How small is "too small" for a bedroom? - Page 2

[Ellien C]

I have a 1920s Craftsman-style home and one of the bedrooms is only big enough for a single bed and a dresser. They were built that way then - probably for a nursery. In my house it's a walk-in closet, now, which is A-OK with me. I also knew a friend in NYC who lived in a small apartment and there was some kind of closet that was HER space. It had room for a desk or something. I think she slept in the living room. I think what you want to do is fine, assuming it is what your boys want. They may be content with a shared sleeping space, but other areas that are just theirs - desk, loft, private closet, whatever. I think people in the US are used to much larger and private spaces.

[meco]

My child has the master bedroom, and I used the other one. It's about 6.5" wide and maybe 11-12" long. It's totally a workable space. I do haver very high ceilings so it feels bigger than it is. The closet is tiny however.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the room size. It might make sense to use a temporary method as to not change the value of the house of course

[HappyMommy2]

We just did this, turned a 2br into a 3br. DD's room is tiny. Probably 7x10. It was the best choice for us.

I always thought that they could share, but the reality of different bedtimes, and waking each other up, just wasn't working. Well, actually, they all end up in our bed anyway! But it is still nice. :-)

I do think a tiny private space is best. DD is only 2, but definitely already likes it. She will only ever get a single bed in there, but that is fine. Her older bro is 4.

Making her room tiny gave us a nice large closet in our room, which is sorely needed in our small 100-year-old house.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

[bscal]

I have kind of an opposite problem. We have a large 2-story 5 br house. We have 3 kids so each child has their own room and the 5th br is 'nephew's room' (he has stayed with us for part of each summer since he was 9 - he's 17 now). While my oldest does like to spend some time in her room by herself when she's frustrated or stressed out by her younger siblings most of the time my 2 girls end up sleeping together. I'd say probably 5 nights out of 7 I find the 4 yr old snuggled up to the 7 yr old. DS (who is 2 1/2) needs his own space so he's still in the 'nursery' in a toddler bed (or sometimes the crib if he decides to climb in there during the night).

In your case, I would wait and see if any adjustments need to be made later. I'm seriously thinking about moving older DD's bed into younger DD's room and leaving older DD's current room as a quiet place where she can do her homework, read books or color if she needs some space.

HTH,
Beth

[ParisApril]

We live in a small 60 year old house. Our bedroom is 10x10. In it we have a king size bed, (It takes up the whole room really but we need it DH is a giant!), a nightstand, a tall dresser and a small wardrobe. No closet because we had to get rid of it to fit the bed!

Our 2 kids share a room that is 10x10. They have a bunkbed and two tall dressers with shelves with doors on top. They have two closets!

I think the room sizes you are talking about would not be too small but I am someone that just sleeps in bed, I don't hang out in my bedroom during the day. Having said that I wouldn't go to the trouble of building walls unless I absolutely had to though.

[russsk]

When my mother remarried we moved into her husband's house and my bedroom was 8'x6'. It was TINY. My brother and I switched beds, because his was elevated with drawers underneath, and I had a computer table. It was small, but certainly livable. I was also a teenager, so I spent a LOT of time in my room.

When I was in college I had the larger bedroom in a two-bedroom apartment, but the second bedroom was only 8'x10'. I was really impressed with some of my roommate's space-saving tricks. She was perfectly comfortable in that room until we moved out.

[taubel]

I appreciate the continued comments. It does seem like a better lesson for kids to have to share, but then again it's so important to have your own space when you're a teenager.

For this house, I suppose the best option would be to let the two older boys share the larger room when they get to be teenagers. We could put up a curtain or a temporary wall, so at least they'd have their own spaces within the room (and I wouldn't have to build walls, add windows, etc.)

I guess what I really want to know is if we should buy a slightly larger house. And I won't know that for many years. Right now we can't afford that, anyway!

It is getting hard to manage three boys in this house. There is not much storage, and when I pack the closets full, things grow mildew. My biggest problem is storing the hand-me-downs. I have a dresser in my hallway and a dresser in a closet -- JUST for storing clothes that nobody is wearing right now! I don't want to put these in the basement or garage because they might get mildewed.

Thanks again -- it is certainly good to know that kids have shared smaller spaces or have had really tiny bedrooms AND have managed to survive! We live in a town where our house is worth well below the median home price, so most of the people we know live in HUGE houses.

Taubel

[crunchy_mommy]

You know, it sounds like you have more of a mildew problem than a space problem LOL... Why is your house so damp??? I can store things in my attic/basement and nothing gets mildewy... half our basement is finished and we could and would use it as a bedroom if necessary, it's not too damp... so maybe you need a dehumidifier or something so that you can use the space in your house better?

[taubel]

Well, we have a mildew problem AND a space problem! We do run a dehumidifier in our basement. We store lots of stuff down there, but sometimes it does grow mildew (some years are worse than others). I store toys, food (sealed, of course), kitchen stuff, camping stuff, etc. down there. We are thinking about installing gutters in the spring. Maybe that will help.

[abharrington]

just wanted to add dh and his brother shared a bedroom until they went to college...XL twin bed each, one double dresser. they loved it. he thinks its so weird that i grew up sleeping on a queen sized bed...what a waste, he says. haha. i would definatly wait and see what your boys want and need as they grown. you may be just fine

[karkli]

what i would probably do is just allow the 2.5 year old to move into the "big boy room" when he's ready, and let the 8x12 be a toy room.

This is what I would do, too. I would make a sleeping room for the boys in the smaller of the two non-master bedrooms. Beds, a dresser, and nothing else.

I would make the third bedroom a study/play room, complete with desk space for each kid (maybe a desk for the oldest and a craft table with two chairs for the younger guys), a bookshelf or two, and organized toys.

As much as I believe in children having personal space and possessions, I also believe that independence can be nurtured even when children share rooms, toys, etc.

[taubel]

The sleeping room idea appeals to me. The older boys WANT to share a room right now because they're afraid to sleep alone. I sleep with the 2.5 yo but soon I want to stop that, and then he will probably want to sleep with his brothers.

I can't imagine squeezing three beds into the smallest bedroom, but maybe I could put the three boys in the master, DH and I could have the medium room, and we could use the third for a study room.

We do have a downstairs room next to our garage that we use as a playroom. Someday we could probably put some desks down there as well.

For people with sleeping rooms, how do you deal with different bedtimes and the kids waking each other up early in the morning?!!!

[EviesMom]

This: http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/...ick/item/51249

http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/...ick/item/43437

http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/...ick/item/43443

is the bedroom I'm sitting in right now and that the rest of my family is sleeping in. To be honest, I love it and I think it works so much better and intentional with the bed to the walls rather than looking like we jammed the bed into a too-small room with 6 inches of space on the sides (a former apartment that was the set up.)

The key to a very small bedroom in my opinion, is to think carefully about what you actually want in the room. We wanted TV, alarm clock, space for a few books and diapers, dimmable light for middle of the night changes, and a window for ventilation and light. It's the ideal cosleeping set up, because no one can fall out! The only issue in my experience is the challenge of making the bed, but I've gotten used to it, and I'm not a stickler for perfection on that anyway.

[taubel]

This is where you live? GREAT use of space! Love your whole apartment! It appears roomier than my house, which is probably much larger. Thanks for the photos.

[karkli]

Originally Posted by taubel

I can't imagine squeezing three beds into the smallest bedroom...

Bunk beds - Specifically, one like this!

A single on top for your oldest and a double on the bottom for the youngest to share once your toddler is out of your bed and ready to move in with his brothers.

This certainly might not be a long term solution, but I can't see why it wouldn't work for at least the next several years. By the time your younger DC are old enough that sharing a bed might "cramp their style", you may be in a position to create a sleeping space in the downstairs area for one or more of them.