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Original poster

any top tips for a properly tiny box bedroom?

67 replies

VolumniaDedlock · 09/08/2015 15:38

dd2 is currently in the boxroom which is 8' by 6"6. she's in a toddler bed, but at nearly 5 we're on borrowed time there. Moving/extending not an option.

we've agreed that dd1 (8.5) is going to move into the boxroom, as dd2 has more Big Toys, plus she's served her time in the little room. At first we thought a high sleeper might be the answer, but now I'm worried about how much of the window that would block (annoyingly, the window is big, and tall, and bang in the middle of the narrow back wall), and whether it would dominate such a little room. A midsleeper is now my preferred option, with a clothes rail at the foot of the bed as that would leave no room for a wardrobe. And wall shelves (string shelves or cheapo copy) on the free wall.

Does anyone have any better ideas???

OP posts:
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Scootergrrrl · 10/08/2015 12:55

My room at university was this kind of shape and I took the legs off my bed and had it underneath the window along the short wall. What about a single futon or something? It seems like the light is one of the best things about the room and it would be a shame to block it out. She could have a blackout blind on the window to save having curtains dangling in her face.

iwouldgoouttonight · 10/08/2015 13:03

Is the room definitely too narrow to fit a bed under the window? We've got a day bed for DS which I think isn't quite as long as a normal single bed and it goes under the window. It covers the very bottom of the window but doesn't really stop any light. We've then put a wardrobe on the opposite wall. There is very little space in between but DS often plays on his bed as well as the floor. The problem with a high sleeper is they can't just sit on there if they're playing with a friend whose sitting on the floor.

A friend also with a tiny box room has replaced the door with a sliding door which frees up a bit more space.

Original poster
VolumniaDedlock · 10/08/2015 13:04

Scootergrrrl I think the depth of the skirting boards might just prevent a single going under the window by a whisker. I am going to have a remeasure and check though, just as soon as I find out where dd2 has hidden the bloody measuring tape Hmm

OP posts:
PrimeraVez · 10/08/2015 13:05

Is it an option to put both DC in the one room (bunk beds?) and then use the box room as their playroom/study/reading room?

midgeymum2 · 10/08/2015 13:15

Could you take the skirting off?

DelGirl · 10/08/2015 13:16

I've not read the whole thread so it may have already been suggested. If do isn't particularly tall then you could get a shorty divan. I think they're 5'9. You could put it alongside the windows which would free up the rest of the room. But you'd still fit a usual length bed in there too

DelGirl · 10/08/2015 13:18

You could remove the skirting...In ref to your last post op

allithwaite · 10/08/2015 13:19

we had a highsleeper till DD13 now have a bathroom and put DD into a new large attic bedroom. so was a win win we have an ensuite and DD has massive bedroom

PrimalLass · 10/08/2015 13:59

Just try and get a bed that fits the width in front of the window. It'll mean moving the radiator, but that'll be worth it. If the skirtings are too high then put bigger legs on the bed. Then get full depth drawers on castors.

Gunpowderplot · 10/08/2015 14:05

I'd also put bunk beds in for the DDs to share, and then they can have a good sized room for playing in and keeping most of their stuff in.

titchy · 10/08/2015 15:08

Get a short bed!

Original poster
VolumniaDedlock · 10/08/2015 15:20

thanks again for all your thoughts
measurement of under the window is 191cm - I think even with hacking off the skirting on each side we'd still be short for a standard single. I'm not keen on getting a short bed as I was 5'7 by the age of 11!

DDs sharing a room is really not a preferred option for us, as they fight like cat and dog. It's a shame, as the other room is a really generous double which would work well as a shared space.

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allwornout0 · 10/08/2015 15:30

My dd's room is the same shape as yours but we were able to put a normal single bed under the window with the fitted furniture along the right hand wall and chest of drawers attached where your door opens onto.
The desk is on the left hand wall.
We turned the door opening so that open onto the left side wall which also helped.

Kitella · 10/08/2015 15:37

I'd go for the shorty bed!

They come in a variety of sizes (shop around) and some are only a few inches smaller than a normal bed. We have just moved my 11 year old out of her shorty bed. Not because it didn't fit her anymore, but because after five and a bit years, the bed was knackered and needed replacing. My daughter is amongst the taller children in her class too. She's almost 5 foot.

By the time your daughter is too tall for a shorty bed, she'll be wanting her room to be redone, to have something more 'grown up'.

moonbells · 10/08/2015 15:37

DS is in a 7' X 9' and we've gone for a high sleeper from MrsFlatPack.
this one but they do have a lot of different designs. Took two of us a day to put up though!

That gave him a whopping huge drawer, a hanging wardrobe and a desk as well as quite a few bookshelves. It's also a full-size single and capable of taking adult weight.

We added in toy storage which was the same as a lot of schools have - the big Gratnells boxes and solid wooden frames. It has all worked very well.

BikeRunSki · 10/08/2015 17:59

Neighbours of ours have a bedroom like this. Their room has space taken out of it by the stairhead. They had a fitted bedroom company build in a bed, extended above the stairs, along the whole of a short side (ie in your room, under the window). Thus has drawers built in underneath it. They are the whole width and length of the bed, so really space efficient. Lots of shelves at shoulder height. A bank of hooks on the walls and a drop down table in lieu of a desk.

titchy · 10/08/2015 18:23

6ft length beds here:
bed

PrimalLass · 10/08/2015 18:36

I think even with hacking off the skirting on each side we'd still be short for a standard single.

A standard single is 190. You'd have to have one where the legs were set in a few cm so the base cleared the height of the skirting boards, but it would work fine.

PrimalLass · 10/08/2015 18:42

I mean like this:
dayex.co.uk/divan-bed-base-in-pvc-waterproof-material.html

PrimalLass · 10/08/2015 18:43

Then I would look at shutters and curtains to keep the draughts out.

PrimalLass · 10/08/2015 18:46

Then something like a shallow but tall Pax behind the door:

any top tips for a properly tiny box bedroom?
Original poster
VolumniaDedlock · 10/08/2015 18:47

Ah, but the measurement of 190cm for a standard single is for the mattress size, not the frame. I've scoured the web for a bed with a frame size of 193cm or less but no dice.

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SugarPlumTree · 10/08/2015 18:53

A divan should do it as has no frame so literally the length of mattress. DS has his bed in a alcove with a divan that literally just fits the space needing a bit of a push.had to move the radiator.

VioletBumble · 10/08/2015 18:58

You've probably thought of it but you can get 2 foot 6 width single beds (rather than the standard 3 foot) if that helps, gives a bit more leeway for bedside tables and floorspace. Double divan drawers underneath would store most of her clothes.

Flugelpip · 10/08/2015 19:01

This post just came up on Apartment Therapy - some quite similar layouts, I think.
www.apartmenttherapy.com/narrow-bedroom-decorating-ideas-222040?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=managed

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