(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first.)
Hello AT,
Last year, I bought my first home, a wonderful one-bedroom, 1 and 1/2 bathroom condo, in the fabulous town of Edgewater, NJ.
The challenge has been to create a bedroom for my daughter that will give her the privacy and personal space she needs within the given limited space. Currently, what I've done is placed a floor-to-ceiling curtain to divide the large living room to create a space for her room. The curtain goes across the living room by the wall adjacent to the balcony and gives her a 8' by 13' bedroom space. I chose not to build a wall so as not to block out light and heat/ac from the unit under the window.
NOTE: This is a big one....
While this arrangement has worked for a year, things are beginning to
change. My daughter (10 years old) has expressed her desire to have a "real room", so as to have privacy and her own space. When children visit, they naturally gravitate to her area, and she cannot keep them out due to a lack of a wall and door. She has expressed feeling uncomfortable when friends visit and exclaim, "Oh, your bedroom is in the living room?".
Recently I've given serious thought of giving my daughter my large
bedroom (11 X 18), and creating a sleeping space for myself in the living room (13 X 20). This way she has her space and can organize it to her benefit.
But that leaves the challenge of how I can create a sleeping/relaxing area for me that is neat and private when I need it to be. Because my budget is very limited, I have bought very little furniture.
Some considerations I have are: creating a zen-like sleeping space,
divided by use of an open-back storage unit by IKEA (don't have yet), either by the
window where my daughter's room is currently located, or using the
dining room as a bedroom . I've also considered installing a murphy
bed in the living room, but the costs are too high for me to consider
at this moment. I've also thought of getting rid of my bed completely and sleeping on the sofabed.
I did not want to build any permanent wall structures, as I didn't plan
on staying here for too many years. Eventually, I hope to sell and
move up to a real two-bedroom. This is why I am looking for other
solutions.
So, is there a way to have it all in one space? Can I make it happen?
Thanks, Helen
Dear Helen,
First of all you really need to clean up both of your rooms! Seriously, this will make a big difference in how the space feels and will allow you to SEE the solution more clearly. As for how to divide the space, hopefully you will get more tips from readers. Here are a few of ours:
Keep your bedroom. You are the adult in the house and it is important that you maintain that role, despite your daughter's needs.
For real privacy for your daughter, look into a compression wall (ie The Living Space Company) for a cheap, easy solution.
Otherwise, we would work with what you have, paint your daughter's end of the room a different color and
brighten up the whole place with some of the warmer colors you have on the walls. MGR
Correction, I meant the bright green--the light green is nice too but I love the brighter color.
My apartment has a similar layout to yours, and I think you should convert the dining area into a second bedroom. My apartment has an L-shaped living room in which the bottom of the L was originally a dining area, like yours. However, before we bought our apartment, the previous owner had built a sheetrock wall with a door to enclose the dining area, converting it into a second bedroom. Also, my apartment had a door between the dining area and the kitchen, just like yours, but the door was removed and the doorway was covered with sheetrock and painted, so now it's just a wall. In my building, many (most?) of the units in my line have done the same, and I think it works out well. We use the converted second bedroom for our 6-year-old daughter. I don't know how much this all cost since it was done before we bought the place, but my sense is that it wasn't too much. Perhaps you could use a compression wall, as MGR suggested.
I second (or third) the converted dining room idea. The dining room niche seems like it's equivalent to the space you've curtained off. Put the treadmill in the master bedroom and separate the living room (minus the dining room space) into a seating area and a "dining" area -- perhaps by putting the dining table behind the curtains. Only pull tie the curtains open slightly and center the table. Keep this space clean and simple (no clutter) and it will //seem// bigger.
As to the daughters room, add some usable hidden storage. An armoire, bookshelves with cubbies, and enhance the space by keeping things put away. Cleaner is bigger. Build a wall, paint over the mirrored wall (or attach fabric panels?) and add a funky beaded curtain to the space between the dining room and the kitchen. If you can't cover it up, at least make it "cool".
Maxwell is probably about you needing to keep the bedroom yourself. But... if you end up insisting on giving your daughter your room, if you COULD scrape up the bucks, a Murphy bed is a wonderful, wonderful thing.
I've waxed rhapsodic about Murphy beds on here so much it's not funny, so I probably shouldn't go on too much more about it, but suggest that you find those on here.
OK, here's some of what I like about them -- how NOT awkward it is, in terms of having company over, and having them invade your bedroom. It keeps the floor clear to look like a living room. I live in a studio (albeit a 539 sq.ft. one, which is twice as big as my previous one), and I like it to just look like a living room.
But they're not so cheap, it's true, and my current one is amazing because it has wonderful drawers and cabinets and bookshelves, which all add up to great storage, great looks, great function, but it was pretty expensive. So, it's really like having a bed and a dresser all on one wall.
I also 'third' the notion that you need to keep the bedroom!
Another solution (found on this site) for walls which fits the zen idea you presented is:
http://raydoor.com/index.html
Also, decluttering and storage solutions should be priorities from my POV. Personally, I prefer storage with doors (glass or solid) to minimize the visual impact of STUFF and assist the pursuit of zen. So, I'd stay away from the open-back IKEA bookshelf as room divider.
One more idea - what if you divide your bedroom into two small (11x9) bedrooms? You would have to walk through HER bedroom to get to your bedroom.
Good luck!
If you went with Jennifer's idea of dividing that one bedroom into two, while you're at it, couldn't you just put a door from one of them into the living room? There are plenty of bedrooms in this city that are no bigger than that.
I looked into Raydoor based on an AT discussion a few months ago. It's a beautiful and elegant (and very zen-like) solution, but defintely not an inexpensive one.
Replacing my cheap sliding closet doors with a 3-panel arrangement was estimated at close to six grand!
Unfortunately I haven't found anything similar at a lower price point.
I ran across this room divider while browsing thru one of those catalogs they put in the seatback of the airlines. I haven't seen the actual product but this might work for you. Hope the URL goes thru.
http://www.skymall.com/webapp/skystore?process=prodDisplay&action=&pid=69642161&catId=10445&iscrssl=
You might want to check out the temporary walls from The Living Space.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/main/archives/002185.html
I'm going to disagree with some of the previous comments and say that unless you are willing to invest in some construction to create a new bedroom for your daughter in the dining alcove, you should let her have your bedroom. I would guess that the privacy issue and sensitivity about friends is only going to get more important to her in the next few years....That problem is not going to go away. Plus if she has that big room to herself you may be better able to enjoy the living room.
So create a cozy bedroom for yourself in the dining room and reconfigure the living room. And as the others have said- Tidy up! Get some better storage and it will all look & feel better! And go for one of those brighter paint colors you've tested on the walls.
Lastly, you might want to give some thought to how long it will realistically be until you can upgrade to a 2 bedroom and factor that into what you are willing to invest in making the current place more comfortable.
Even though you intend to move on in a few years, I think you should move in for the present. All those boxes. the belongings strewn about, the lack of color, the lack of art makes the apartment look like a dorm room, and not in a good way. Your space has a transient vibe with not a shred of your personality. None of it seems planned; the whole place sighs and creaks like an afterthought. It's time to invest some thought, effort and money in your space for you and your daughter. A 10 year old is old enough for a sophisticated, though youthful, room. The pressure walls are a good idea. Check out the "smallest, coolest apartment contest." Absolutely tons of ideas. Marlon transformed a tiny alcove into a comfortable bedroom. As he says, you'd be surprised at the spaces that can accomodate a full bed. Robert and Patrick show how to have beautiful bedrooms in small spaces.
As I said, you and your daughter are there; you might as well move in.
I like both the option of creating two bedrooms in your current bedroom (and putting a door into one of them from the living room) or the idea of creating a bedroom out of the dining room.
Actually, if you do both, you can get a small family/exercise/den/office area into one of the spaces and a bedroom into the other.
I like the mirrored wall and would keep that as a backdrop to enlarge the space. If you opt to put your daughter's room in there, the bed against that wall would make everything look far larger.
To my mind, if you like your place (which seems fabulous), you could easily remain there comfortably if you have invest bit by bit and make those large rooms into smaller, but well planned, ones. I would kill to have as much space as you! If I did, I could see both my husband and I having private spaces.
Please don't forgo a private sleeping space for yourself, though. You need a place that is all your own to decompress.
paint... paint... paint. clean it all up! yeesh.
the dining room changed to a bedroom is a great idea. i live in a building where almost everyone has done it and it is a wonderful update
Hi again. I worked a bit using your floorplan and here is a solution that will give you space in the very long run:
1) Put a wall in the middle of your current bedroom. Use the room with the window for a bedroom and the windowless space (which you can put light into with transoms) as a dressing/exercise room for both you and your daughter. With clever planning, you can even get a desk in there.
2) Wall off your dining room and make it into a bedroom. I would opt for using that one for you, as you are more apt to keep it neat. You can put a full-sized bed in there, preferably long side against the mirrored wall. (This URL shows a bedroom more or less like what you could make:
http://magazines.ivillage.com/housebeautiful/decorate/color/articles/0,13053,284676_611301-3,00.html.)
OR
You could also opt for putting a bed in the walk-in closet and thus have a teeny bedroom there, leading to the dressing/exercise room.
CLEVER BEDS:
Since you like Murphy beds so much, I found an ad for a place that makes very clever Murphy beds and also bed/desk combinations that are extremely clever.
http://www.futonbedsandmore.com/
FINAL THOUGHT:
As you mentioned you don't have a lot of money at the moment, try whatever solutions you like with the less expensive option of using curtains or the reasonably priced dividers recommended above. As you live in the apartment, you'll discover what works best.
BEST OF LUCK AND PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU DID. I'M CURIOUS TO SEE YOUR SOLUTION!
I would actually give your daughter the bedroom and curtain off a portion of it for storage space and the treadmill (an area which would not be visible to her or her visiting friends)... it looks like you have a lot of stuff. Luckily, you also have a lot of space, but rooms look smaller if there is unnecessary clutter.
For the current curtained-off area in the living room, how about creating a Moroccan lounging area with lots of pillows on your bed, some kilim rugs from Ikea, lanterns, etc. You can leave the curtain open or not, but if visitors spy your sleeping spot it won't resemble a bedroom so much as a luxurious, relaxing lounge space.
I'm also not really feeling much love for the cold blue walls. Chocolate or dark red walls would set off your upholstered furniture better. Or even white.
If you need storage by the bed, plain wooden cubes (or the tv stand and other bookcase in your bedroom now) can be turned with the open side against the wall and painted to match the walls, so you can use the tops for candles, books and other things you like to look at. Some big square covered stacking baskets could hold things and hide your clutter.
Sorry, meant to add that I think too many things are hugging the walls or set at straight angles. The sofa could be set on a diagonal and the dining room table moved away from the mirrored wall a bit. I like that wall and I love your flooring.
Actually, since I'm going all Total Design Concept (sorry, can't help it!) why not do shorter legs on the table, a big tatami mat underneath, a huge paper lantern centred overhead and floor cushions for a low dining area.
Hello, thank you all for your thoughtful and very helpful comments. I, too, feel that the apartment feels more like a space and less like a home. Unfortunately, a long, dragged out divorce (with equally high lawyer fees), plus the "sticker shock" of actually owning my place, has put all my decorating ideas on hold, for the time being. I hate that blue on the walls, and as you can see, have been trying out different colors to see what I like. I thought I'd really go for a red (I love red walls), but in working with the rather dark living room, I find that I'm really feeling drawn to the lime green. It really looks great in this lighting. Because budget is tight (can't wait for my next tax refund, when I can really take off!), I can only work on one small thing at a time. This month, I finally got the matching chairs for my dining room, and I really love them, feels like a real dining room now. The treadmill will eventually be moved to the bedroom, but I'm waiting to paint and organize it first.
On my organization and cleaning, especially the bedrooms, I agree with you all, and have to admit that it's my greatest challenge so far. I envy those of you who can pick up, store, and organize so efficiently, and wish it were that easy for me. I have no bookcases, bedside tables, or file cabinets yet, so it's hard for me to really organize that stuff. All I can do now is try to throw out what I don't need, and that's what I'm working on now. I know a clean home looks much bigger! :-)
All the recommendations are great, I'm still not sure which way to go, because I can envision it working in so many different ways. The dining space (8X10) is actually a smaller area than her current space in the living room (7'8"X13'). Can a 10 year old have a decent room in a 8X10 space? Regardless, it seems that I can't avoid building that wall, so that will have to be my next research project. When I first moved into my place, I called that temporary wall company, but was told they only do work in Manhattan, and I can't find anyone who does temp walls here in Jersey.
Love you all, keep those suggestions coming. I really want a HOME to live in. And if you know of anyone who is great at organizing, please forward that information, it's my greatest weakness!
you can *definitely* have a decent bedroom in an 8X10 space. i grew up in a 6x12, and i am doing just fine!
what's more, i have developed an extreme tendency towards neatness and de-cluttering! :)
it will cause your daughter to be more creative with her space, which is also a positive. it's amazing what some stacking crates can do for so little money when you are a pre-teen!
good luck!
I had a decent sized 8x8 bedroom in college. It became my personal retreat space, and I spent more time out in the main areas of the house. I had to be clean, but I fit a bed, desk, bookshelf and all my clothes in it. Your daughter will be fine.
Even if you don't have the budget to paint and really decorate right now, you still have time to do some decluttering and planning so that you buy the right things. I'd love to give you more advice, but your picture site didn't work with my browser Safari, which is the only browser I have here at work...
Maybe I'm jaded by NYC, but I don't think 8'x10' is an unreasonable space at all, especially for a child. I agree with everyone else. Concentrate on getting closed storage and be diligent about putting stuff away, and things will seem much better. I was never great at that (and will still never win any awards) but living in a small space can force you to become more efficient and organized.
Good luck with everything!
8 x 10 bedrooms used to be standard in tract homes; many of us grew up in one (or even shared it!). First, you need to do some serious decluttering (try Don Aslett's books or flylady.net for inspiration). Where possible, sell the clutter on eBay or craiglist.org to help fund the next step, which is buying serious shelving/cupboards.
If you plan to move, buy modular units that you can reconfigure in a completely different space. But buy enough to actually house the remaining stuff and buy it all at once (or from a line that is unlikely to be discontinued). A wall of same-colored shelves is immediately more visually soothing than a wall of mismatched shelves and units. You can make storage even less conspicuous by painting the walls approximately the same color as the shelving. Cheap shelving is just fine as long as it's sturdy enough to hold the stuff and it all matches. People will see the clean, coordinated lines and the beautifully displayed stuff, rather than examing the shelving units.
FlyLady rules! I am a FlyBaby and very much a former clutter-aholic. I've been doing the FlyLady system for two years and it's turned my living space around completely. Basically, go to flylady.net and sign up for the e-mail list. The number of e-mails might seem overwhelming at first, but once you get your bearings, most of them can be deleted right away. Just take what you like and leave the rest, as they say in A.A. Your space will feel better within weeks!
My childhood bedroom (in an urban apartment) was 9X10', and I like to think I turned out well! I think the main point is for BOTH of you to have your own private space, regardless of the size. Good luck!
P.S. - FlyLady is totally free, as long as you have e-mail access.
Mary, I had the same problem w/ Safari. I sent a bug report. Can you download apps at your work? If so, try Foxfire, part of the Mozilla open source brigade. It opened this slide show. I use it about 1/3 the time.
Helen, I hope my earlier comments didn't add to your burdens. I meant well. Anyway, here's some suggestions for the LR. I would move the tall table beside or behind the sofa, giving you a place for a cup of tea and some lighting if either of you wants to curl up with a book. I would use the small square table as an end table. It looks like you have an ottoman; you can use it as the coffee tabl. Ikea's Smula trays( $1.99) in a yummy blue and a white could rest on the ottoman. You could arrange the trays to make a graphic punch. Put the orange candles on one of the blue trays, a bowl of fruit or a a large shell or something on another tray. That would leave two trays for the two of you to eat off while watching TV. Clean up is a cinch: just take the trays to the kitchen. I think rugs should come before walls, and your living room nees a rug. Ikea carries 5'x7' rugs for less than $60.00 dollars.
For now, you might try flipping your daughter's bed so the hedboard grazes the currtain and she can open her eyes to the view. Then the desk, shelves, etc. could be on a wall and she would have space in the center.
Dear Helen:
I sympathize with the lack of money problem. While you come up with more cash, there are a number of things you can do to get storage furniture. Go to thrift shops and pick up a bookcase and paint it; put up signs in your neighborhood stating that you are searching for free furniture, look in the storage area of your and nearby buildings for loose furniture, and so on.
As time goes by, you will create a beautiful home. In the meantime, make yourself as comfortable as you possibly can.
Congratulations on creating a new life for yourself.
PS:
You get first dibs on anything I get rid of as I clean out my place so as to find some order.
p.s. Benjamin Moore sells small containers of paint. Rather than random blotches of paint, you could take painters tape and make adjacent and overlapping squares and rectangles in the colors you are considering. Remove the tape, et voilå, a graphic. Remember where there is intention there is order. Where there is order there is harmony. Where there is harmony there is beauty.
p.s. If you MUST keep things in boxes, have all the boxes match like the Kassett series from Ikea. Another idea is to stack them neatly and drape them with pieces of fabric. It's a bit ghostly but, again, it seems intentional.
Helen, You are lucky to have so much space! I agree with those who said that if you invest in your current place a little bit, you might not find that you need that 2-bedroom down the road.
I think that making the dining room your bedroom could be very nice, even luxurious with the terrace right there. Why not try it for a while by putting up a curtain and moving your stuff in? You can add a wall later when you are sure and when money permits. (I guess you shouldn't move your daughter's things into the other bedroom until you are sure you will give it to her.) Your dining table is very pretty and will look nice in the living room too.
I agree that you and your daughter will live more harmoniously if you each have your own space. While she doesn't need a huge bedroom, keep in mind that as she gets older she will need a study/computer area, and consider whether you will want that to be in her bedroom or in the living room.
I can relate to how overwhelming it is to fix up a whole apartment on a tight budget. Focus on one room at a time and don't think of your space as temporary. I love many of the paint colors you are considering, especially the light green and the peach.
Good luck!
Hello everyone,
Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions. Still not sure what I am going to do, but it's nice to know there is more than one great possibility. I will certainly work on creating a permanent room for her by building a wall, as soon as it's feasible.
On the upside, I pulled up a corner of the carpet in the bedroom, just to see what was underneath, and found that the bedroom seems to have the same parquet floors that are in the living room! I love the hardwood floors, and am leaning towards getting rid of the carpet. I live on the first floor, so there is no chance of annoying any downstairs neighbors.
I promise to send updated pictures when I make some serious progress.
P.S. Curtis...would love to see your Murphy bed, please send me a pic, if you don't mind.
Ebrown...I love the suggestion for the BM paint, and wish I had thought of it at the time. I will try to remember that "where there is intention there is order. Where there is order there is harmony. Where there is harmony there is beauty." Love that!
Thank you Emily and everyone else for being so encouranging!
Helen, Just wanted you to know that I went to Ikea yesterday and got a really nice hand-knotted wool rug for $25.00. It's only 2X3 but it packs a whale of a punch. If you pull up the carpet in the bedroom, a small rug like this beside the bed would be nice.http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10101&storeId=12&productId=42703&langId=-1&parentCats=10112*10286. It's not the design shown but you can get the idea.