Transitioning from a shared kid's room to a shared tween room *plans*

Our kid's shared room has always been my favourite room in the house, from when it hosted two under two, to a trundle bed and a crib, to the triple bunk they've enjoyed for the past several years. I know many of you visit this blog for tips on room sharing, co-ed decor ideas, and toy organization, which are all things I have in mind as we enter into this next chapter: a shared tween room.

Tweens, by definition aren't quite teenagers (in no rush, thank you!), but aren't little kids anymore either. Children, ages 9-12 fall into this tween category, and while only Lily is the only official tween, Oli is entering into tweenhood in October and Chloe just always does everything the olders do. My point is, my kids are growing up and slowly outgrowing their space. 

We don't have the option to give them separate rooms, so that's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about the layout, style, furniture, and general theme of their room. Recently, it's been feeling a little too kid-ish. My plan is to give their room a mini makeover to usher them into the tween years. 

Transitioning from a shared kid's room to a shared tween room for us means a few key changes:

• Sorting through all of their toys and stuffed animals and deciding what to keep and what to donate.
  
  Thanks to Covid-19, we've cleared out all of our closets, toys, and bookshelves and are just waiting for the thrift stores to re-open so we can donate our bags full. The kids have outgrown a lot of things that we'll be selling (Calico Critters, Lego), too. I love that at their ages my kids still love imaginative play with stuffed animals, Lego, and Playmobil so we'll still be keeping a good amount, but definitely less than we've had in past years.
  
• Giving the room a fresh start by painting the walls and baseboards all white
  
  We painted the entire interior of our condo when we moved in, almost nine years ago, but many rooms are ready for a fresh coat, and none more than the kids' room! I have loved the grey and white stripes we did, but there are endless scuffs and stains on their walls from nine years of life. Since I'm considering some more colour in the kids' bedding, I will definitely paint the walls bright white so keep is from being too busy.
  
  
  
• New bedding for the two main bunks
  
  Since our floor bunk (the mattress under the bottom bunk) is never seen in the day, we won't spring for new bedding for that bed as a way to save money. We alternate who sleeps where regularly, so no one will feel left out not getting new bedding, don't worry! With all of the furniture and the walls being white, I'd love to get some duvet covers and pillow cases with a pop of colour (until now we've always had white bedding, but in the past have had pops of colour in painted rocking chairs, art, etc). I really love the combination of amber and dusty rose and I think it can work well with a co-ed shared space.
  
  
  
• Larger toy and book storage
  
  This will make a big difference! With little ones, I love using baskets everywhere for storage. We have baskets of books literally all over our kid's room, but they're becoming annoying and aren't putting much of a dent in our massive library. With kids who read as much as mine do, I need more book storage and it's time to ditch the little baskets everywhere.
  
  
  
• Personal spaces for each kid
  
  Personal space is obviously not our highest value with five people living in a tiny two bedroom condo, but I still think it's important. I believe in any space you can have personal space, and I'll be looking to add some personal touches to different areas of the room for each kid. Bulletin boards are a great place to start! I definitely don't believe every child needs their own bedroom (I'm an adult and I don't have my own room!), but would like to find ways to make this shared space feel like theirs for each of my kids.

This will be a very gradual project so don't expect a reveal any time soon. I can't do much until Ikea opens up again (or at least until their curbside pickup opens again, because shipping is quite expensive for a large bookshelf) and the weather suits to have our windows all open for a paint job. Hopefully this summer we'll be able to tackle it all!