One room, several children

Share her room with her brother or sister, this is a reality that many children live.Good taste, storage spaces and development of small secret corners generally contribute to a harmonious roommate.

A dormitory for four

Élisabeth Gosselin and Pierre-Olivier Pharand love their house located in a Laval district which allows them to shop on foot and where the grandparents, who live nearby, can see their grandchildren as they see fit.Only shade on the board: the house has two bedrooms...And they have four children.Never mind, they decided to install the beds and toys of their small quartet in the same room.

Impossible mission ?With great creativity...And maximum storage, Élisabeth Gosselin, on maternity leave, admirably took up the challenge.Result: Lola-Rose (6 years old), Lili-Pierre (4 years old), Charles-Alex (2 years) and Léa-Jade (3 months) live in harmonious "roommate".The children even welcomed an aquarium and a few small fish in their lair, in addition to the two cats and the dog who also act as companions of play.

"They don't want separate rooms!"launched their father laughing, when the presses is made on site to visit the small dormitory.They are used to doing everything together.Like what, the clan is woven tight.

During our passage, the children did not be asked to show us their refuge: a large bright room overlooking a small park, where the two older girls made their superimposed beds a small secret nest while the'Another end, their brother benefits from a cabin under which we have set up a space for his workbench, tools and police car.In the center sits the baby's bed and a cozy white chair intended to console the tears of the youngest.

Maximize space

At the start, the big difficulty of the couple was of course the exploitation of the space.We first given up the master bedroom, just to leave the biggest room to toddlers.From there, everything is a question of organization."Everything has a place," emphasizes the mother.It really takes autonomous children.»»

Thus, a chest of drawers with two drawers, second -hand, stripped and repainted in white makes it possible to accommodate princesses costumes and superheroine capes.Under the Lili-Pierre bed, white bins serve as storage for toys.Charles-Alec benefits from space under his bed which thus acts as a ministry of games.Behind the door, the small chamber dresses are suspended from hooks.When children no longer play with certain toys, they are immediately given to charities.There is no room for accumulation, admit the parents who apprehend Christmas every year with his share of gifts. « On a dit aux gens d'arrêter de nous apporter des jouets»», lance le père en riant.

Even Walk-in wardrobe has been used.Identified storage boxes are thrilled above the hangers.Ribbons hanging on the wall serve as supports for the barrettes.And Élisabeth Gosselin even managed to find a little corner for her own clothes.

Thus fitted out, the room allows each child to have their own corner, a sine qua non condition when many of them share the same room.

Lights, pretty cushions and small corners give everyone the impression of having their hiding place.

When the Dodo time comes, children nestled in their bed have the right to watch a program for a few minutes thanks to the television screen hanging on the wall, says the mother.She assures in the process that she does not have to reprimand them when the time comes to sleep.Each firm their eyes peacefully without disturbing their cochaisters. « S'il y en a un qui se réveille la nuit, les autres lui chantent une chanson»», relate Élisabeth Gosselin.

And when the baby is aging, the mother already has projects.The baby bed and the chair will disappear in favor of a teepee in which we will install a small mattress.It will be Lea-Jade's new bed.

Tailor -made teen refuge

Lorsqu'elle est entrée dans la pièce la première fois, Karine Matte, styliste d'intérieur, trouvait que le repaire d'Alice (12 ans) et de Charlotte (11 ans) avait des airs de « chambre d'hôpital»» : deux lits côte à côte, séparés par une table de chevet et une porte de placard difficile à ouvrir en raison de la taille des meubles.A whole challenge was waiting for him.

Draw from the duvet cover

The old pink, pale blue and geometric shapes found on the cozy have served as a starting point to determine the colors of the room.Karine Matte immediately admits that research to find the right cover was arduous."It's very difficult when you look for preados," she said.There were either too frank colors or too baby stuff.»» Alice et Charlotte ont finalement tranché.From there were born the shapes of color on the wall and the small pink butterflies hanging everywhere.

A closet, several functions

Karine Matte's client absolutely wanted the new room to be fitted with two offices so that girls can do their homework.Another puzzle due to the smallness of the room.The designer therefore converted the wardrobe...in workspace.We removed the doors, installed an office and small removable tablets in the center.On each side, the girls have their space to hang their clothes.In this intimate corner, it is easier to concentrate.The other office, of the same dimension, is located on the adjacent wall.

Storage, storage, storage

This is another criterion which Karine Matte should answer.The key: Use space under the bed.Under each of them, the clothes are carefully stored in wooden boxes.There are also on the side stuck on the wall.We interchange the boxes according to the seasons.

Angle bed

The layout of beds plays a big role in the overall pace of the small room.Before the metamorphosis, they were placed side by side.Result: they occupied all the space and even harmed at the opening of the doors of the cupboard.We therefore created two tailor -made beds, to ensure that their dimension is adapted to the area of the room.Placing them in angle allows you to have more space in the center of the room.The corner bedside table completes the decor and allows the two girls to each have a space to install their reading lamp.

Two, small budget

When she moved into her Condo in Outremont, three years ago, Camille Daher was first and first looking for light and space in the common rooms.Have only one room to welcome your two children went without saying to her.With the talents of handyman of her spouse and her creativity, the couple managed to create the bohemian universe of her son Bazile, 6 years old, and his little Maxine, who is three and a half years old, all inRespecting a small budget.

Read and sleep

As the bed of each of her children is the same model and the same size, Camille Daher, herself became a designer after having renovated all her interior, had the idea of sticking them to the wall.So, the day or evening before sleeping, carefully placing cushions, the place turns into a reading corner. « J'ai disposé les lits de cette façon-là pour avoir l'effet d'une banquette»», explique la maman de 30 ans.To fill the space on each side, at the head of the beds, we have installed wooden blocks which serve as night tables.Does the proximity between Bazile and Maxine make the ritual of the infernal dodo?"My children argue all day," admits Ms. Daher.But when they go to bed, it's over.Sometimes my son recalls his sister to order.»» Chose certaine, précise-t-elle, « les enfants refusent d'être séparés»».

Decorative panels

Electric panel to camouflage, cabinets that needed to be embellished, water heater that we do not want to exhibit, there were many elements to hide in the bedroom of the bedroom.Camille Daher therefore decided to take advantage of these hungs in the decor and transform them into colored keys.How ?We gave texture by covering the cabinets of a quilted foam and fabrics of different colors and different patterns.In a corner of the room, we discover blue birds on a brown or yellow background on pale green and, on another wall, the blue and white floral patterns are in the spotlight. « Je préfère les couleurs neutres»», indique la maman décoratrice, qui voulait choisir des teintes pour plaire autant à sa fille qu'à son garçon.Behind these colorful fabrics are also hiding storage spaces for clothing.The toys find their place on the shelves and also in storage bins that we slipped under a long table. « Et ce n'est pas un fourre-tout»», affirme Camille Daher.Each storage box has its role: one for dinosaurs, the other for figurines and another for blocks...In a room for two, all toys have a specific place.Otherwise, the clutter settles.

Lighting

Bright, this is one of the main characteristics of the Bazile and Maxine Chamber.But it hasn't always been so.When they moved, the owners made a surprising discovery in this room: the existence of a second window which had been condemned by the former occupant.The room, a little dark at the origin, has therefore become sunny.The couple also repainted in white the floor which was originally dark brown. « Ça fait une énorme différence»», lance Camille Daher.Another tip, the origami lights that she made.She installed three in the room and made three others for her living room.To this are added other lamps placed at different heights as well as small lights on the rope used to hang the drawings of children. « Dans une pièce, il faut au moins cinq ou six sources d'éclairage»», suggère la designer.