We’re thrilled to introduce our latest contributor, the fabulous Si from French By Design. She’ll be serving up a regular dose of inspiring family spaces and interiors for kids. Enjoy!

Many families don’t have the option of separate bedrooms for each child, but organizing a shared room for two siblings can be quite challenging. On the bright side, siblings who share rooms will share special and memorable bonding moments as they grow up together.

Sharing a room also teaches valuable life lessons about being sensitive to others, being flexible, and accepting differences – sometimes a very neat and organized child has to share a room with a more “messy” sibling. So many great lessons are learned in shared bedrooms before the hard reality of college dorms and life with roommates sets in!

Bunk beds or built-in alcove beds are also a great option for sleepovers, and they’re perfect for summer homes, where you know you’ll often need extra beds for guests.

In any case, a room with shared beds needs to be kept as minimal and as clutter-free as possible – bunk beds already take up quite a bit of space and volume, so the key is to “hide” what doesn’t need to be seen as much as possible.

Image credits (from the top): Folio (photo 1), Scandinavian Deko (photo 2),  Pierrick Verny for Côté Sud (photo 3), Design East (photo 4), Serendipity Paris owner Laurence Simoncini’s home photographed by Mads Mogensen for Elle Decoration UK (photo 5), Jane the Pain (photo 6).