Double vs small double for teen

[worldcupfan]

Hello everyone,

I am moving into my "first" ever proper home in a couple of months and becoming a bit overwhelmed with all the stuff that I need to get.

DS, 12, will be having his first proper bedroom at the new place (we live in a very small 1 bed flat). He has a single bedroom at the new place but it is a decent size. Not as big as a double bedroom but he could fit two single beds as a stretch in the new place.

I'm not sure if I should get him a small double bed or a double bed? A double bed will fit but I would want space for the wardrobe, desk and chair and... (what else do you need for a teen room?)

My 21 year old (mainly at uni) has a small double, drawers both sides, a desk (with drawers) a standard 2 door wardrobe and he’s fine. He’s tall, well over 6ft.

not sure if I should get him a small double bed or a double bed? A double bed will fit but I would want space for the wardrobe, desk and chair and... (what else do you need for a teen room?)
Eh?
If you can only fit a double at the expense of a wardrobe, desk, etc - why are you even considering it? What would be the point?

My teens have singles, neither has the space for a double. The sofa bed downstairs gets used for sleepovers and the teen boy and mates happily crash on it together. Or they go pitch a tent in someone's garden and stay out.

Re wardrobes: if floor space is at a premium my top tip is to get the tallest IKEA Pax single wardrobe that you can and get a set of their Komplement drawers to sit inside. No need for a separate chest of drawers then.

I'd go for a small double.
Many years from now you may wish to use his room as a guest room and a small double ensures guests don't overstay their welcome .

Hi - I got a bed with four drawers, ie two on each side. We hang most of his stuff in the wardrobe, plus he has a small 3 drawer unit that we have inside the wardrobe, as in you open the wardrobe, his stuff is hanging on the high rail, and the drawers are where you might otherwise have a lower rail. Then a show rack next to that. Works for us!

Shoe rack that should say!

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/cat/beds-bm003/f/small-double-bed-si009/

Small double is perfect especially if your DS ends up 6'2" by the age of 15 as mine did. Gave him enough space to sleep comfortably. Double duvet and fitted sheet from amazon. Dead easy.

If space is an issue you need to compromise and coming up to exam years a decent sized desk and chair is important if that is going to be where he is studying.

We recently did ds's room where space is an issue and put in a few of these Ikea Eket cubes above ds's desk, they come in lots of colours. Really easy to build/hang with the right wall plugs (the metal ones) and hold lots of his books and other bits and pieces up out the way. Only warning is they are just a couple of mm too small for an A4 ring binder inside, ds doesn't use many ring binders, but they can go on top if you organise them so there is a end for them to lean against.

My 10 year old has a small double. He loves being able to stretch out.

We have the IKEA Pax and also had someone put it up for us because it fell apart after 3 years. I'm not sure if the quality is even good.

Sorry to hear that. We’ve put many in over the years and never had a problem. Regardless the principle applies: a wardrobe with internal drawers helps save space in a small room.

It doesn't sound like there's space for even a small double without compromising on absolutely everything else. I'd stick with a decent quality single. He will want the room for more than just sleeping in.

We went for a small double for teen dd. Would recommend getting a normal double duvet for it as not much choice in small double size.

I'd go for a double high sleeper with plenty of room underneath for a desk and other storage.

You can fit two single beds in the room but that would leave very very little space for a wardrobe and no space for a desk and chairs.

A double bed is smaller than 2 singles though.

Yes, a small double will fit, alongside a chest of drawers, a wardrobe and a desk. But I wasn't sure if it was worth getting just a normal double.

Hi Op my 14 year old is 6 ft - he grew rapidly and has a double bed - it’s pushed into the corner and there is just room to walk round it between wardrobe and a small ikea desk .

If DS parents are tall I would say definitely get the double bed - at that age they really don’t need floor space and they don’t need to have the bed in the middle of the room either

We had a small double for DD at that age, she used that right up until moving out very recently (she's 24 now).

DS's small double is from Ikea!

Ok sorry they do do them! But very limited range and they’re pretty pricey for ikea. The cheapest divan with no headboard is £299, if you want the headboard too it’s £399. Meanwhile there are loads of double frames around the £100 mark, the cheapest being only £64. The mattress range is the same thing- only the expensive ones available in small double. So my point still stands, a small double is way more expensive than a standard double.

However, if OP’s DS is only 12 and currently has a single I would just stick with that for now. I’m sure he’s not over 6ft already and floorplans are good but you get the best sense of what works in a room once you’re actually living in it.

Why does a 12 year old need a double?

We only changed dd's to a small double when she finished uni because her bf used to stay over. Ironically they finished soon after so we could have stuck to a single.

Move in with the single, once you have the furniture in you can then decide how much space you have. I do recommend the doubles with drawers or than lift for storage, DD's was pushed against the wall

I'd be inclined to go for a high double and put the desk under the bed

If it's a height issue and you're limited on space you're better off going with a European/UK XL single (90 x 200cm - try Ikea) which is the same length as a UK king. A UK single & double is the same length, you need a king before it gets longer. Yes plenty of tall adults have survived without a longer bed but having the ability to lie straight rather than feet hanging off end or curled up is better for a growing teen.