Happy Home: 2 Kids, 1 Room

Dignitet curtain hanging wire — Photograph by Peter Lemastro

Create a shared space that fosters fun ... and minimizes turf warfare. All it takes is a smart use of color, a curtain, and some cute customized touches.

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Photograph by Peter Lemastro

Divide and Conquer!

Color-coding is the easiest way to give each child her own space, and it makes organizing and cleanup easier, too. First, create separate areas with color blocking. Use painter's tape to outline a shape, then fill it in with paint. To outfit the space, provide a mix of storage bins and buckets in each child's designated color. They'll corral toys and give each sibling special places to stow treasured items.

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Photograph by Peter Lemastro

Use Two Hues

Paint recommendations:
Valspar+ Allergy & Asthma-Friendly, $40 a gallon; valsparpaint.com
Olympic One Low-VOC Paint, $24.97 a gallon; olympic.com

Storage recommendations:
I Could've Bin an Art Caddy, $21.95
I Could've Bin a Cube Bin, $29, landofnod.com

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Photograph by Peter Lemastro

Make Beds With Personality

For a pulled-together look, outfit the beds with plain matching covers, then customize each with fun pillows and patterned sheets like those shown here (Dot to Dot Percale Bedding, from $25; garnethill.com). To add a homemade touch, whip up some monogram cushions. Start with a plain pillow cover (ours is a 19-inch square). With fabric glue, adhere a felt circle and letter (our circle measures about 10 inches in diameter, and our letter is 7 inches tall).

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Photograph by Peter Lemastro

Call It Curtains

Even the closest family members want a little privacy sometimes. Suspended across a room with simple-to-install curtain hardware, a fabric panel give roommates a degree of separation.

Dignitet curtain hanging wire, $12.99, ikea.com

Originally published in the December/January 2013 issue of FamilyFun magazine

By April Hardwick