Having twins is a journey (having 2 is even more difficult) and I’m thoroughly enjoying it (besides so much driving, thank god for carpool). During the day, they’re trying to figure out all these identities, things, but then at night they want to cuddle with their mom. I wrote a PSA last year about not putting anything permanent in their rooms for this exact reason (Elliot is so over his wallpaper that he once begged for it). She wants to redecorate her room daily (I told her we would re-evaluate at age 13, giving the wallpaper a 5 year life span – I’m not proud of it, but I don’t mind it). Charlie, on the other hand, doesn’t want me to touch his room; He loves it and wants to add things to it like posters and tchotchkes, and I think he’s scared that I’ll add butterfly wallpaper. And since I have other fish to fry (and I learned my lesson from Elliot’s room), I obviously haven’t moved anything forward. But recently, he wanted to make a big change that isn’t really an accepted design move, and me being the “yes” mom I was, I was like, “definitely go for it”.
But first…as a reminder, here’s what it looked like the first year we lived here.
2023 – Shared Room
They shared a room (his choice, Elliot’s room was vacant). two ikea bed frames And a lot of stuff. It was really very sweet and loving, and they sometimes drag a portable mattress into her room to sleep on it on the weekends.
I started collecting all these beautiful vintage or pop-y furniture pieces that I loved and that he loved, but only in the way a 9-year-old boy might. But I didn’t really do much because I knew it was temporary.
2023 – Charlie’s Solo Room
Well, after Elliot moved out (I think ages 8 and 10) it looked something like this. The sofa in the corner was beautiful, and this was when he became crazy about drums.
I actually think it was pretty cute. Not designed, but definitely a kid’s room with lots of elements that made me smile. The green bookcase is now in her big closet (which is a disaster, TBH).
This shot was taken right after the shelves were put in the small closet, so we shot it with accessories, but it quickly became used for clothes. Just showing you the layout of the room.
2024 – make some upgrades
Charlie was now 11 years old and wanted a bigger bed. We found a sponsor for an amazing mattress and we wanted to make the material a little more interesting, so we thought it was a great opportunity to DIY an upholstered headboard with my old fabric and a cheap price. ikea bed.
The rest of the room remained almost the same. This was largely the situation a few months ago…
2026 – The Big Shake Up
Recently, Charlie urged me to put his bed in the corner, specifically that corner, so he can keep an eye on his bedroom door at night (and feel comfortable, too). Brian protested more than I did – but since Charlie was having trouble sleeping and was often in our room, I listened to him. He said what Elliot has now repeated, that being in the corner felt more comfortable and safe. And I completely understand it.
But he still wanted his round sofa there (which I found on FBMP), and it’s where his friends stay when they spend the night. They love to bounce back and forth and get really hard. Now this placement bothered me, so I tried to find a different place for it, but he was adamant. He wanted it here so the rest of the room was completely open for playing basketball, wrestling, darts, drums, etc.
She’s starting to sleep much better, so there’s no chance we’ll be able to move her (at least for a while). It made me realize how wrong I was about big kids’ rooms. I always thought you organized them like any other room, but with more kids’ stuff. Definitely, safe, more storage, and avoid white carpet or glass tables. But same layout, just more fun. They obviously look better in the middle of the bed and not, you know, crammed against the window across two windows. (BTW, I put protective film on the window, so that if they break, they won’t shatter; they’ll just be attached with a big, clear sticker). But kids want flexibility and space. They don’t care about symmetry or balance. They want a bed in the corner so they feel comfortable, and then plenty of space on the floor to contend with.
The only other thing Charlie is begging for are the floating shelves above his desk. He collects a lot of tots or naughty toys/figures, and they can clutter his desk (he doesn’t like clutter – it’s very strange to have a tidy child!!). So I’m going to do that for him.
So what are we going to do about the bed??
Nothing. At least not yet. If he is happy then I am happy. All I want in the world is for our kids to love living in their own home (with us), so if they love it that way, why would I care? Why would I create a problem he doesn’t want to solve? Now I know I could make it “better” with a corner bed that has a headboard on the side (like an L), which means moving to a corner (and maybe I will). I know I could replace the world’s largest round sofa with a normal-sized large lounge chair (and I know it would look great in the guest cottage band/speakeasy room). So I think I can see it happening next year (with drums rolling there). He loves his art (Elliot got him both cat art and new tapestries – I don’t know what they mean) and swords and darts. He wants cabinets in the middle of the room and a new light (one bulb doesn’t give enough light). I don’t know, it all just seems very weird to me in the best of ways, so in a way I almost wish it was more pulled together or better designed. She’s in this huge life stage of “figuring it out” and this room is a reflection of that.
I feel like I should care, but I don’t. I just feel a little stupid that I’ve been part of this problem, designing kids’ rooms with beds in the middle when I think most of them want them in the corner. I guess my fear is that if we invested in one (and some are super affordable) or did some DIY, he might change his mind again in 3 years, and then again a corner bed is very specific and less easy to find the right place for it (but maybe FBMP?). I think all I can do for now is a big cushion made of indigo boro fabric (Lord knows I have enough). Although it’s just an IKEA bed that we have fabric on, and we always knew we could take it down, plus that headboard is high enough for those windows. Anyway, I found some corner beds that I could actually see here and some others that I really like but have less style. here you go:
1. reversible corner bed | 2. velvet tufted corner bed
3. Scalloped Corner Bed | 4. low tufted corner bed
there were some solidly cute ones west elm And Pottery BarnBut they were over $2k, and since I know it’s a temporary situation, it didn’t make any sense to me. There’s always the idea of removing the fabric from an Ikea bed and cutting the headboard so it’s down, then make/add a side-headboard in the same fabric and keep the same frame (only for less waste). Hmm… Actually, it seems like this might be the right plan. And then once the drums move into the guest house, maybe we put the sofa where the desk is and put the desk where the drums are. Maybe someday she’ll have a room that doesn’t seem so “cluttered” 🙂 Thoughts???
*by photos Caitlin Green
