire baskets a while back, and wasn't sure what to do with 2 of them.  One holds mail by our phone, but I was waiting for the perfect place for the others.  This was it!  They love having a basket of their favorites right by their bed.  The Easter Bunny brought them each a book light, and it has been perfect for them to read stories right before bed each night!

And her little cozy space.

We combined pits and pieces from each bedroom and put it all together on his dresser.  This dresser is also now home to an ant farm....oh boy!!

Not knowing what are having,  I wanted to be sure to get all of the cute pink things out of her old room.  I also didn't want to just throw it all in storage.  We made it all work, even if it is packed in there wall-to-wall!  The little shoes on the frame are one of my favorites!  Sweet memories of when she wore those:)

We've used Papa Neal's expert carpentry skills quite a bit lately.  Here is the big shelf he made for Eli a couple of years back.  It's perfect to hold his very special books, and also hang jackets, robes, and bags.

And I had him make another one for Adi.  This is mostly just to hold all of those big and fluffy dress-up dresses!  And, yes, we added the 4th hook since the picture and it is also filled.

Eli has a keyboard, and they love to play around on it.  We wanted to make sure to have a spot for it since the plan is to get him started in lessons soon.  The picture board is also a fun way to display pictures and invite from friends and family.

They each have a bin at the end of their bunk beds to hold toys.

This was our answer to storing her jammies and his train set.  Originally the bunk beds were not tall enough to slide these bins under, but Chad came through and solved that problem.  Now we have all kinds of storage, and more painting to finish up!

And I was so excited while we were walking through Aldi a few weeks back and I found a set of these great, wire planters for very cheap!  I found the idea on Pinterest to use them for stuffed animal storage, and was anxious to try this.  My kids love their stuffed animals and have way too many of them.  This is a good answer for what to do with them all.  They each have a basket on a wall by their bed, and they are both filled to the top!

And that's it!  It's not perfect, and could use a little more work, but for now it works!  They are enjoying their space together, and the Baby's room is completely set up and ready for the new little bundle!