Is it possible to make a 5x7ft bedroom comfortable for a child once they outgrow the cot?

[Pascha]

We have a decision to make:

1. Swap the bathroom and third room back around to what they were originally, giving a reasonable size bedroom and a tiny bathroom. This is apparently quite difficult (according to my plumber husband and FIL) and we will probably not see a return for our money when we eventually come to sell.
   
   
2. Leave DS2 there and make the room as good as possible, maybe by building in a bed rather than attempting to put a single in
   
   
3. Move. Not practically possible til we have two incomes again.
   
   
4. Put both boys in together in our large bedroom once DS2 is out of the cot while we have DS1's smaller but perfectly good sized room ourselves.
   
   What would you choose?

[RandomMess]

I would build a bed along the short wall so only 4'7" it will last a lot longer than you think at which point you may be able to move anyway or loft conversion or some other alternative. My friends 13 year old is still in an Ikea bed that is only 165 long.

My dc slept in their cots with their sides off until about 4 and still had loads of room length ways.

[PfftTheMagicDraco]

DD has a mid sleeper with space underneath in her tiny room. The room was too narrow for a single, so we bought a wooden frame one and cut it to size, ordered a mattress made to measure.

She can use the space underneath to play.

[LittleFrieda]

I've size of rooms.

[LittleFrieda]

My daughter isn't the youngest but she has the smallest bedroom. She adores it, it's her little sanctuary. There is no jealousy at all about rooms or I've of rooms. You can make very small spaces very lovely.

[Dededum]

We have the same set up as you 2 very big rooms and 1 tinie and 2 boys 2 years apart. They have shared but didn't work out long term, youngest was quite happy in smallest for a while but lack of play space was a stress.
Last year completed loft conversion and DS2 moved into big room. First thing he did was asked for a double bed as he wanted to s..t..r..e..t..c..h out.

Your youngest will be ok for 4 or 5 years, then you can re-assess.

[flow4]

I had this situation a few years ago.

Swapping the bedroom/bathroom is usually a lot of expense and upheaval: with a standard bathroom replacement, you whip one out and stick another in within a day or two; but moving rooms, all the pipework, drains, electric wiring and ventilation need relaying, with floors and/or ceilings being ripped up meanwhile. Also, crucially, the external ventilation and drainage cost a HUGE amount to move or change, and in many cases can't actually be changed at all. If your tiny room is on the other side of the house away from the drains and in a place you couldn't dig a new one, it might be very difficult or even impossible.

Your age gap is quite small, so sharing a room might be OK. My boys are almost 5 years apart in age, and sharing only worked for a very few years, from 2+/7+ to 5/10. There were problems with different bedtimes, waking times and sleep patterns, and once my eldest hit adolescence, he needed privacy and it no longer felt appropriate for him to be sharing with a much younger child.

My eldest had the small room from 10-13/14, then they swapped so my youngest has had it from 9-13... IMO small children benefit from more space to play in, then teenagers need bigger rooms simply because they can't fit in tiny rooms, especially with a friend or two! Now I have two teens, the tiny room is a problem, and it's one of the reasons we're looking to move...

[Lancelottie]

But if the boys don't share, once the younger one realises that he has a teeny room you will get the wail of 'It's Not Fayurrrr!'

Voice of somewhat bitter experience here... DD is already encouraging DS1 to move out so she can 'finally have a proper size bedroom'.

[Samnella]

DD2s room is slightly bigger - 6x 7 I think and she hasthis shorty mid sleeper although I didn't put her in it until she was 5. She also has a chest of drawers and all her toys under the bed. Her hanging clothes in her sisters room. Ideally they would share in bunk beds but they keep each other awake

[millymae]

The first time I had a room of my own was when I went to university and it certainly didn't do me any harm. We were in the same situation as you a few years ago and decided to put our two dd's together so we could keep the very small room for storage etc. Within a very short time we had an unexpected lovely surprise on the way and had no choice but to use our 'spare' room for ds. It's so small that it will be hard to get a normal size single bed in when the time comes for hime to move into one but we've swopped the normal door for one that folds and that's given us a bit more space to play with.

[Pascha]

Bang on, MrsJamin. He thinks it's a bit of a failure if our children can't have their own room. I think he's daft. I shared with my sister for years and I'm still alive to tell the tale (even if we did try to kill each other every week or so).

I have no idea how to draw a room plan and put it online.

Window wall: 7'0 with a window 1m in the middle.
Door wall: 7'0, door to the right side as you look into the room,
Two walls: 4'7" blank.

I know I'm not seeming very receptive but all ideas are under consideration.

[MrsJamin]

I think we need to hear what your DH's objections to sharing are. It's madness to consider swapping bedrooms and bathrooms when your children who are not old enough to know any better could share quite harmoniously. It sounds like he has too much pride to look like his children "have" to share.

[BerthaTheBogCleaner]

We have ds1 (8) in a cabin bed in a 5x7 room. He has a desk and a chest of drawers, and room to build endless lego play under the bed. Ds2 (5) has a big room, and pretty much all their toys are in there. They both play in there. Ds2 is always always happy to have his big brother play with him so that works, and ds1 has his own little space when he needs it to build lego.

But I planed our previous house really thoroughly, looking ahead at what all 3 dc would need as they got older - and then we relocated, so I needn't have bothered. I think you should put the little one in a cotbed in the little room. He'll do nothing but sleep there for about 3 years yet, and then you can think about what will work next. You might have had twins by then

[nellyjelly]

My DS is in a tiny room. Shelves on one wall, small set of drawers and a toddler bed on one wall. We took the door off and ise a curtain instead. It is tiny but he was in here as a baby and his toddler bed just fits. It buys us a bit of time until we can move in a couple of years hopefully.

I store some toys in boxes under his bed but the rest are in his sisters room or downstairs. He can't play in there really but is fine for sleeping.

[AppleAndBlackberry]

I'm not sure what your layout is, but could you move one of the walls a bit and take some of the space from one of the neighbouring rooms? Might be cheaper than moving the bathroom. Otherwise I would probably do junior bed until too big and then get a mid-height storage bed even if it does block the window a bit. It should be safe as they usually have rails on both sides.

It's fine if they want to share and are happy, but it's nice to have options if they don't want to later on.

[LittleFrieda]

I wouldn't underestimate the value of having a room that is entirely yours. I would never put my children into share as I still bear the scars from a childhood spent sharing with my adorable but very very untidy sister.

[swampster]

So I'm a fan of option 4.

[swampster]

Four bedrooms here, three DSs. They share a room, have a playroom full of their junk toys, we have a small guestroom, and DH and I have the big bedroom. Works perfectly, one bed time and one bedtime story (or two, but they all hear it). Now DS1 is 9 I think he'll probably want his own room soon but until he asks for it we'll probably keep them in together.

[LittleFrieda]

Could you draw a little plan of the oom to show where the door and window are on the floor plan.

My daughter (7) has a teensy bedroom and she adores it. We managed a standard single bed but I did look into orienting the bed the other way and found a co that makes mattresses to order.

[MisForMumNotMaid]

Is it possible to pinch a bit of space by moving the partition wall between the tiny room and another?

[Pascha]

Yes, DS2 is still in a crib in our room so theres no hurry at all, just planning ahead.

[Wolfcub]

I'd do 2 until second child was about 8 and then do 4 but would ask the children at that point what they wanted

[AnnoyingOrange]

If ds2 is only 10 weeks old, you can use a cot for the next year or so, then get a toddler bed for a few more years and make a decision when the boys are older.

They might want to share or it might become apparent that they need separate rooms and you can revisit the solutions then

[Pascha]

Ooh more replies. His solution is building in a bed to fit. I am not keen as the room will be difficult whichever way we go about it. Easier all round to let them share. He objects to sharing, he says his children shouldn't have to as we have 3 bedrooms. The fact that the 3rd bedroom wasn't ever mean't to fit a bed is beside the point, apparently.

[AliceWChild]

What's your husband's solution? If he's finding problem with yours, what has he managed to come up with?

[OhTheConfusion]

Why not let the boys share DS1's current bedroom and make the small room a play area? 2.6yrs is a good age for sharing.