Guest Room Dilemma - WWYD

aidelmaidel

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 2:10 am

So IMYH, at the house we're looking at, we would have 4 bedrooms - one for me and DH, one for my girls, and two "spares".

Spare room#1 is very small with an odd layout - there is a partial wall that goes through the middle of the room about 3/4s of the way. We are thinking to use one side of that room for the gemach I run and to make the other side with a sleeper sofa/day bed/futon, a small desk, and filling cabinets.

Spare room #2 is a decent size, 11x18 feet, and this room will primarily be for my stepkids and for orchim. I can not decide what we should do with this room in terms of furniture.

These are the options I've come up with, I'm open to other suggestions:

1. Two FULL SIZE Beds (with mattress & boxspring) with a night table in between, a regular size crib, a dresser, and a small cafe table and 2 chairs
2. Two TWIN SIZE Trundle beds/day beds (with just mattress on sheet of springs), a regular size crib, and either a dresser OR cafe table and 2 chairs

Note there are no closets in this room. We frequently have families with several kids come to us for shabbos. Or we can have a group of singles.

Please tell me below, what you would prefer - to have option #1 which gives you two BIG good quality beds but less places to sleep or option #2 which gives you more places to sleep (ie more people) but probably not as good quality sleep. Mind you, I know families will likely have small kids sleep with them in full size beds, but that doesn't help single adults who don't always want to share a bed.

Bunk beds are NOT an option, ceiling is not high enough.

abound

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 2:15 am

I'd go with more beds, like 2 high risers (so you have the pull outs) and I would make sure that the mattresses are comfortable. I would not buy a crib, I would rather buy a pac "n"play that we can put away when we have a couple without kids or singles. This way a pac n play can also have the option for newborns.

ahead

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 2:35 am

How old are your step-children and how often do they come to your house? If the decision is so swayable (pros and cons to each direction) why don't you ask them what they feel and how they'd like the room? This would help them feel like they always have a special place in your home and in your heart for them.
Good Luck!

aidelmaidel

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 2:36 am

abound wrote:

I hear you, we are considering it, but they break super easy...

aidelmaidel

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 2:48 am

ahead wrote:

The 17yo comes once every 3 months or so. The 14yo comes about once a month. Both are very tall. Up until now they shared a room, but I suspect they will want to sleep separately if they both come at the same time. (which is why I am doing the sleeper sofa/futon/day bed in the "office").

I guarantee their preference is for the full size beds, but currently since they are sharing a tiny room with a bunk bed, anything will be an improvement.

The new layout and 4th bedroom means that if they both come and one of them brings a friend along then there is room for a friend...

grace413

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 3:15 am

I'd go with more separate beds.

RachelEve14

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 3:39 am

I agree more separate beds. And get a pack & play if anything. As a guest I never assumed my hostess had a spare crib. If they had one, great, but 90% didn't. The only family that did was the family who hosted their own grandchildren regularly so if we came the crib was there for us.

Hashemlovesme

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 3:52 am

what about having a pack & play/ portable crib instead of a full sized one?

33055

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 4:02 am

We had the two full bed option in my house. I found it wasn't as flexible as the four bed option; but I have young children so I did not worry about the quality of sleep so much.

I think the guests liked it though. We ended up hosting a few very wacky people in our home and I removed the extra bed when some strangers in my neighborhood started getting militant; and demanded I host their guests. I got a cot for when my kids want more friends.

Pickle Lady

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 9:14 am

I also vote the 2 single beds with trundles. Why because I know you often have singles and famlies. so more singles can sleep with the single beds. I think you will be happier with that option.

aidelmaidel

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 9:14 am

Squishy, you couldn't say no? You *had* to host them? Because you had full size beds? I don't get it.

aidelmaidel

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 9:20 am

Pickle - my concern is they won't be comfortable for the big kids and that eventually they do start to sag and the layout just looks horrid since they can't go side by side.

Also with 2 fulls, I could potentially also do the air bnb room rental thing and 2 fulls is a lot more marketable...

Raisin

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 9:58 am

I would do what is preferable for your stepkids. If they like bigger beds, put those in. And they will be fine for families too. You won't be able to host 3 singles unless you put one in your gemach room, but there will always be a limit to how many you can host.

Another options is to have 2 "frum" size beds. and keep an airmattress somewhere if you have more guests.

IME pack and plays last forever.

33055

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 10:13 am

aidelmaidel wrote:

Squishy, you couldn't say no? You *had* to host them? Because you had full size beds? I don't get it.

I did say no. I just really did not like the attitude that went with it. I had a couple of ladies (Rebitzens) who felt entitled to the use of my guestroom and would not take no graciously. We used to allow people in the neighborhood to use the room. I had one incident where a lady answered the door in the altogether and another where Shabbos was not kept. The guests arrived late, proceeded to take showers, ate my supper while I was not home, used their cellphones and did not go to Shul. By opening up the room to strangers, I had no way to vet the people coming into my home.

BTW, love your tag line!

poelmamosh

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 11:43 am

Other: 2 twin-sized beds with box-springs (or 44"/48" if you have room) plus either a full sized futon, a day-bed or just some air-matresses stashed away for kids/singles.
ETA: Just realized Raisin has pretty much the same suggestion Smile

OOTBubby

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 12:56 pm

A good quality mattress used on a high riser can be just as comfortable as a regular mattress with box springs especially if it isn't used constantly.

DS just bought one (in EY) and it was as comfortable as my top quality bed at home.

mommyhood

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 1:09 pm

aidelmaidel wrote:

abound wrote:

I hear you, we are considering it, but they break super easy...

I've have a graco pack n play for 3 years that I open and close all the time and it's showing no signs of breaking. A crib is really a waste of space unless most of your guests have babies and even then it takes up a lot of room.
I would def go with the twin beds. I sleep in twin beds whenever I go to my, parents in laws, siblings in law and I've never found it uncomfortable. Sure a full bed is nice but I'd rather have my own twin than have to share it with one of my kids.

Peanut2

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 1:16 pm

I don't know you and who you host, but if you do host lots of babies, I have to say that it is much tougher to deal with a pack and play than a normal crib.

Shuly

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 3:16 pm

2 hi-risers with comfortable mattresses and a pack n play.

singleagain

Sun, Jan 08 2012, 3:29 pm

I voted from the home page, and didn't realize this was abt a guest room... it kinda changes my answer to "other"

I would say, consider the type of ppl you host, and are you going to have it set up in between....

b/c to be honest, even though it does look pretty, if it's been set up for a month, I'd would not want to sleep on sheets that have been set for that long, then again, I don't set beds for ppl, until the night before or morning of their arrival. [the one time I set the bed at start of week, and covered with a flat sheet so I could pull it off, someone took of sheet and sat on the made bed]

also, while I understand the whole thing between bigger beds/smaller and therefore more beds ... how many ppl do you host in one room at one time.....

we have a larger guest room, half of which is taken up by, things that came out of other rooms while they were being cleaned, and a few things from my appt, that came home with me after my divorce. but. we can still fit abt 3 ppl in that room, b/c we have a trundle, and just enough room for one more mattress on the floor.

so, I would suggest beds, depending on the amount of guests you tend to have. .... from what I've gathered so far, it seems that there are more than just two or three guests, so I would go with twin/trundles (and/or an air-mattress in storage)

however, you said the room has no closet... before you furnish it, you have a possible opportunity to build a closet in or out... even just a small one, with some space to hang items and the other half with shelves. you could also go bigger with a closet

just a random thought to think about (also, compare the price of something like that, to the price of a dresser, if it's around the same price, I say build the closet, b/c (a) better resale on the house and (b) what if you end up needing another place to stick the kids...)

as to the rest of furniture, I agree with ppl who say no crib, besides for all of their reasons, kids grow out of cribs, and most parents who know they need it, pack it, at least from what I've gathered.

I don't quite see the need for chairs and table or dresser--espec if you look into building a closet--- but I could be missing pieces.

and the only other thing I would suggest, no matter which way you choose to go in the end, please please don't put a night table in between the beds... what if you have the kavod to host someone who's mikvah night is that night, seeing a table in between, might deter her from going on the night.

and espec with trundle, it's easy for the couple to move the beds several inches apart, if that is what their needs are. not so much with bigger beds, ppl might like space, and if they need a separation, I'd say, put a body pillow on the bed, so they can put it in between as a reminder.

(that's what I used to do, but mainly b/c our room was a tight fit with the beds already, so we stuck a long body pillow in between the beds)