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With baby #3 on the way, one of the first things we needed to do to prepare (besides pray like crazy!!) was free up one of the boys’ bedrooms so that we had space for a nursery again.

But since our house is only a 3-bedroom, this meant that the older boys would get to be roommates!

I spent ALL the nights with my pregnancy insomnia scrolling Pinterest for shared boy bedroom ideas and let me tell you – it was SO MUCH FUN.  Not as much fun for the VISA bill (sorry, hubby), but super fun for that part of my heart that just loves to be creative and also dream about Noah and Jet taking this next step in their relationship.

These decorating projects ALWAYS start with me saying I am going to be totally minimalist and create a super simple room.  But then you get me going and I just keep layering patterns.  Some might find this room a bit sensory overload, but honestly I’m like sorry – not sorry.

Bring on the overstimulation and fill ALL THE WALL SPACE.

Another passion my husband pointed out in this process is that I apparently love taxidermy.  Target sells these adorable felt animal heads and suddenly I had to have them all and hanging in every single bedroom (just wait ’til baby’s nursery reveal – coming soon!).

*PRODUCT LINKS AT BOTTOM OF POST!*

If you have been following me for awhile, the room the boys are sharing is Noah’s old room – you can see the before HERE.  The first thing that had to get done was to paint the walls white.  HUGE thanks to my mom and dad for making that happen!  We went with Benjamin Moore SUPER WHITE.

The next thing we did was bring in a set of matching white twin beds that my mom had at her house.  We gave her Jethro’s old bed as an exchange and passed Noah’s old bed to a sweet friend.  The white beds are from Pottery Barn Kids and have a nice low profile.  Side note – Jethro has already colored with a purple pen on one of the footboard knobs <<forehead slap>>.

After that came all the fun details!

The BEST thing about this room is the boys’ new bedding!  After hearing so many amazing things about Beddy’s, we decided to invest in them.  And they are seriously worth Every. Penny.  We had previously used Pottery Barn quilts which were great, but they were so hard to make each morning since both beds are against a wall.  With the Beddy’s, all the boys have to do is zip up the sides when they wake up and it looks perfect!

Bless my OCD heart.

I have such a strong desire for the boys to be strong and courageous men.  So a lion and tiger art print above their beds seemed like a good reminder.  Although I will tell you that Jethro was initially scared about having a ferocious lion face above his head all night.  The good news is that he got over it pretty fast because he is strong and courageous. 🙂

A few challenges that I had to figure out for this room was how to blend two entire rooms of STUFF into one without it looking like a scene from hoarders.

We accomplished this by getting rid of a lot.  And then investing in some under-the-bed-storage boxes.  Kids don’t really need all the toys (although Noah and Jet would tell you otherwise).  We kept the non-negotiables – their wooden train set, matchbox car collection, puzzles, books, Legos, and 4 million stuffed animals (which lived in the hallway for this photo shoot), but other than that, we purged a ton.

Along with purging regularly, one of the best pieces of organizational advice I ever got was if you’re going to have the stuff, make sure you have a designated spot for the stuff.

As you read on, you will see that we tried really hard to give everything a spot.  This cuts down on clutter and helps the boys know how to clean up when it’s time.

I loooove picture books, so their little book cart had to be a feature point of the room!  I was gifted this cart by the school where I work because they had an extra one that wasn’t needed anymore.  Once the cart was in place, the books had to be organized by color to bring the room together.  It makes me so happy!

The little white side tables were also from my mom and the bins underneath are for the boys’ shoes.  They are allowed to put whatever they want in the drawers.  Last time I checked, Jethro had DVDs in his (#shocker haha!) and Noah’s had a bunch of Lego creations that he wanted to preserve.

Another challenge we had was that I really liked both boys’ dressers (and I didn’t want to spend money on a new one), so I had to figure out how to make both of them work.  Noah’s dresser ended up fitting inside the closet, which gave us more space in the room.

I love how it turned out!

Noah loves to write, so we had to make space for his little desk.  The desk is a hand-me-down from a friend and provides great storage.  Then the boys were adamant that they each hang their calendars in the room somewhere.

We hung an oil drip pan from Walmart behind the door as a fun magnet wall for them to play with and practice their spelling.

If you are paying close attention you will notice that they had a little too much fun with a particular spelling word that all boys think is hilarious.  I didn’t have the heart to change it because it’s pretty funny.

And a few Command hooks on the back of the door were perfect for hanging their bath towels.

What do you think?  This room just makes me smile!

I love that the boys are learning how to share a space, honor one another, and tell each other stories as they drift off to sleep.

Except it’s not all that perfect – ha!

The only thing that doesn’t make me smile about this room is that now that the boys are roommates, THEY DON’T SLEEP ANYMORE.  Like I am not kidding when I tell you that bedtime is NIGHTMARE.  They laugh and giggle for forever (which is precious, yes, but not when the entire house is overly tired the next day for weeks on end).  They brainstorm excuses to come out of their room to prolong the evening (water, potty, more hugs, What was that sound?  What are you watching on TV?  I spilled water on my pajamas and I am having level 10 emotions about it!  Why did God make us?).  The shenanigans go on and on.

PLEASE send all the parenting advice to get shared room kids to go to sleep.

And now for the product links!

Beddy’s Dash Bedding – Beddy’s

White Bed Frames – Pottery Barn Kids (similar)

Side Table Lamps – Target

Black Removable Triangle Wall Decals – The Lovely Wall

Black and White Animal Head Prints – LILA X LOLA

Large White Frames – IKEA

Book Cart – Amazon (similar)

Stuffed Fox and Bunny – Cuddle and Kind

Toy Organizer – Amazon (similar)

The Bright Side Banner – Crate and Kids (similar)

Be Silly Print – Mini Learners Prints

Animal Heads – Target

Yellow Felt Crown (on the bear head) – Sew Adorable Treasures

Boys Rule Print – Cozy Cloud Co.

Faux Black Staghead – Wall Charmers

Rainbow Felt Balls – Lovebug Lullabies

Psalm 23 Wooden Sign – House of Belonging

Black Lightening Bolt Lamp – Target

Hello Sign – Target/Amazon

Alphabet Sign – Sari Sari Baby

Wooden Car Track Toy – Amazon

Alphabet Magnets – Amazon (I LOVE these magnets!)

Hooded Towels – Pottery Barn Kids

Rug – Homegoods

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Joyfully,

Julie 🙂