A twin-twin situation in decorating

It's said that parents of twins are twice blessed: Twins bring double the joy, double the love and double the fun. Much less exciting but no less true is that they also bring double the bills -- and often have to make do with half the bedroom space.

If you've got the room and the budget, designing a nursery for twins can be great fun -- infants don't get a say, so you're free to adorn the space however you like. But the nursery is only the beginning -- and it's also not a necessity, says Farmingville designer Isabel Melo, who has twin boys. "When they were first born, I had to give them my bedroom," she recalls.

But eventually, babies become children with belongings -- and opinions. "As they grow, things change and get expensive," Melo says. "When the different personalities come out and you know who's who, you don't want to smother that. You want each to be his own individual person."

In astrology, this is the month of Gemini -- the Twins. Newsday thought it a fitting time to ask readers with twins and local designers to share their best money-saving, space-saving and sanity-saving tips for decorating for two at every age and stage.

Teen twins

Farmingville designer Isabel Melo says her 17-year-old twin boys were outgrowing their bedroom before her eyes. "They are 6-foot-3, and I had to do something," says Melo. The boys still wanted to share, so her solution was to move both boys to the bigger bedroom that had belonged to their sister before she graduated and moved out. Their sister gets the smaller room for visits.

SAVING SPACE Invest in the closet, advises Melo. "I wanted them to have space in the room. I put in drawers, shelves and hanging space in the closet so I didn't have to fill the room up with dressers. It's out of the way and less cluttered." Melo hired Closets by Design for this project, but she says you can do it yourself with closet organizers from Lowes.

SAVING MONEY While a good bed frame might be a worthwhile investment, a night table, so easily ruined by a carelessly placed cup, is not, Melo says. "I think as you go along, you're better off buying new furniture because they destroy it. Nothing very expensive," she says. "They're always changing and their interests are changing and it's two different personalities that you have to keep up with." She likes Ikea for inexpensive, trendy furniture, HomeGoods and Marshalls for bedding and accessories and Sam's Club for pillows.

SAVING SANITY The rival soccer team memorabilia in this room say it all -- twins have their differences, and they need room to show it. "You have to get them very involved," says Melo. "It's almost like designing for a married couple. They get along, but they still have to share the bedroom. You have to design for both of them." She used the wall unit to give each boy his own space. "Each one of them has a half, and the TV divides it. They can put up whatever they want on their side." 

Twin tots

Melville mom Aliza Sachs, 31, a teacher, decorated this nursery for her twins, Bella and Nathaniel, now 5 months old. Similar patchwork patterns and complementary colors create a visual connection between Nathaniel's jungle theme and Bella's garden theme. "We knew we didn't want traditional pinks and blues. So we went with the purples and greens, and they complement each other very well," Sachs says. "There's a division between the two, but we were able to coordinate it all."

SAVING SPACE For now, the babies' tiny clothes and few belongings don't take up much space. The bedroom easily accommodates two cribs, a dresser with a removable changing table and a glider and ottoman. "It's a nice-sized room, so everything fits well. . . . It's pretty organized," says Sachs. There are two built-in cabinets and a sizable closet with double doors. "For the future, when we need it, the space is there," Sachs says.

SAVING MONEY Sachs says most of the nursery items came from Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us. Some were gifts, and for big-ticket or double items like the cribs and mattresses, she was able to take advantage of the retailers' twin discounts.

SAVING SANITY It's simplest to keep the babies in one room, says Sachs. "It's much easier to walk in just one room at night than jump all over the place."

 Twin tweens

 In this Dix Hills home, designer Marlaina Teich decorated two bedrooms for 10-year-old brothers who were ready to have their own spaces for the first time.

Kids change rapidly: One of the boys switched his theme from dogs to sports before the project was even completed. "Thank goodness the materials we selected would grow with them," Teich says. "I recommended that we create a space that could transition with them through the next two stages. There's a big difference between being 10, and then a young teen at 13, and then being 16 or 17."

SAVING SPACE Going from one bedroom to two allowed for full-sized beds, sizable dressers, ample storage and display space and plenty of room to grow. But for those who don't have that luxury, Teich recommends using furniture that can perform "double duty," such as storage ottomans and beds with built-in drawers underneath.

SAVING MONEY Teich advises getting real beds as soon as your twins are out of the crib stage -- toddler beds are a needless expense, she says. The furniture she chose for this project was "good quality, but not over-the-top expensive -- appropriate for a kid's room, and something that would last," Teich says. She ordered these custom-designed beds, but says she also likes the national chain Stanley Furniture for "a good-quality, affordable option."

SAVING SANITY Twins have a bond that other kids don't -- they've literally been together since before they were born, so the first separation can be both welcome and bumpy. To address the dueling needs for individuality and connection, this decor is coordinated but not matching. "This way the kids could separate, but not feel like they were totally jumping ship from each other," Teich says.

 Twin school-agers

 No matter how quickly your twins seem to grow, their bedroom stubbornly remains the same size.

To maximize floor space, you may need to get creative and go vertical: The Berg Captain's Bed for Two, available at Behr's Baby & Kids' Furniture in Seaford (suggested retail price $1,649), meets both sleep and storage needs while covering about the same footprint as two twin beds and a nightstand.

SAVING SPACE "Get furniture that can do double duty," advises designer Marlaina Teich -- or even triple duty: An upholstered storage cube can serve as a table, an ottoman or a cute and clever container for all their "little girl things," Teich says. "If you're buying a bed for a kid, definitely consider one with drawers underneath."

SAVING MONEY "Try to stay classic with the large furniture items and go trendy and fun with the accessories and walls. It's more economical to update a space by changing simple items like wall covering or bedding than a bed or dresser," recommends designer Diane Guariglia, who owns Dyfari Interiors in Cold Spring Harbor.

SAVING SANITY School-aged girls are in transition. Are they too old for princess pillows? Too young for pop-star posters? "The girls are like women when they're decorating their room," says Teich. "The mothers and daughters are always butting heads. The mom wants a sweet look and the girls want stronger colors." To bridge the gap, incorporate the traditional furnishings that Mom favors, but let the twin girls express themselves with fabrics in updated, overscale patterns or modern, vibrant colors, she says. Top it off with fun elements that can be easily swapped out as tastes change, such as a shag rug or polka-dot drum shades on the lamps.