Small 2 bed, 2nd baby on the way..

workingalwaysworking

Morning all!

Just after some advice. We currently live in a small two bed new(ish) build. We've been here 3 and a half years. We 'bought' the house through our local housing association and shared ownership scheme. We're pretty much stuck in it - we would need to sell at the price it was valued at when we moved in, unfortunately the houses selling that are the same as ours now around £15k cheaper (but that's another post for another day!).

Anyway, we're due to have a second baby in the next few weeks and we're looking at ways in which the maximise the space we have. Our son will be almost 7 when the baby arrives and his room is tiny, but I don't think it's fair for him to share with a little girl. I've attached the floor plans and sizes of the rooms.

Any ideas? The cupboard between the two bedrooms houses our water tank (solar panels)....thanks!

Bedroom 1 3.32m (10'11) x 4.16m (13'8)
Bedroom 2 2.12m (6'11) x 3.35m (11')

TheCyclingProgrammer

Move into the smaller room and put your children into the other room.

You say you don't want them to share a room but what other choice do you have?

Aylesbury_Duck

^^This. I don't see that you have much choice beyond them sharing the bigger or smaller room. What's unfair about sharing a room with a younger sibling? It's the norm for millions of families. You might want to have the baby in your room for a few months so your son isn't disturbed as the baby settles into a routine and sleeps through the night regularly, but beyond that he can share.

[Deleted User]

Or you can get a sofa bed and sleep downstairs. Keep your clothes in a wardrobe in the larger bedroom.

PasturesNew

Move into the smaller room yourself. You don't need the extra space that kids will need to give room for toys/playing in their bedroom.

I can't see the layout image to suggest moving walls etc as the link is dead for me.

When my friend was 13 she still shared her parents' bedroom. They put a line of wardrobes at the bottom of their bed and her bed was behind it.

People do what they have to ...for as long as they have to.

greatgimpo

I must be missing the point. If you haven't the room...

rach_k

I can't see your picture, sorry.

I don't think it is unfair for a 7 year old to share a room, regardless of the age of the sibling or whether they're boys, girls or both. The baby should be in your room for the first 6 months anyway, then I would keep her in with you until she is sleeping well enough not to disturb her brother in the night, as much for your convenience as anything else! For us, that was around 18 months old but it may be sooner or later. A 7/8/9 year old and a toddler will have different bedtimes so I don't see that being a problem - put the toddler to bed, her brother stays up then goes to bed quietly later. If you put a bunk bed in the room (your oldest is old enough for one now), that will free up space for wardrobes etc. If you keep your daughter in your room until she's 18 months or so, she could go straight into the bottom bunk with a bed rail when she moves into the kids' room, or if you want her out sooner get a high sleeper for your son and put a cot underneath. Having the top bunk will give him some private space, especially if you add a bed tent/canopy thing. I would start calling it the kids' room asap btw, rather than your son's room. The younger he is when that starts being true, the less he'll object I think. If he complains, you probably need to be honest with him - "Yes, we'd love to have a separate bedroom for you but we just can't afford it so we have to make do with what we have and be grateful that we have a house". 7 is plenty old enough to understand things like that.

I wouldn't swap rooms with them, but that's because I'm of the opinion that children's bedrooms should be for sleeping or quiet reading only. Toys go downstairs so the bedroom is just a quiet relaxing place to promote good sleep.

Aylesbury_Duck

^^excellent post. I think this is the best solution for the OP.

casper_g

Rach_k speaks much sense. I think I would still consider swapping the rooms so the children have the larger one - once your son is at secondary school he will need space to do homework etc, and there won't be scope for this if sharing a tiny room with his sister. Moving into the larger room could also sweeten the deal if it's rolled in with the fact that it will be the children's room, not his room individually.

beaker141

It'd be interesting to see the floor plan to see if there are any creative ideas generated?