Solution for small room?

[TheLonelyCup]

The hatched area is the bulk head of the stairs, it goes more or less to the ceiling and I’m not allowed to put cupboards into it.

W is the wardrobe with it’s back against the bulkhead. This is the thinnest wardrobe I could buy and has shelving inside for clothes. I also store books and some toys in there.

D is the door.

B is the bed under the window. This fits in a small gap between the bulkhead and the window, it is literally single bed size. There is a tiny gap between the wall and the bed at the end but its not really usable for anything other than DDs blankets she doesn’t sleep with (rolls them from the bed when sleeping in it).

And that’s it, literally no space. The radiator is next to the bed (turned off) and the window above that which takes up half the wall (with the radiator the full wall on the side is taken up)

If I move the wardrobe the door won’t close. There is no room for the wardrobe in my bedroom as my room is literally a slightly bigger rectangle big enough for my wardrobe and my double bed plus bedside table – I don’t want a single bed if I can help it although I will.

Anything behind her door can only be accessed if the doors closed.

She can’t have a bed with a ladder as she has a joint condition which makes ladders dangerous (in short if she slipped she could dislocate or even fracture her hip), and any company I’ve asked to make a bed with stairs says I’d lose as much space in stairs as I would for the actual bed so not a solution. If the beds too high to account for the stairs you’ll lose light.

DD is 6 and starting to want to play in her room. She wants floor space. She will eventually want a desk in there too. There is a little bit of floor space but once you sit in it there’s no room for toys.

Flat is housing association and I can’t move – even if I do manage to prove DDs medical needs I need to stay near her school and I’ve been quoted 3-5 years for that so even if I start now she’ll be in year 5, 6 or 7 before I can move. I will probably aim for end of year 6 beginning of year 7 as the catchment for secondary is bigger so I can move further out, so I need a solution for between now and then. Not allowed to do anything structural, can pain, put up shelves etc. and decorate. Not allowed to block natural light in any room with anything other than curtains, I have twice yearly inspections to check this and don’t want the faff of having to change it for inspections to put it back again.

Ceiling height is high but I’m quite short so need to be able to reach it and I don’t want anything above the bed in case it falls on DD (Even cuddly toys as I’m scared she’d get buried and not move from under them due to her joints)

Any genius ideas from mumsnet? I have around £100 to spend on the solution but could throw more at it if I could pay weekly/monthly.

Why can’t you put cupboard in the bulkhead? That’s the obviously solution is for the wardrobe to go over the stair bulkhead?

@MangosteenSoda

Google wall mounted storage and wall mounted clothes storage as there are quite a lot of options for folding/hanging stuff. That would free up the floor space taken up by the wardrobe.

If a ladder bed isn’t an option, could you get a slightly higher bed/raise current bed somehow to provide more under bed storage?

I think the wardrobe is the problem, if that wasn't there then she'd have more floor space. At the moment I don't see how we'd get a desk in at all.

@YellowFish12

Why can’t you put cupboard in the bulkhead? That’s the obviously solution is for the wardrobe to go over the stair bulkhead?

Bulkhead is floor to ceiling so can't put anything on top of it.

Tenancy says you can't make structural changes, and they told me when I moved in that any changes to the bulkhead like that classed as structural. I can do cosmetic changes to it.

Have you had a look at something like the Scallywag kids' beds? We used to have a high sleeper but the ladder had flat rungs and was curved, I don't know whether that'd be easier for her? They also do midsleepers with the same sort of ladder. We've also had bunk beds where the ladder wasn't a ladder, it was a staircase (the width of the bed, three steps) at the end of the bed with a drawer under each step where you accessed the bed from the narrow end. Would something like that fit?

Could you remove the wardrobe and instead put shelves on the opposite wall? If you hang a rail below the bottom shelf you could hang clothes. You can also get shoe/jumper holders that hang from rails and use those for some toys.
Depending on what type of things she likes to play with you could create a dollhouse along the first shelf by sticking squares of patterned paper against the wall for wallpaper and on the shelf as floors (if you search online you can find patterned paper for free and print it yourself)

You could put a shelf or a wall/mounted pull-down table at the end of the bed so she could sit on her bed and play with colouring/puzzles/lego.

I think I’d paint the awkward bit or get some cool oversized decals for it just to turn it into a feature. Google “hole in the wall decal” or “window decal” for some cool ideas.

Adding a mirror into the room will create an illusion of more space too.

You could put in a bunk bed and take away the ladder. She could sleep on the bottom bunk and the top could be used for storage.

IKEA sell £5ish picture shelves perfect to go beside bed (above where blankets go) for books.

could she not use her room just for sleeping and you make a play/stairs area else where for her?

What about something like these

https://www.happybeds.co.uk/kimbo-cabin-white-bed-frame-3ft-single?gclid=CjwKCAjwviEBhASEiwARoemvDXA-hoyJ7NnhQSqWvCboWYcea72LmQsEx3ALhspO-6bpcToSobdVRoCh4cQAvDD_BwE

https://www.childrensbedshop.co.uk/steens-galaxy-midsleeper-in-surf-white-with-pull-out-desk.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwviEBhASEiwARoemvPsYT6Ubm1Q9KfMppklCCpW8Ks9xHY1bvXrwsQoi7uxuhKEo9mI4xoCCNEQAvD_BwE

@BrieAndChilli

could she not use her room just for sleeping and you make a play/stairs area else where for her?

She plays in the living room currently but keeps asking to play in her room.

Does the door take up all of the wall or is there space to the side? How much space?

I’d probably consider getting rid of the wardrobe and getting Kallax alongside that wall. A rail above this to have clothes.
How much space at the bottom of the bed? Could a book case go in that space?

What’s the priority for that room?
Floor space? Storage? Desk?

I saw a foldaway desk/table in B&M
Or IKEA do a table that you screw into the wall that folds down.
IKEA also do a narrow drawer shelf
Could this go along the wall where the wardrobe is?
www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/ekby-alex-shelf-with-drawers-white-20192828/

Switch to a shorty bed and that frees up suave at the foot of the bed. Narrow drawers or bookshelf could go here.

Shelf above the other end of the bed for stuff like book she’s reading.

The window - dies that have a wide enough sill to store books on?

High up cupboards from window wall to door wall to store stuff that’s not used often.

My dd would play on her bed as there wasn’t enough floor space

Oh and I’ve also seen a notice board/ picture frame that pulls down to reveal a desk. I can’t remember where now though.

I'm not sure if this will be of any help but you never know!

When I was looking at doing something similar, I advanced searched Kallax (Ikea), small bedroom etc. There were some brilliant ideas using Kallax for a bed. I did see some being sold on gumtree. Whether they'd be the correct size - you could be lucky.

The unit can then house boxes or baskets. Some of them were really
good.

@Rummikub

Does the door take up all of the wall or is there space to the side? How much space?

I’d probably consider getting rid of the wardrobe and getting Kallax alongside that wall. A rail above this to have clothes.
How much space at the bottom of the bed? Could a book case go in that space?

What’s the priority for that room?
Floor space? Storage? Desk?

I saw a foldaway desk/table in B&M
Or IKEA do a table that you screw into the wall that folds down.
IKEA also do a narrow drawer shelf
Could this go along the wall where the wardrobe is?
www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/ekby-alex-shelf-with-drawers-white-20192828/

Switch to a shorty bed and that frees up suave at the foot of the bed. Narrow drawers or bookshelf could go here.

Shelf above the other end of the bed for stuff like book she’s reading.

The window - dies that have a wide enough sill to store books on?

High up cupboards from window wall to door wall to store stuff that’s not used often.

Priority is floor space and storage.

I would consider a shorty bed.

The unit if it had hanging space could go on the bulkhead where her wardrobe is and have space under it yes.

Would something like this work? She can sleep on bottom bunk then use the top for play if you laid ply wood on top instead of a mattress?
kidsfuntimebeds.co.uk/product/deluxe-funtime-bunk-bed-stairs-front/

Another idea-
IKEA do bekvam(?) spice racks
I’ve seen these fitted to sides of drawers or wardrobes and books stored here or paper and pencils

When you get the tape measure see how much space you’d gain by switching to a shorty bed.
The added bonus is that the slide storage under the bed holds a lot of stuff. You could get boxes that you can pull out so things stay organised.

Then if the shorty bed frees up 40cm of space at the end of the bed then you can get a malm narrow drawer unit. This might mean you can get rid of the wardrobe and look at getting billy or kallax or a desk.

IKEA (can you tell I love the place) do a laptop table (£25?) this can go over the bed (like a hospital table when you get dinner in bed).

@Rummikub

I’ve put a shorty bed with sliding storage under the base in dd room. So even if one side is blocked you can still access from the other side.

^ this: if you have a single bed, the sliding storage would be around width of the bed. I’d put plastic baskets in there (pound shop/IKEA) to maximise the depth. Loads of room for clothes/shoes

What about a big net to hang soft toys up in from ceiling? I second hitting IKEA for inspiration

How big is her current bed? May seem daft but most singles take up 100 x 200 space and you can get cheap divans that are 90x190 with storage and ten cm can make a difference. Narrow singles are 75 wide and you can get shorty ones too.

We just redid my son’s small room and did 190x90 bed, a set of drawers instead of a wardrobe (he can put toys on top, but this prob wouldn’t work for you). He has some shelving high up too. I got some books for behind the door for hanging up a few tops but might buy a wall attached hanging rail at some point - they have them on Amazon. Some drop down! Similarly you can get a drop down desk. We just bought a ladder style desk from IKEA that you attach to the wall but you do need space for a chair.

Good luck!

www.wallbedking.co.uk/classic

Not in your price range of £100 but I believe a Murphy bed could be the answer as it folds against the wall. There are all kinds of Murphy beds sometimes called wallbeds.

You might be able to get one second hand perhaps?

Do a google search for kallax single bed hacks. There are some really good ideas out there. My grandson has a mattress on top of kallax units with storage boxes in the base. Doesn't free up floor space but great for storage.
Also depending on your hallway space can you change her bedroom door to open outwards? Lots can be hung on hooks on the inside of her door. Perhaps you could get rid of the wardrobe that way ?
A table from ikea that screws into the wall and can be folded up/down. Fitted at a height that she could sit on the bed to use it.
Cupboards on the long wall over her bed running the length of the bed

@SE13Mummy

Can you get the door rehung to open outwards?

We did this with my daughter's room, and it made a surprising amount of difference to the sense of space and the available floor area for toys etc.

Don't do this if the door opens onto the landing right at the top of the stairs, or if it will obstruct the door to another room when open.