Today I’m sharing how I refreshed a 90 square foot bedroom to fit both of my daughter’s beds, a spacious desk area, and a reading nook! This room maximizes every square inch and has become a place they both love to play and read together.
Since July my daughter Kaila, age 9, has been sharing a room with her little sister, Nina, age 1. Like the rest of our home, the room is small– only 9’x10′–and it took a couple months to figure out how to fit everything without feeling cramped, but we did it!
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The Before
Figuring Out Furniture Arrangement
Figuring out furniture arrangement in a 90 sq ft room is a challenge, especially when it’s a shared girl’s room. We knew to make the most use of the space we needed to look for a loft bed. That would allow me to put a desk underneath and if I was lucky a dresser or a seating area, with the crib on the opposite wall.
I honestly thought I would try to build a desk, but we were strapped for time. I needed a desk solution fast, so I ultimately decided to buy something ready-made. Because we decided to keep the rug, curtains, wall color (BM Yours Truly base with white stencil design), and decor, it kept out budget much lower than if we did a full room makeover.
I did finally update the ceiling fan to this low-profile one from Hunter Fan. I love the mint color, but the blades were too long. So I cut about 4-5″ off on each one and it’s perfect now.
Customizing the Desk Area
The desk is the Micke Corner Workstation (Ikea) in white, which I customized by spray painting the backboards of the shelves some fun colors. I also spray painted the back of the chair (Ikea Loberget). We added a Micke drawer unit on one side so she could keep pencils, scissors, paper, her school notebooks, folders, textbooks, and other school supplies.
The desk was the absolute perfect height to fit under this loft bed (56″ for the desk with about 2-3″ clearance). It left enough room on one side to hang a white board/cork board (Ikea Mojlighet).
The basket holds a couple little canisters that have extra magnets and push-pins. We have had this felt ball garland for years and I just draped it across the top.
On the shelves we put a picture frame, some jars with earrings and jewelry, some chapter books she’s reading, and the bottom has canisters of crayons, colored pencils, and her eraser collection.
On the other side, the top two shelves hold a few decorative items, a canister of her blue-light glasses, and on the bottom there is a little tilt-out compartment that holds her Chromebook and charger perfectly! In the corner there is a magnetic white board where she displays some of her school work. There was one on the other side too but I removed it before I painted it yellow, so I could hang the art there instead.
The Loft Bed
I’m obsessed with this loft bed. It is so well made. Constructed entirely of metal, the gold rail is the exact color of Nina’s gold crib because they are made by the same company. The ladder has wide enough rungs so it’s comfortable to climb up and down. The only downside is it can be a little noisy when moving around up top, but it still feels sturdy.
The bed is fairly close to the ceiling (ours are 8′ tall) but isn’t a problem for our 9 year old. When I climb up there it does feel cramped, however, I’m still able to change sheets with no issues. Thank goodness making the bed takes only 2 minutes for Kaila as she just zips the sides up and she’s done. I’ve talked about Beddy’s Bedding before and how I think it’s the absolute best option for bunk beds. This is the same Beddy’s bedding set we have had for over 3 years now. Use my code SHADESOFBLUE for 20% off your entire order, plus they have AfterPay if you want to break up the cost into interest-free payments.
I fit in this small yellow wall clock from Walmart above her closet, so she could keep track of her independent work time, similar to how she would if she was having in-person classes.
I also got her a door-mounted mirror and did lots of research to find an affordable one ($60) that does NOT distort. Seriously, all the ones I found in this price range make you look fat, and this one does not. It is heavy and comes with top of the door hooks, but I opted for the screw-mount option so it was her height.
The Reading Nook
The thing I’m most pleased with how it turned out is this reading nook. I initially thought I would try to fit a dresser here and I’m SO glad I didn’t! We ended up installing drawers in their tiny closet and pared down Kaila’s clothes so she could fit everything she needs there. So that left this corner free to make a cozy spot.
Since the bed frame on the floor was about 3″ high, it created a tripping hazard. So to prevent that, I decided to make a little platform that would be the same height as the metal support frame, that could serve as a seating area.
It was pretty easy to build. I used 1x3s to fit the exact space I had available. Then I nailed 3/4″ plywood on top. Thankfully these were all pieces of wood I already had in my scrap pile.
Once it was constructed, I painted this front edge white, and then wrapped 2″ foam in velvet fabric, pinned it, and put it on top of the platform.
The wall-mounted book shelves are from Ikea too, but I cut about 4″ off of the length before I constructed them, so that they would fit better. Then I filled them with books from the thrift store.
The last necessary touch to the reading nook was this sconce light, also from Ikea (Flugbo). It was $20 and the switch is the perfect height for Kaila but too tall for Nina right now (which is how we like it haha)!
It provides lots of light and the wire is hidden under the cushion along the wall and plugs in alongside the window curtain. I’m not kidding when I say this little corner is used multiple times a day and I often find Kaila doing her zoom meetings cozied up here.
The gold wire circle wall shelf hasn’t changed since her last room refresh, but I did add some colorful wood blocks and a Grimm’s pastel wood stacking rainbow.
The Crib
On the other side of the room fits Nina’s gold metal crib that used to be in our bedroom. When we reclaimed our sleep in July, we decided to move the sisters in together. This corner felt like the most logical place for the crib so and we moved the three felt animal heads above it.
The curtains are a discontinued fabric but they are no-sew curtains I made a few years ago.
There were 5 gold hooks on this wall before, so I removed a couple and the 3 that remain hold Kaila’s backpack and some other items. The basket at the foot of Nina’s crib holds all her toys.
That’s the extent of the room refresh! What do you think of the new arrangement?
I would LOVE to hear what you think and your favorite part! Could imagine your kids sharing a small room with only 90 square feet? What would you do differently?
I think it looks great! The girls each have their own side for toys, schoolwork, etc and there is plenty of space in the middle of the room for playing. Its a very well thought out space and still is adorable!
This is gorgeous Rachel! Every inch is utilized in such a pretty and practical way. Thank you for showing us that kids can share rooms even with a huge age difference! I’ve loved your blog and decorating style for years and admittedly not much of a commenter but I had to share my thoughts this time! Way to go!
Just gorgeous and functional! That rug!!! Great job and I’m sure the girls love it and being together:)
You did a wonderful job making this room functional and stylish for your little ones! I would’ve loved a room like this as a kid!
Thats really nice! It gives us a lot of ideas for us in Europe that have small spaces.
You did an amazing job, Rachel. I really like the wall shelves from IKEA. I don’t see them on the website. Do you remember what they were called? Thank you.
Yes they are the Flisat– $15 each!
The custom touches make the space! Good job!
It’s adorable for sure. I can’t imagine putting a one year old in a room with a nine year old. Sounds difficult for napping the baby… well, whatever works for your family!
We haven’t had much of a problem fortunately! Sometimes our Nina (the 1 year old) takes her first nap in our bed, sometimes it’s in her crib. She naps during Kaila’s independent work time and lunch break which is from 11 to about 1. Since Kaila doesn’t like staying in her room all day, she doesn’t mind going outside if the weather is nice or hanging in another room to do school work if Nina isn’t awake yet (or is starting to fall asleep). By the time she takes her second nap, (4pm) school is out and Nina has the room to herself. White noise helps too! We try to be flexible and roll with the punches and so far it works great! Kaila LOVES waking up with her sister in the morning and will change her diaper and make her a bottle without anyone asking. Hope that clarifies a little how we make it work. 🙂 If you have any specific questions, I’m thinking to do a blog post as a couple other people were curious how we make it work too!
do you do consultations for design ideas from pictures?
Not at this time, sorry.
This is so cute! Thanks for sharing! Where is the changing table/area and dresser? I’m trying to do almost this exact setup for my kids.
I love this post!!! The room looks beautiful! I have exactly the same problem at the moment but this inspired so many ideas! I have a 5 year old and a 1 year old sharing a room which equals toys galore!!! But thanks to this post I have a plan 😉
Love this! We are about to purchase the same desk (x2) for our sons’ shared room. Quick question- is the back of the desk white or unfinished particle board? The way our room is the desk back will be visible under the loft.
That’s a good question. I believe it’s white.