Downstairs Bedroom......

emsywoo123

LEJC wrote: »

the only way you can make a downstairs front bedroom that has front door work realistically is to partition to make a hallway...this does reduce the size of the room ...but do you really want people to be able in theory to open your letter box and look in on your bedroom......

Realistically if it were be I would look at rearranging what you have as your situation is only going to change as the baby gets older and in turn moves away from your room...and indeed your eldest daughter will at some point in the next few years start to feel the need to move away from her younger sisters.

I would put the olest girl in the box room,and the two younger ones in the bedroom off it...moving the baby in as time allows...and I would actually get a sofa bed or something similar for the downstairs "play area" that could be used on the weekends when your son comes to visit...that way he has a little inedpendance of his own room away from the girls but its easily converted back to a play area once he has finished using it...

Whilst its commendable to give your son the box room,hes not there all the time and it really is a small but useful space that your family need to be able to make use of

I'm glad you typed all this, I was thinking it and you have saved me putting it all down :rotfl:

nfollows1982

The room that is set up for my son has been his bedroom since I bought the house 6 years ago so he’s always had that space as his own.

I was and still am reluctant to give up that room as his as we’ve had enough problems trying to settle him in as it is, without him feeling like he’s lost his room to one of the girls.

I admit it is an issue with it only being accessible from the girl’s bedroom, and this is especially an issue for his mum, but I’m concerned about what message it sends out for him to suddenly not have his own bedroom and be sleeping on a sofa bed downstairs.

He hasn’t stayed with us since October; I have only just started seeing him again this month and although we are a long way from him staying with us again I’m mindful of how it would make him feel if we get to that point and I say ‘sorry son but you’re on the sofa’.

In an ideal world, we’d put the eldest girl in that room so she gets space from her sisters and it makes things seem a bit less cramped, but I’m finding that solution difficult to comprehend at the moment.

FatVonD

As long as you can put up a partition it seems the only solution.

How big is your utility room? I ask because we've moved our kitchen into the dining room and the old kitchen (which is literally just 6ft x 6ft) has been made into an occasional bedroom for when my stepchildren visit. Is your utility room anything like that size and would you have room to move your washing machine etc into the kitchen?

dibuzz

We had a similar issue a few years ago.
3 bedrooms, 1 for me, 1 for my daughter and 1 for the 3 boys. Living room and dining room downstairs and had to go through dining room to get to living room.
They were fine sharing until one son got a girlfriend who started to stay over, especially as youngest son's bed was the top bunk!
He made the living room into his bedroom and we moved the living room into the dining room which is smaller but it was better for him to walk through than us to have to walk through his bedroom

tyllwyd

When you say that the single bedroom is accessed through one of the double bedrooms, would it maybe be possible to move the doors and steal a bit out of the bedroom to construct a corridor into the single bedroom?

I'm struggling to get the layout of the house into my head - if you were able to give us a little sketch to look at it would be great!

RAS

pehaps something a bit like this

http://content.metropix.com/p/4426035

Brighton_belle

nfollows1982 wrote: »

I admit it is an issue with it only being accessible from the girl’s bedroom, and this is especially an issue for his mum, but I’m concerned about what message it sends out for him to suddenly not have his own bedroom and be sleeping on a sofa bed downstairs.

He hasn’t stayed with us since October; I have only just started seeing him again this month and although we are a long way from him staying with us again I’m mindful of how it would make him feel if we get to that point and I say ‘sorry son but you’re on the sofa’.

I think it important, with the difficulties you have had with your son recently that any decsion making about 'his bedroom' he feels part of the decision process rather than being told where he is now to sleep.
I think going through the girls room will be more of an issue within a few years.In one sense, the fact his mother has an issue with that could work in your favour in discussing with him that things can't stay the same.

So, if making a small bedoom downstairs is feasible then the best options seem to be whether you or he has it. If it is small it is still possible for you to have it. In order to make ends meet we have the smallest room in the house full of bed. We have no room for a free standing wardrobe, but have hung poles in the chimney alcoves.

However, it may work best if he has it and him being part of the decorating etc would be great. It also gives him a separate den away from all the girls.
Of course, all this is a little way off yet but planning ahead is good.

balletshoes

nfollows1982 wrote: »

Both of the doors in the front room are on the same side of the wall so it could be possible to put in a partition wall so that the front door opened into a 'hallway' with a seperate door leading into what could be a bedroom?

That would mean you could get in and out the house without the front door opening directly into this room

okay, so that could work, then you could be in the downstairs bedroom and the girls could have more space upstairs, still leaving your son's room as it is.

tyllwyd

Upstairs, assuming that the floor plan that RAS very kindly linked to is approximately right, how about knocking down the internal wall between the [bathroom] and bedroom, and putting in a dividing wall so that you get a long narrow room made up of half of the bedroom and continuing into what was the [bathroom], and the rest of the space is a tiny bedroom, with a small lobby at the top of the stairs with doors into both of the rooms. You'd probably need to put in a bigger window for the new bedroom as well.

carefullycautious

Maybe your not giving your son enough credit. Have you sat down with him and asked his opinion of this dilemma. He may surprise you and come up with his own solution.

Does he get on with the girls? Could you ask them and him how they would like the layout to be.

If you include all the children in the decision making process it would be a lot easier.

Apologies that I don't know the background to other posts about the problems you have had.

Maybe you would benefit from someone who could look at the layout of your home and make suggestions as to changing it to accommodate you all. Fresh eyes and all that.