To ask for your amazing box room solutions?

[Islands81]

Poor dd2 drew the short straw and has the tiniest box room in the world. We’ve been here 5 years and I’m currently in the process of binning/donating pretty much all the stuff she had that she never plays with (12 bin bags and counting!).

She refuses to sleep in her high up bed anymore because she once saw a spider (she’s being assessed for ASD and gets a bed in her bonnet about stuff) , so at her request I’ve now bought her a day bed, which has drawers and a pull out trundle underneath. So the big bed is going which is going to create a storage nightmare.

She still has a fuck ton of stuff she claims she can’t part with which is in my room at the moment. Toys, organised into big storage boxes, books, games, the biggest hamster cage in the world, sparkly bags and all that shit. Currently her clothes are not in her room and I can’t see that changing. Where the feck am I going to put all this stuff?

I’ve included a pic so you can see my problem. Please don’t judge the mess (it’s a work in progress!) or the hideous pink walls (she chose them a few years ago and they’re going).

Please share any box room storage miracles that you have!

@cluedoaddict

No problem if too much hassle but I'd love to see a pic of the seperated bedroom ... Or a pm'd rightmove link? Particularly what they did with the door?

Our twins share the boxroom (think i'll be revisiting this thread once theyre a bit bigger). The pink looks great in the daylight. We have a similar pink and blue on opposite walls with pale grey on the two end walls and it goes well together

We have a similar pink - satin bow by Duluth - very vintage... we have painted the Ikea spice racks to match!

Dulux- stupid spellcheck

Was thinking about painting the ikea racks with white chalk paint as most of the furniture is white. Also noticed when I was there last week that they do a bigger version of the spice rack which is actually meant for holding books, they are more expensive but dd has a lot of books and it will be a better use of the space so I think I will get some of those on my next trip. This is the name if anyone is interested.

www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/childrens-ikea-products/children-3-7/small-storage/flisat-wall-storage-art-00290778/

Could you swap rooms with her? I've got the tiny room in our house and my DC share the biggest. Mine just fits a double bed with room to walk up the side if you turn sideways! I have a chest of drawers at the end and that's it, my wardrobe is in DC room but I mostly use a rack on the back of my door. I figured I'm in there much less time than the DC are in theirs so a better use of the rooms for us.

Put the Billy shelves against the wall with the window and possibly look at adding the half size ones (or Kallax) underneath the window. Depending upon what is behind the bed on the other side of the window, add more shelving. Cardboard storage boxes can be pretty/decorative and mean you don't have to look at all her crap whilst it's kept together.

It'll make it feel more open than seeing the side of a shelf (and give more storage space).

Move the curtain pole up so that the curtains end on windowsill level (if you want to keep them - turn them into cushions for her daybed otherwise), add a blackout blind inside the window recess.

Stick to light, muted shades for the walls and add colour in the soft furnishings, storage boxes and any pictures.

I'd also think about adding a well secured line (like the IKEA window cables) up high along the left wall for hanging random kids' shit handbags and suchlike and a floating shelf underneath that, rather than actually over the bed, because some people hate the feeling of anything hanging over them at night (and if it collects dust, it's likely to collect spiders abseiling off it).

If you have room behind the door, I'd put a chest of drawers there with a mirror and storage above, with something like the kitchen rails running underneath to dangle more kid shit various items. Like hair straighteners if she's getting old enough to be interested in that sort of thing. Good lighting will help there as well - maybe a light panel, rather than a lamp?

Stick in another line of LED fairy lights and a dimmable lamp on the shelving under the window and I think it'll seem far roomier and comfortable.

Swapping rooms did cross my mind but I’d still need to store all my clothes in the big room, and when she gets to be a teenager she’s not going to want me traipsing in and out all the time. Also my bed is king size and I’d have to get a new bed...

Just doing the last bit of cutting in 🎉.

Got someone coming next week to remove this plug socket, as that’s where the wardrobe will be and it will be sticking out in to the room more than it needs to. In a room this size 2 inches counts!

And I found this nifty extension cable in b&q today, it has six plugs and two USB ports. It’s really compact. Solves the problem of dd only having 2 plug sockets in the room once the other ones are removed.

I think a king size would fit sideways, under the window, as they are 6 foot 6 long. I may have misread your room size though! I had tiny rooms throughout my childhood, by choice, as I loved them.

No pic 🤔

Could she have your room?

Kids usually have a lot more stuff than adults and need room to play, have friends around etc.
OH and I don't have the biggest room, those have gone to the kids- they have a bigger need.

Does the socket have to be removed, could it not just be moved a few feet?

There’s not going to be anywhere else along that wall that it would be any more use so its better to just get rid of it,

Might be worth asking the electrician if they can add one a few feet from the one you have left. It should be pretty easy. I think the pink colour is lovely by the way.

Great ideas here! I’m buying a house and will have this problem too. Tiny box room over the stairs. Thankfully mine loves the idea of a tiny room.

Can you not just make a hole in the back of the wardrobe for the plug socket, that way you could still use it and don’t have the expense of moving it?

My bf suggested cutting a hole in the wardrobe too, I have a friend who is an electrician though who will remove the socket for the cost of a pint, so I think that’s what I’ll do rather than risk buggering up the wardrobe. Also my bf is crippled with a bad back and I haven’t seen him for ages so he’s not much help at the moment!

Currently wrestling with blind fitting. Harder than you’d think 😂

We've got 2 small bedrooms and ended up buying a divan with drawers from www.divanbasedirect.co.uk/collections/divan-bases

It works well as it's the same length as the mattress, no longer, and no assembly nightmares in a tiny room.

We used an Ikea Stuva wardrobe which has a tiny footprint. Shelf instead of bedside table so you can get in the drawers underneath. Lots of shelves on the walls and hooks for dressing gowns and PE kits.

Did it! Girl power! Looks so much better than the curtains did.

Op, you have me hooked. This thread is riveting, and I say that with the utmost sincerity. Well done on the blind, it looks really well. I can't wait to see what happens next. The pink is lovely.

Some brilliant ideas on here. Ds is currently in the box room but he's 1 so hasn't accumulated much stuff yet... Op room is coming along really well can't wait to see it finished.

Thanks Hippo! Now I’ve cracked the blind fitting I’m tempted to get rid of all the curtains in my house...

We've been in our house 9 years and got vertical blinds fitted when we moved in on all the windows except the kitchen which we finally got round to last summer. My lack of power tools was my down fall and I had to call a neighbour in to help so good on you!