tiny teen bedroom - what needs to go in?

[09ohuh4]

Currently in the process of buying a house with a tiny box room that will be DS' as have two DDs who will have to share the big one. DS is still in primary school but thinking for the future - what did your DS absolutely had to have in their box room growing up?

I wouldn’t bother with a wardrobe in a small room. Our boys don’t have them. They have some hooks on the back of their doors for their school blazer and clean shirt for the next day. The small number of other hanging items are kept in our wardrobe. But teenage boys don’t really have many hanging items. Most of their clothes are folded in their drawers.

Yes, I wonder what teen boys actually need in their rooms.

My teen has his uniform, his sports equipment, his gcse study guides, notes, school bits etc, some souvenirs and his clothes. He is very in to his clothes.

I think what they need is going to partly depend on what they're into and what you can have elsewhere. And your rules around tech in bedroom. If they are a big gamer you might want a computer in there, but we like to keep those in communal spaces. Maybe a TV, but equally lots of kids just watch on tablets now. Big reader will want bookshelves. Big into sports, probably just the basics as they'll be out doing sporty stuff all the time. I think if you can keep it flexible so you can move stuff in and out over the years it's the best approach.

DD's room is similar size.

On one long wall she has a single bed and then a tall but narrow bookcase. She has shelves over the bed and storage under the bed.

On the opposite wall (which has reduced space due to the door), she has another small bookcase, a chest of drawers and a hanging rail.
There is no room for a wardrobe or a desk. When she started secondary school she had a folding desk and folding chair which she set up in the bit in the middle when she was working. However, we've had to reconfigure the house to provide DS (who works from home) with a workspace, so she now shares that space with him as they tend to work opposite hours.

I found both my children outgrew cabin beds around 12/13 so would advise against one.

I'd say consider what he'd need/ want now, then adapt your plan for the future. Ask him what he thinks he'd need in his room, and whether it would change as he grows up? There'll be some things that aren't negotiable (Eg a bed), but some things which may be up to him (would be want a wardrobe or just a chest of drawers? Does he want a desk?)
If he has a bigger room now it'll be an adjustment to go into a smaller room, so it'd probably be a good idea to carve out some space for him elsewhere in the house, which will help future proof his small room too.
Could he have a cupboard or locker in the dining room for his school books and bags? How about a locker or cupboard in the garage for his sports gear? What about a shelf for his books in the living room? If you've got a suitable gap on the landing, could his wardrobe or bookshelf go there instead?

If the room has panelling or a dado rail near the ceiling, this could be great extra storage space!

I'd say your best bet on fitting more into the room would be a bed along the lines of this
https://www.wayfair.co.uk/children-nursery/pdp/hashtag-home-lilianna-single-3-bed-frame-loft-bed-with-built-in-desk-by-viv-rae-hvw11685.html?piid=40793807 with a bed, desk, wardrobe and storage all in the same space, but he may well have outgrown that by the age of 14-ish.

I was thinking whether we should put some built in furniture as a space saving idea. Thank you for all these suggestions.

DD's room is 240x240. She has two shelves that go almost all around the entire room (obviously not where the door or window are), a single bed, a 2x4 Kallax for clothes, 1x2 Kallax for a bedside table, and a desk with a drawer in it. Small but perfectly formed!

This is a fantastic idea, it makes a huge difference.

Avoid IKEA as their mattresses are a bit longer than UK standard. We ended up buying a cheap basic wooden bedframe and hacking a couple of inches off it to fit. The mattress still squished on OK.

@Sunskysea Have you drilled holes in the hardboard and top of the units? The bottom of your mattress will go mouldy if it’s not ventilated. Great idea for a small room.

Ds has the box room, he is lucky that it has a built in wardrobe which goes into the space above the stairs so not taking up any of his floor space, normal shape, not one of those triangle things.

He has a gamin bed which has his TV attached and a basket for his console. He also has some shelves for books and figures and some ikea storage.

He can study downstairs.

My boys each had rooms 7.5 foot square with a built in wardrobe. They had a chest of drawers and a smaller one in the bottom of the wardrobe. It was fine when they were little. If there’s no built in I’d have wardrobe half hanging space, half shelves and shelves on the wall🙂

If the stairs bulkhead is in his room, get the bed built to go on top of it. Will free up space at the end of the bed for a small desk.

I don’t recommend cabin beds at all. Both my sons had them but grew out of them by 13. Had to get rid of them and get a proper bed.

My younger teen has a tiny room and he has a bed, wardrobe and desk. He’s happy so long as he has his PlayStation. Nothing else matters! Most of the time he is out playing football anyway.

My sons bed goes across the width of the room in front of the window. He has a very tall wardrobe on one side and a ikea desk on yhe other. We built a shelf so his chest of draws can on that, with the slope of the stairs underneath. It's cosy but everything fits. He isn't tidy and that's the biggest issue. There's only about 1sq metre of floor which is normally covered!

Not all cabin beds are the same my DS has one that is a full size single and is still using in his 20s, he is 6 foot.

What is a cabin bed? Is it something like this? I thought that it would be really handy with all the drawers.
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/slaekt-bed-frame-w-storage-slatted-bedbase-white-s29291956/?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuve5sbP6_wIVAcftCh217AaJEAQYAyABEgLb3PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

the SLAKT that you have linked above is great

most cabin beds are a bit higher and aimed at under 10s
https://www.next.co.uk/style/st396144/591412#591412

high-sleepers are aimed at teens but can make a small room feel even smaller
https://www.next.co.uk/style/st341695/323936#323936

Highly recommend the reduced depth IKEA pax wardrobe. Less than 40cm deep but you can still get plenty in them, especially if you get the max height ones.

Would something like this work in the space you have? As you can see all the floor space underneath it might make the room feel more spacious. It depends where the window is as you probably want to keep that clear.

www.argos.co.uk/product/7966422

It was a high sleeper my DD had, Scallywag one that someone linked to earlier. I do think it made the room feel smaller as it took up most of the space and it blocked the window a bit.

Our youngest had a tiny room with a high raised bed and space under it.

My son's room is only 5'6" x 9ft and we are trying to get some building work done to give him a bigger room but no one is available. He is 14 this month and comfortable in his loft bed with desk and chest of drawers underneath and slim wardrobe. He actually likes how cosy it feels and it's nice and warm in the winter. I spent so much time worrying about every aspect of it and he's completely fine with what he has. I spent £50 on the bed on Facebook, used his existing mattress and then bought a nice offcut of carpet and painted the walls so I knew I could try it without spending a fortune. Don't overthink it!

I'm looking at one of these for my DD, then I would probs just get some draws or other storage unit to put a TV on, then a comfy chair so they use it at the desk or to watch TV, okay ps5 etc

Bed, desk, clothes rail.