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Original poster

Child has a tiny bedroom

48 replies

Vanillacupcake33 · 09/09/2021 20:36

Hi everyone just looking for someone in or has been in similar situation. We moved into a property 3 years ago, we waited for 2 years for a house to come up on the street we wanted and when the very rare one did it sold pretty much right away so when one did come up we brought it. It's a lovely house just enough for us but the problem we have is my dd room. It's the smallest bedroom I've ever seen. I don't have the measurements but we have a bed on one side with draws for clothes and a cupboard with cubes in for toys. We've put some shelves up to save floor space but it's not alot of floor space at all. Any big things she has we put downstairs or in our bedroom. For those who have smaller rooms we're ypur dcs happy in the room. I'm nervous that as she gets older she will start to hate it. My ds is in the bigger room but can't swap them over as he's older and has gaming station ect which certainly wouldn't fot in the smaller room. I'm thinking we may have to move in a few years if dd isn't happy in there. I'm trying to make sure she loves it we've decorated nice and cosy but it's worrying me that as she gets older and has friends over she won't have the space to play. I don't know anyone who has a room as small so have no one to ask really. Thanks

OP posts:
Scarby9 · 09/09/2021 20:42

I grew up in a room the length of a single bed plus a 24 inch wardrobe. The bed could only be 2ft6 wide then there is just over a foot's width of floorspace before you hit the bookshelves opposite.
I chose the room when we moved in when I was 4, and was never jealous of my younger brother's large room. I loved my little room and still sleep there when I visit. The 2ft 6 bed is now more of a challenge, but a 3ft one would leave a teeny teeny alleyway to sidle into the room.

IceLace100 · 09/09/2021 20:45

Is there space for a bunk bed with a desk underneath?

Child has a tiny bedroom
TheyreTheSamePicture · 09/09/2021 20:49

DS had a tiny room in our previous house. We got an IKEA kura bed and set the bed up high, a 4-cube unit under that (with books in so like a reading nook), had a tall shelf unit next to the bed and a small set of drawers at the foot of the bed. There was a tiny built in wardrobe which helped.

I must admit it was one of the reasons moved - the house was tiny in general though

MagnoliatheMagnificent · 09/09/2021 20:54

We have one of these, it’s 2’6 to maximise space but goes wall to wall longwise. It’s really useful with lots of storage and a desk.
However DD is now 12 and is fed up with climbing the ladder rather than just sitting straight onto the bed so we’re looking to change things. I don’t really want to part with it but it’s time..
www.chartleybedrooms.co.uk/high-cabin-beds/midsleeper-with-square-flat-ladder-storage-desk-and-stool

Soontobe60 · 09/09/2021 21:00

We had the similar situation. We bought a cabin bed - it had a cupboard and drawers underneath it and it was low enough to be able to sit up in bed. She had a couple of narrow shelves along the length of the bed to put books, teddies etc on that she could reach in bed, and a larger shelf at the end with a tv on (before the days of flat screen TVs!) with more shelves underneath with clothes. She had the room til she was 12.

Miracle29 · 09/09/2021 21:01

Thankyou for your replies. @scarby9 that's makes me feel better thankyou. We also have to measure the bed ect.

The bed we have at the minute helps because ot has 6 draws and they are quite deep so we can fit quite a few clothes in at the minute so that means we don't need to have wardrobe because we certainly couldn't fit on in there. Our ceiling is quite low too so a bunk bed wouldn't really work I don't think.
It also makes me think how much a floor actually holds in such a small room. When we first started moving dd things in when we moved in I was sure the floor was going to cave Grin it just makes me feel bad that I have to tell relatives not to buy things that are too big as we have no space in the bedroom and I'm sure come Christmas our room will have some new additions too! I bet people think I'm evil when I tell them not to buy massive things and it makes me feel equally as bad but I have to measure things out ro make sure they fit. Dd seems happy in there so far it just worries me she will start to hate it.

SMabbutt · 09/09/2021 21:05

Is it possible at some point to move a wall in your dds bedroom. My brother did this to equal his children's bedrooms. Obviously it depends how your upstairs is configured but it worked for them.

IceLace100 · 09/09/2021 21:12

When will your son leave home? Will he go to uni at 18? If yes, you could swap rooms at that point.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 09/09/2021 21:13

My 10yo has the small bedroom. She has a loft bed with desk and shelves underneath. Built in wardrobe has a chest of drawers in it too.

Plan going forward...
In three years or so when she outgrown the llft bed, swap with sister. If we haven't managed to convert the conservatory into a proper study by then, or done a side extension. Or won the lottery.

CassandraTrotter · 09/09/2021 21:16

@SMabbutt

Is it possible at some point to move a wall in your dds bedroom. My brother did this to equal his children's bedrooms. Obviously it depends how your upstairs is configured but it worked for them.
This is what i was considering in our old house.

In the end, the room was just so small, and my dh is TALL and ds heading the same way, it just wouldnt have worked when he was a teen.

PumpkinKlNG · 09/09/2021 21:19

At least she has her own room! My boys share a box room get a mid sleeper?

TaraR2020 · 09/09/2021 21:20

Don't bash me if my thinking is wrong, but would it be cheaper to extend rather than move house? If outdoor space allows obviously. Or a loft conversion?

JenniferAllisonPhillipaSue · 09/09/2021 21:29

Do children not swap rooms these days? Until I was 14 and we moved to a house withn more evenly sized bedrooms, my brother and I used to swap bedrooms (one big, one box) every year. Both were decorated in neutral colours as neutral as you got in the 70s and whoever had the larger room, got the sofabed in addition to their own and had to share or vacate when there were guests to stay.

QueenFreesia2021 · 09/09/2021 21:33

DD has a very small bedroom. We have a whole wall of IKEA Kallax which we use for a mix of box storage (with toys) and shelves for books etc. Luckily we have a built in wardrobe which helps.

Kallax can be used for clothes / jammies or toy storage. Would highly recommend it.

QueenFreesia2021 · 09/09/2021 21:36

This is DD’s room. There is space on the top of the Kallax for larger toys - in our case it’s the massive our generation horses 🙄😂

Child has a tiny bedroom
OneEpisode · 09/09/2021 21:37

Can you create a space for dd that is her own.. downstairs, or a Wendy house/tree house outside?

INeedNewShoes · 09/09/2021 21:40

DD’s bedroom is very small, in that it's under 200cm so can't even fit a standard length single bed.

She currently has bed on one side, chest of drawers and bookcase on the other and thankfully an inset built in cupboard that goes over the stairs. I've put a rail in there for hanging smart clothes.

DD is 4 and I'm about to get her a midsleeper to try and create some more storage and more floorspace.

INeedNewShoes · 09/09/2021 21:41

Meant to say that we don't even try to keep toys in there so our living room looks more playroom than grown up living space but I don't mind because in the evenings I'm mostly working or doing jobs around the house anyway so I only ever sit in there with DD.

Sprogonthetyne · 09/09/2021 21:46

I grew up in a small room and it was fine. I was offered my older sisters bigger room when she moved out, but decided to stick with mine so it can't have been that bad. If anything it is likely to get easier as she gets older, as the big plastic toys are replaced with small devices/ laptops etc.

Miracle29 · 09/09/2021 22:12

I also swapped rooms when we were younger too. If ds things would fit in I probably would swap them around but have pre warned him I'm a few years time if we have to swap them then we might need to downsize a few things to make it happen.

@ineednewshoes we also have toys in the living room, mostly the big ones. We have a good size living room so luckily it works else we would be stuck. We don't have a conservatory or anything like that so can't use any for a toy room unfortunately.
@queenfreesia2021 that's a lovely room. My dd room is smaller than that one she would probably fit the desk where yours is but not the storage unit. I'd love a loft conversion I think I may need to work on hubby in a few years haha

VerveClique · 09/09/2021 22:20

Our bathroom and separate toilet, together with a square of the landing, were a lot bigger than the small bedroom.

So they became the small bedroom, and what was the smallest bedroom became a shower room.

Fiddlersgreen · 09/09/2021 22:26

My DS15 is in the box room.
We rent and we can’t afford a bigger place.
He has a midsleeper bed that has a book shelf underneath and a chest of drawers. It came with a desk too but as the desk needed to stick out on one side, there was no room for it so it’s in my other DS’ room.
He also has one of those wardrobes that is just a wooden frame with fabric over it (no doors to it as there wouldn’t be space to open them with the bed there)
He’s definitely too big for the bed and it creaks like crazy whenever he moves or climbs onto it but we have no other choice at the moment.

parietal · 09/09/2021 22:33

A small room can be just fine if you use the space well. Buy minimalist furniture with no extra doorknobs / bedheads etc.

if the ceilings are low, have a low bed which can double as a sofa / playspace. That can be much friendlier than a midsleeper / highsleeper which takes up most of the space. Some open shelves over the foot of the bed can give storage for books / teddies etc.

Whitefire · 09/09/2021 22:42

My sister had the small box room and it was fine (I shared with our other sister). Our friends over the road (same house) had a sort of shared wardrobe. It was in the larger bedroom, and then part was knocked through from the smaller room, so the youngest had access to her wardrobe but it was in actual fact in her sisters bedroom. They were bespoke so made best use of space (one was made for my sister too but hers was in an alcove and the hanging rail went front to back as it isn't very deep)