Tiny bedroom size

[Unicornspirit]

My daughter's bedroom is 6.8 long by 6ft wide. She really struggles in there. No room to swing a cat. She has a single midsleeper, a tallboy and a clothes rail that takes up all the space. No room to play, do homework or anything. It's getting her down and it's getting me down. I know in HMO standards her room is too small to be allowed for a child but this is just a normal housing association flat. No one wants to swap because the 2nd bedroom is so poky.
So if it's too small for HMO standards is there anything about it being too small in other housing situations. It seems bloody unfair.
I've really tried to make use of storage units under her bed etc but it's not really working.
Any ideas.
I dread being stuck here for years because I'm "suitably" housed.

@IDoAllMyOwnStunts

Sofa bed for you in lounge? She has your room. Her room becomes your dressing room?

This, it's the obvious solution, and perfectly manageable as an interim solution whilst you save up to move.

I don't think with 2 beds and a reception room for a couple and a child you'd be seen as overcrowded, however small the 2nd bedroom is. We have a tiny box room like that in our house and DS lived in it until he was 11. He just needed to play outside of his bedroom. His bedroom was for sleeping/dressing/reading and relaxing. Playing and homework was done in other areas of the house. It was just the way it was until we could afford to extend, and honestly, I don't ever really remember him complaining, despite the fact that his sister had a much much bigger room.

I think that sized bedrooms are very common. So 2 beds is a double and a box, while a 3 bed is two doubles and a box. What you are really asking for is a 3 bed. My kids don’t have their clothes in their rooms. It just won’t fit. They have a bed, a desk and a cupboard for stuff.

We took the wardrobe out of our smallest bedroom and put most of DD's clothes in drawers and kept her school clothes in our room. Then I'd get her uniform ready for the next day and put it on her bed when she was having breakfast. Not having the height of the wardrobe made the room feel bigger.

I think that's a pretty standard box room. Most 3 bed semi's are 2 small doubles and a similar size box. I know plenty of kids who grew up sharing the box room.

Can you put her rail or tall boy in your room to give her more floor space? What does she actually need the space for at 9 that she can't do in the living room?

Yup I find a midsleeper poor in this situation. Get her a standard single bed with some really good solid drawers underneath, and some wall shelves or units. She will get just as much stuff underneath as you can get under a midsleeper - often with a midsleeper the back half is just empty - and she she getting too big now to play under a midsleeper comfortably so it's not a good use of space. Just a nice normal height bed is enough. 9 year olds don't tend to play on floors anyway. As long as there is a table downstairs for her to use occasionally she should be fine.

A mattress can actually be squished onto a built in bedframe that is a tiny bit shorter than it. Depending on where the door is I would build a bed in across the shorter width of the room, or under the window, whichever makes more sense. Then go high with a cheap (and therefore not huge) triple wardrobe, which would give storage for clothes and maybe some toys. Wall shelves for books and trinkets over the bed.

Even the tiniest bedroom can be lovely with really careful planning and maybe a bit of hacking. Getting the door rehung to open outwards would be money well spent if you can stretch to it.

when I say triple wardrobe I mean something like this, really not super-wide www.argos.co.uk/product/8547644?clickPR=plp:6:49

What about a fold up or single sofa bed chair in her room . It wont be high , she can move it out of the way to play and will be soft.
I have a fold up bed for visitors and it is v v easy to ping open n close . Then the rest of the time she cam play

Takes less than a minuite to fold out my fold out bed.
It sounds like the current situation means she bumps herself too much and is not working.
Could fold up bed be the solution.? With shelves for the stuff and hangers below some of the shelves.
Her stuff can be put into clear ( for ease) containers and folded vertically ans lots can be stored that way.
Id do that. Then she has a room to play in and a safe bed to sleep in .

As an alternative i know someone who built a bed accross the window accross the shortest width of the room mid height.
. The daughter stored her clothes underneath. She then had a bookcase built at one end quite high with room for her feet when lying down.
This housed her homework and lap top.
Below was clothes. She then had a narrow book case for toys books and a small place to play. She loved that cosy room and doing her homework in the bed

My son is in the same size room, we're lucky that he's old enough to have a high sleeper with desk and space underneath. I did invest in an Ikea PAX wardrobe without doors (they do a 38cm depth one that should fit) and have had this fitted out with shelves for storage. We've got the storage boxes that go on top of it too so it goes from floor to ceiling and is a game changer for storage.

If you could draw the room so we know where is the door and window, mabye we could help you with layout.

My DDs bedroom is small, she has a mid sleeper with toys and den underneath and a desk in her room. Shelves on the walls.
All clothes are actually in my room, we just share wardrobe.
She is 9 also and I'm finding not so interested in toys anymore, more keen to have just a space to chill.

I would actually get a lower bed. A mid height means she can’t just sit and lounge on it easily alone or with friends

Maybe ikea hemnes daybed type thing. It has 3 large drawers under, and can then add cushions to make it comfy to sit on in the day. Use as single bed.

Then use the walls. At the bottom of the bed add shelving on the wall. Can then add baskets, books, school stuff, tv or tablet to watch films.

Table the wardrobe/ rail out of it. Just use the narrow tall drawer set. Add some hooks on the back of the door for basics to hang, and everything else fold or hang in your wardrobe

My sons room is small and he gets on better on a low bed, with rolling plastic boxes under it for most of his stuff. His clothes are on a peg rail down one wall and there was room for a billy bookcase with a door as they are thin and he has his pants and socks in that, with a few other bits

My 10yo daughter has a similar sized room. None of us use wardrobes anyway, clothes are folded and put in drawers. Coats and jackets are hung up under stairs.Daughter has single bed, bedside table, small desk and wall mounted shelves in her room. Her (small) chest of drawers is in our room. It works fine for now.

My childhood room was that size, I moved out at 21. It's a normal size fit the box room.