3 Bedrooms, 6 people, 4 kids...

[carmel23]

Hi mamas,

I have to preface this with how I am a terrible organizer.  I'm not really good at this, and desperately need some advice/suggestions/guidance. 

We recently moved into a wonderful 3 bedroom old Victorian style house.  There are 2 bedrooms upstairs--one very big, the other smaller but still a good sized room (fits a queen sized bed, a dresser, with lots of room left. 

The third bedroom is downstairs... not the best room but gets lots of light and would fit a dresser and a queen sized bed... has a big closet (not a walk in or anything, but it is a good sized closet). 

So far we have the 3 big kids (2 boys, one girl) in the biggest bedroom upstairs (and the ceilings are slanty on the sides, so we can't have a bunk bed) but it fits their 3 beds nicely, with a little room for a shelf and end tables).  It is a little crowded but it works. 

And then my DH, me and baby (co-sleeping babe) are in the other bedroom upstairs.

The third bedroom is currently just a mess--it is basically storage right now. 

So here is my dilemma and I really need your help!

Originally we were going to make the biggest room upstairs into the boys' bedroom (two oldest kids are boys, just about 10 and newly 7).  Then my DD  (4 years-old) and baby would share the smaller bedroom upstairs, and DH and I would have the bedroom on the first floor. 

But now I don't know--because my DD is frightened to go upstairs by herself.  She tells me about the skeletons in the walls, and the ghosts and stuff.  If I go up there with her, she will start playing happily, and sometimes I can come down stairs... but if all of her toys are up there in a traditional bedroom she won't go and play with them, yk? 

So I was thinking of keeping the kids all in one room and then making the downstairs bedroom a playroom.  The baby is good in our room for another year (he is only 14 months-old). And there is tons of room for his montessori floor bed when he is ready.

All the toys that are baby safe will go in the play room, and the boys can have their big kids stuff on tables....

But I wonder if this will work for the 10 year-old?  He does not want his own room yet, and loves sharing with his brother, but needs his own space where little people won't mess with him.... yk? 

I don't know... any thoughts/suggestions would be great! I keep going in circles....

TIA! (and thank you for reading this!)

[carmel23]

16 looks and not even a thought?  ;)

[Mommyofalmost6]

Questions first:

Is there room in the kids room for a shorter smaller loft bed? Not the really tall ones but the more JR size?

Is a trundle bed for the two younger ones an option in there?

These would both open up space and you can hang a curtain so your 10year old can have some private space behind it under the loft. can make a reading space, play space ect.

I personally would not like havint the kids sleeping upstairs and me downstairs, I am however a worry personality so I would have a very hard time sleeping.

I love the idea of a play room down stairs which keeps them centeral to the living space but not things all over the house. This also means less worry about playing during bed time lol.

[carmel23]

Originally Posted by Mommyofalmost6 

Questions first:

Is there room in the kids room for a shorter smaller loft bed? Not the really tall ones but the more JR size?

Is a trundle bed for the two younger ones an option in there?

These would both open up space and you can hang a curtain so your 10year old can have some private space behind it under the loft. can make a reading space, play space ect.

I personally would not like havint the kids sleeping upstairs and me downstairs, I am however a worry personality so I would have a very hard time sleeping.

I love the idea of a play room down stairs which keeps them centeral to the living space but not things all over the house. This also means less worry about playing during bed time lol.

Thank you for your reply!
We've never slept on different floors from our kids so yeah, that is why we were all up on the same floor... I like the idea of a shorter loft bed.  That would be cool, and we did plan on hanging curtains to make discrete spaces.  And I hate it when it is time for bed and there are toys all over the place. 

And they do like to be together... so having one bedroom is kind of cool, they can talk to each other as they go to sleep. 

It just seems kind of radical, yk?  Why typically everyone has a bedroom... or 2 kids per room. 

Is there something I'm not thinking of? The kids still come and play in our room a ton... when they are all home my DD has no trouble going upstairs if her bros are there... it is just when she is here home from her school when her bros are still in school....

[thriftyqueen]

I think the 3 in one room and the baby with you upstairs for one more year is a great idea.  After that, you DD will be older and probably not as nervous.  It won't be such a new house to her and she will be more comfortable.  After a year the boys will want their own space and the older boy will be happy to have his sister in a different room.  A play room on the main floor is always a nice thing and you could have it set up like that for a year.  Then you can re-evaluate and decide if there is a space on the main floor for toys or if you want them all upstairs.  Get adjusted to the new house and leave it be for now.  You will find that with time, you will have a better handle on how you use the spaces and what makes the most sense for your family.

[Momsteader]

Check out OP Loft Beds. My older boys just build their own this week! Great, easy to follow plans and they are indestructible. This is our second set for a second home.

I know my kids love sharing a room. I gave them the smallest room and basically just bed/dresser in there and then they play out in our main living area, or the third biggest bedroom here is a play room (though they are calling it a man cave since they aren't young kids anymore). It's nice to be able to just shut the door on the 'man cave' and doesn't matter if legos are all over. I don't have to look at them!

[carmel23]

Originally Posted by thriftyqueen 

I think the 3 in one room and the baby with you upstairs for one more year is a great idea.  After that, you DD will be older and probably not as nervous.  It won't be such a new house to her and she will be more comfortable.  After a year the boys will want their own space and the older boy will be happy to have his sister in a different room.  A play room on the main floor is always a nice thing and you could have it set up like that for a year.  Then you can re-evaluate and decide if there is a space on the main floor for toys or if you want them all upstairs.  Get adjusted to the new house and leave it be for now.  You will find that with time, you will have a better handle on how you use the spaces and what makes the most sense for your family.

Originally Posted by CrunchyClark 

Check out OP Loft Beds. My older boys just build their own this week! Great, easy to follow plans and they are indestructible. This is our second set for a second home.

I know my kids love sharing a room. I gave them the smallest room and basically just bed/dresser in there and then they play out in our main living area, or the third biggest bedroom here is a play room (though they are calling it a man cave since they aren't young kids anymore). It's nice to be able to just shut the door on the 'man cave' and doesn't matter if legos are all over. I don't have to look at them!

Yes, we can get used to the new house and the "ghosts" ;)

And yes, I love being able to throw the toys in there, and shut the door.  And then they have a place where they can be loud even in the wet and cold winter. 

Thanks for the OP loft bed recommendation!  They look awesome and then we could customize them, to make them a good height and customize them.  Very cool!

:)

Thank you!

[boheime]

On the Knock Off Wood website/blog, there are plans for loft beds that anchor into the wall and ceiling without supports coming from the floor - think nautical bunks. I think they could really give your kids some more space.

[Mommyofalmost6]

Well I can comment on the radical part lol. We are a family of 8 in a 4b= bedroom and while we have it set up for 2 per room kid wise lol I can tell you it does NOT work that way. I have the two youngest in my room more then not and the other 4 in their sisters room more then in their room. I figure as long as everyone sleeps I dont care where they are sleeping!

My little ones are not fans of being upstairs with out a "bigger" person either. I think its scary for them to be so far away from someone they know will fight off those "monsters" should they come out.
 

Originally Posted by carmel23 

Thank you for your reply!
We've never slept on different floors from our kids so yeah, that is why we were all up on the same floor... I like the idea of a shorter loft bed.  That would be cool, and we did plan on hanging curtains to make discrete spaces.  And I hate it when it is time for bed and there are toys all over the place. 

And they do like to be together... so having one bedroom is kind of cool, they can talk to each other as they go to sleep. 

It just seems kind of radical, yk?  Why typically everyone has a bedroom... or 2 kids per room. 

Is there something I'm not thinking of? The kids still come and play in our room a ton... when they are all home my DD has no trouble going upstairs if her bros are there... it is just when she is here home from her school when her bros are still in school....

[Momsteader]

Oh and a tip.....definitely buy the hardware kit FROM OP!!! The first ones we built, we bought our own and ended up spending more than the kit/shipping and we couldn't find the exact size bolts so it was fussy to put up.  This time, we bought the kit (as recommended) and it went up easy and was almost half what we'd have paid for the hardware locally.

[carmel23]

Originally Posted by Mommyofalmost6 

Well I can comment on the radical part lol. We are a family of 8 in a 4b= bedroom and while we have it set up for 2 per room kid wise lol I can tell you it does NOT work that way. I have the two youngest in my room more then not and the other 4 in their sisters room more then in their room. I figure as long as everyone sleeps I dont care where they are sleeping!

My little ones are not fans of being upstairs with out a "bigger" person either. I think its scary for them to be so far away from someone they know will fight off those "monsters" should they come out.
 

 

Yeah, it is funny how they don't like to be up there alone.  And I agree, as long as everyone goes to bed and sleeps, it doesn't really matter!

[carmel23]

good to know!  Thanks! 

When my DH and I first got married we lived in a converted warehouse and had a bed hanging from the ceiling on big chains :)

[Momsteader]

Very neat!  My brother had a bed like this when we were kids! :)  It was the envy of all! LOL

Originally Posted by carmel23 

good to know!  Thanks! 

When my DH and I first got married we lived in a converted warehouse and had a bed hanging from the ceiling on big chains :)

[Mommyofalmost6]

Ok can I admit that it took me a good few months to be ok with being upstairs in my own home by myself? It just gave me the creeps. I can totally get why little kids dont like it!

[chel]

i love having a main level play area.  i agree with others.  keep baby with you and olders in other room.  once the boys need their own room you can divide them

[GearGirl]

I wouldn't make any changes yet, it sounds like things are working for you.  My 10 year old is not at a point where he seems to want his own room yet either (although he has it), I keep thinking it will happen, but maybe not?  We have a three bedroom, and three kids.  Right now I have a small room for dd (7), a medium room for ds (10), and in our bedroom we have me, dh, and our ds2 (3).  It would be great to get ds2 out of our room, but he is crazy attached and still nursing.  I think when he does he will go in with ds1.  In your case things are working well so I would leave it.  I think if/when your oldest starts looking for his own space then offer him your downstairs playroom, and have the others share the largest upstairs room.  But, when you need to decide I think it will be more obvious who wants to share, and what will work.  

[worthy]

No time to read the other replies, but (until a few weeks ago when things changed; I'll spare you the story and just share the relevant stuff) we have 2G 2B and a 3br house where one br was never used as a br - it was a living space, office space, guest room, playroom, etc.  So effectively we had 2br.  Small ones.

Well, actually for a long time we had 1br.  We had all the kids in our room until they were 8, 7, 4, and 3.  Then the two oldest (boys) moved into their own bedroom and have been there ever since.  It's a small room but they have bunk beds and have divided the remaining floor space down the middle so that they each have their "own space."  This is super important for my oldest, who is a solitary kind of person and needs to have a corner where others don't go.  His brother/roommate has been respectful of this (you walk through the younger's space to get to the older's space).  The oldest actually has a desk and a bookcase, and a small dresser.  The younger has a bookcase and a small dresser and more floor space.

And the girls are still sharing a room with us and that's only now changing, at ages almost-7 and 8.  They have bunk beds in our bedroom and we had a king in there for awhile and then downsized to a queen.  They will keep the bunks.  When they were very little, they slept foot-to-head in the same bed until they outgrew that arrangement...one pillow at each end.

When we were all in the same room, it was a king bed, queen futon on the floor, and bunk beds.  Almost no floor space, but it didn't matter - we were happy and we all slept great. 

The key to our making it work is that the bedroom that is shared with parents is essentially JUST a sleeping/dressing/clothes-storage room.  Not a playroom, not a room for toys.  This way it stays tidy and ready for sleeping without cleanup.  And it kept me from going crazy from kid messes in my bedroom.  Though for us it was also the "store laundry until it can get put away" and "sort and fold all the laundry" room - LOL.

Things have changed and the girls are about to have their own room now, which is really exciting for them.  They are less territorial than the boys and I am guessing some of their toys will move in with them now that DH and I are moving out.

Anyway, it was an arrangement that worked extremely well for our family; nobody ever was scared of the dark or being alone at night because they never were!  I'd suggest sharing a room with your youngest two until they're of an age where they're comfortable with you moving downstairs.  Until then, that downstairs room could be playspace, and when you move your bedroom down there, the toys can shift up to the bedrooms.

Good luck.

[carmel23]

I wish there were more people who were not so "2 kids per room or you are weird" as y'all are <3

[holyhelianthus]

Your set up seems fine. If your daughter is scared you may be able to do a slower easier transition that she finds less stressful. 

We live in a small 3 bedroom home with 5 little girls (ages 7 to 20 months). The oldest 3 share one room and the twins are in another. For the 3 older girls we have a trundle daybed type of thing. The trundle goes away during the day so they have plenty of room to play. The third bed is situated between the wall and the other bed as a mattress on the floor. In the twins room- which is pretty small- there are two toddler beds which leaves plenty of room for play. The bedrooms are right next to each other so the girls play in both rooms and the little hall- it's like one big playroom for them. DH and I sleep in the room in the front of the house. 

[nicolelynn]

I shared a room with 3 younger brothers off an on until I was 12. Pretty weird by today's standard (of course, that was only 18 years ago) but I survived. I simply dressed and undressed in the bathroom when I got a bit older. We were homeschooled so I was used to hanging out with my brothers all the time. Can't say I always liked it and by 12 I was extremely grateful when we built a 3rd room on our house and I got my own room. We usually had a bunk bed plus a trundle bed to make more room.