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Original poster

Small bedroom big house, who gets it?

57 replies

3weecherubs · 13/03/2018 22:05

looking for advice please. We’ve bought a new house, it’s a mistake, we only saw it once made a rash decision and now we are stuck. It is a great house, just a bit more work and cash than we planned and a bit smaller than we remember. But to get the point I have no idea who gets which room. I have Dd 12, DS 10and DS2 aged 7. There are 3 rooms for them but 2 are middle sized an one small. I feel DD should have it as she has less toys but she is so upset. Not in a spoiled, tantrum way but quietly teary and sad, saying its alright when I know it’s not. Any ideas, am I really just giving it to her cause she’s the oldest and I know she will suck it up? First world problems,,

OP posts:
starzig · 13/03/2018 22:40

I would say the oldest gets 1st pick.

SecondaryConfusion · 13/03/2018 22:42

Youngest gets the smallest room - them the rules!

I think if you give it to DD she may feel extra hard done by. From her POV -

  • she’s currently the one who spends most time in her room, hows it fair to give her the smallest when the other boys spend more time downstairs
  • the youngest is bound to have toys downstairs. Again, how is it fair that he gets a big room for his toys but his toys are also downstairs?
  • she’ll poss move out for uni at 18. If she’d had a larger room, assume smallest would have swapped to it and still had his teenage years in a large bedroom. Whereas hers were spent crammed in the smallest bedroom
  • when her friends come round, the stinky brothers will be downstairs bothering them. They have nowhere to go and hide away from them and chat girly shit
  • She might think she got the smallest as she’s the only girl and deep down you think she will cause you less fuss and bother about being given the smallest.
negomi90 · 13/03/2018 22:44

DS2 gets small room and can play elsewhere. He won't mind where he plays (his room or a living room), your dd will mind where she hangs out, relaxes, studies, hides while being a teen.
Storage boxes for toys in the living room (you can easily get things which are discrete).
Alternatively the boys share until one gets fed up and moves into the little room. Or you make the second sitting room an extra bedroom/playspace.

HolyShet · 13/03/2018 22:44

I think this is unfair to your DD and the youngest should have the smallest room.
My 3 are similar ages, 2 medium rooms and 1 big one . The 7 year old has the big one but the other two chose their rooms.
The 7 year old will still want to hang out with you a lot (with the lego)Ours does.

starzig · 13/03/2018 22:47

Also if you have 2.5 sitting rooms can you convert 1 into a play/games room for the 2 boys.

NeverTwerkNaked · 13/03/2018 22:47

Youngest gets the smallest room plus decent space for toys downstairs.

PrimalLass · 13/03/2018 22:49

Youngest gets the smallest room but they swap when the oldest goes to uni or moves out.

Original poster
3weecherubs · 13/03/2018 22:50

Thank you, she deserves 1st choice. Especially the way she has been so dignafied about it. DS2 can have the little room. I can live with the Lego!

OP posts:
Original poster
3weecherubs · 13/03/2018 22:50

Dignified!

OP posts:
123bananas · 13/03/2018 22:54

Youngest should get it. You can get creative with a midsleeper to give greater storage under bed and more floor space.

Our youngest has a 3m by 2m bedroom. He has a Ikea Kura Midsleeper (we are going to make the top bunk a den/sleeping area) and underneath a play area changing to a storage area once he is older. He has a wardrobe on the landing outside.

There are normal beds that have lots of storage underneath too, captain beds or cabin beds if you look around.

We are intending to buy an Ikea wall storage system such as Algot. I like this because you can add/change it such as add a desk later on. This will replace his chest of drawers to allow high storage with less impact on floor playing space.

Alternatively you can get cupboards at ceiling height for storage.

I have also seen big nets strung up from the ceiling for soft toy storage which would be good for a nautical theme.

NotSureThisIsWhatIWant · 13/03/2018 22:57

We moved a lot when we were kids. We were 3 kids, houses had always 4 bedrooms, the one with the ensuite for my parents and the best one of the rest was always used as a studio/library that we all could use. Consequently 2 of us were sharing while the other one had the smallest room to themselves. Every time we moved houses, we swapped who was the one person bedroom occupier.

Personally, I would give the biggest bedroom to the boys, the medium one to the sister and keep the smallest one as a play room if possible or a place to welcome friends, or, as someone suggested above, the one who wants to have a single bedroom first is given the choice to move to the smaller bedroom.

Or, who ever gets the smallest stick gets the smaller bedroom.

Abetes · 13/03/2018 22:58

Youngest gets the smallest room.

HeddaGarbled · 13/03/2018 22:59

2.5 sitting rooms is the same number as bedrooms for the children really isn't it? Sorry, but I think it's selfish to keep all the downstairs rooms toy-free if they don't all have adequate space upstairs. You can keep 1.5 downstairs rooms toy-free and put suitable toy storage into the other.

There will be reasons why your daughter is squirrelling herself away and giving her the meanest allocation of personal space is not the way to encourage her to embrace family life!

GaraMedouar · 13/03/2018 23:01

Youngest gets smallest room. With mine, youngest age 6 has smallest room - loads of toys in lounge though! In 18 mths eldest goes off to uni so she can move in/ or have use of his room for her toys.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 14/03/2018 06:23

I suppose it's not possible to move a wall? We did this - quite a large bedroom next to a tiny one. Wall was just stud and Dh did it in a weekend, to make 2 more even sized rooms, though one is still bigger.

Could never understand why the builders didn't make it like that in the first place.

yellowfreesia · 14/03/2018 09:31

The house has more than one sitting-room? In that case youngest gets the small bedroom plus a playroom downstairs. Surely he won't want to be upstairs in his bedroom alone with his toys, no matter how big the room is.

Daughter needs space and privacy at her age and will spend a lot of time in her room. That's what teenagers do.

DragonsAndCakes · 14/03/2018 09:34

What sizes are they exactly? Ie how small is the smallest and how much smaller than the big ones?
Have you budget to buy cabin bed/other cool stuff? Look on Pinterest and the deal could be that DD1 gets the small room bit with loads of cool stuff.

DragonsAndCakes · 14/03/2018 09:35

bUt

Prettylovely · 14/03/2018 09:35

I would always give the youngest the smallest room.

SlowDown76mph · 14/03/2018 09:47

Youngest gets the smallest room, eldest the biggest. She is about to be a teenager. She will need extra study space and privacy. Youngest gets play space in your living areas.

FluffyWuffy100 · 14/03/2018 10:52

Youngest gets he box room but designate one of the 2.5 sitting rooms as a playroom.

Oldest in the big room with the expectation that when she goes to uni the youngest and her swap.

Tika77 · 14/03/2018 14:01

Please don't give it to your daughter. I was the eldest in the smallest bedroom, it just doesn't make sense. I'd give the smallest room to the youngest.

Original poster
3weecherubs · 14/03/2018 22:13

Thanks guys, you have definitely made me see sense.

OP posts:
RockafellerSkank · 14/03/2018 22:19

I'm an eldest of three, and got the biggest bedroom, but still, I think it's really unfair. I'd get them to pick straws.

Note to builders: make the bedroom sizes fair!

RavenLG · 14/03/2018 22:39

Pretty much everything SecondaryConfusion said. A smaller bedroom would not have stopped be squirrelling away any less lol. I was bad for that too OP!
And great idea from bananas about the midsleeper. It'll give DD7 a lot more floorspace and you can get storage chests too to help with the toys.