Tiny third bedroom, how to make the most of it?

[Monr0e]

We are currently looking for a new home. Due to schools we are limited to a certain area. All the properties have very similar layouts, mainly two decent sized rooms and a tiny third room. 8 year old DD has already resigned herself to downsizing and is being very good about it but we'd like to make the room as efficient as possible.

Would anyone mind sharing how they have furnished or decorated their tiny bedrooms? We are considering a builder also to maximise the space but have no idea how to do this. Thank you for any ideas.

A friend of mine had a house exactly like the one you're describing OP. They moved there as a couple, then had two kids and it was a real squash. They converted their loft into a master suite with a new bathroom, turned the box room into a home office, extended the kitchen into a kitchen/diner and turned the old dining room into a playroom.

Ds used to have a kura Ikea bed in box room. It was great when he was 5-9 and had loads of toys and we had the Ikea storage drawers underneath. I’ve just changed it round and got him a single as at 11 he no longer has toys and the space underneath was wasted. Their needs change a lot imo between 9-11

I agree about cabin beds making room look darker but sometimes needs must.

We moved the wall between large room and small room. It was none load bearing so not too expensive. We were restricted by the window position in the big room so only gained about a wardrobe depth but has made a big difference to the small room (i.e I can now fit a wardrobe in it) and barely any difference to the big room. Rehung the door to open out too.

Depending on the ceiling height and the dimensions of the window and the rest of the room, you could build in a mezzanine bed, with the window underneath and some built in storage. I’ve attached screenshots of the kind of thing I mean.

The layout sounds like the house I grew up in, which had a third bedroom so small that this option wouldn’t work. But some are slightly bigger and it could be feasible.

Agree with others that midi sleepers are massive and just make rooms look smaller.

Does she have to have the smallest room? We’ve ended up with the youngest in one of the smallest rooms and it was silly, her big brother is at the no toys, but books, & music stage - we should have swapped them round and let her have the biggest room for all her stuff!

Bed across the room under the window. Storage under bed.

Wardrobe / cupboard along the long wall on the ‘not door’ side.

Desk behind door on the short wall. Cubby and drawer/ box storage underneath, just leaving space for a chair.

A variety of shelves above the desk: deep shelves alongside the wardrobe for toy boxes, shallower above desk for books and small
Things.

Lots of hooks on back of door for bags, clothes.

Our third room was a decent size because it cut into the double room next door. Absolutely worth the expense to have a large single and a small double.

Your eldest probably has the least stuff in size so I'd give him the small room plus he's tall enough to reach lots of wall storage and tidy up himself properly!

Could your ds have the smaller room as he has less stuff?
My dd has a very small room. We have one of these beds:

www.chartleybedrooms.co.uk/bed/high-cabin-beds/midsleeper-with-raised-ladder-pullout-desk-and-stool

They are expensive but excellent quality and very strong. My husband and I have both knelt on it together to put shelving up and it felt solid (and I am pretty heavy)

We have been using a cabin bed, but I don't love it - high sleeper won't work because it would block the small window.

I think the best options are either building a slightly shorter than normal bed across the short wall (usually under the window opposite the door) raised up enough to get box or drawer storage underneath.

Or to use a regular single bed as it fits, storage drawers underneath maximise wardrobe space over the box (if there is one) and then have as little other furniture as possible maybe a small desk or bedside table and a floating bookshelf.

The toys are unlikely to fit I'm afraid. You could use a bookshelf with doors downstairs? So they can be tucked away when not in use.

We actually need a floor plan and dimensions

We find that the high sleeper doesn't block out the light. We bought this one and the outside left leg stands halfway across the window (v small room). We put two chests of drawers underneath the bed and there's room for a little desk underneath the rest of the window (and wall).

If we could have fitted it sideways across the window we would have, because then the desk could have gone under the bed by the window.

We also put a little hanging (battery powered) light under the bed for extra light.

@NamelessEnsign I would love to do a mezzanine. The house we viewed last night had one only it wasn't quite finished and there were massive holes going straight into the loft. But I could see how beautiful it could look. I'm guessing this would cost a lot less than a loft conversion?

RandomMess, this is typical of the houses in the area we are looking in. Not a lot to work with 😕

Look on ikea or Argos websites, high bed with desk, cupboards seat underneath. I had the little room and it was wide enough for wardrobes and desk on the otherside (8x7 or so)

Build a bed above the bulkhead-it'll be a bit higher than normal but not overwhelming, with storage underneath. This releases the most floor space for playing etc.

Building over the bulkhead isn't possible, it's boxed in from floor to ceiling so makes the room even smaller.

Can the bulkhead be used as a wardrobe?

It could be unboxed in though, unless you don't own the house?

Bulkhead walls are highly unlikely to be load bearing so can be moved cheaply. If you build the bed there is actually a decent sized single, certainly not a tiny box room like a lot I've seen!

My house is pretty much this layout, DS2 is in the little room just now but he's only 21 months so obviously in a cot. The expensive bed linked above with all the storage would be a great option for us. Ours are both boys though and still young, so we are considering knocking the wall down so they can share.

My ex DH lived with his parents when we met, in his room was a single bed and chest of drawers because it was tiny. It was fine, the older people get the less 'stuff' they need, so don't automatically put the youngest in the smaller room. A teenage boy will have loads less crap than a little girl.

I bought a cabin bed three years ago when I moved into this house. My son loved it for around a year, when he started to make noises about preferring normal beds.

The cabin was expensive so I didn't rush into anything but I finally got rid of it this year and boy, does the room look better!

The cabin beds look great but didn't work for us, sadly.

MisterMagpie you obviously haven't met my hoarder of a DS!

I completely understand what everyone is saying about putting the older one in the smaller room which we might consider. We would still need to maximise the space for him. He currently has a bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, 2 bookcases a desk and a gaming chair. Either way someone is going to be downsizing!

Removing the wall and taking it back to the bulkhead and building across this is a really good idea, I'd definately consider that

Boxing in above the bulkhead might be very easy to remove.

She has a lot of big toys now but by the time you move in and sort yourselves out it's not all that long before a lot of children will be outgrowing these things. Not all children, but many. I would be focussing on getting her bedroom nice and make space for some toy storage in the dining area or a corner of the living room for a year or two. A 2x4 expedit on end will hold a lot, with space on top/beside for a Sylvanian house or three. It really is a temp thing. And don't even consider a desk until she's outgrown the plastic toys. We've just got rid of our 10 and 12 year olds' desks. They've just sat there attracting clutter for the last few years. Both children prefer to work at the dining table, and I'm keen to go along with that.

My niece has this bed it’s great as has built in wardrobe, desk worth drawers and you can use two kallax cubes for tops, underwear etc .