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Guest Room Sleeping options - need opinions



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JustHavingFun




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 1:48 pm


I need to redo our 2nd bedroom urgently. DD’s youngest son’s bar mitzvah is in January and MIL is coming from London. Room is still cluttered and unmanageable from my move-in after marriage…3 years ago. My stuff, my sons’ stuff, his stuff, my craft stuff along with 2 double beds and a bunk bed. I have 3 sewing machines not set up for quilting, fabric stash, and a growing yarn stash. Plus, we need additional bookcases.

Room is 16’ x 11’ with windows and radiator on one of the 11’ walls and two closets on the opposite 11’ wall. Apartment is pre-war building and only has one electric socket that I know about.

I’d like to put a long counter with shelving and storage along one wall for my sewing and knitting stuff. Lots of storage needed!

Getting rid of at least one double bed. We also have an inflatable Queen mattress, but it’s low to the ground. Grandmaman may not be able to lower herself to the ground, and Bubba certainly can’t.

Problem: where to sleep guests. DH believes no adult would sleep on the bottom bunk. Certainly MIL will not sleep there. I want to have room to move around, craft, and also have (adult) guests.

Is a Murphy bed the only alternative? At times we have as many as 4 boys sleeping there (with daughter on the comfy sofa in the living room, curtained off), but that’s rare. Usually three kids are there.

CLUTTER IS KILLING ME!

Question: Can you help me think outside the box? Is it unreasonable to keep the bunk (solid maple)? Shoud I split the bunk into 2 twins (reducing floor space)? I’d also like to keep the bunk beds untill my college-age kids claim them for their own apartments.

*******
On another forum I asked the same question and got two good suggestions:
1. Get a high riser.
2. Put stuff in storage for a month while she comes and deal with it.

Any more?
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studying_torah




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 2:24 pm
What about A futon or pullout couch that folds into sort of a couch and can unfold for a reg mattress?
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 2:33 pm
ok, I can't really picture the room based on measurements. you say there are two doubles and a bunk-bed in one room? are they all currently in a position in which someone can actually lie down on them? or is one of them in pieces and standing against a wall?

I think a counter/storage configuration would be great for your craft stuff. do you have a large closet in the room? perhaps one with shelves? try something like this:

http://www.sunset.com/home/arc.....ideas

or try a free-standing computer closet:

http://www.amazon.com/Sauder-H.....r=1-2

I like being able to close doors if the shelves aren't beautifully neat.

alternatively, consider installing a kitchen counter with cabinets underneath AND cabinets above instead of shelves. shelves are great, but closed doors will look nicer when guests are sleeping there.

as for the beds, do you have a friend who could borrow the bunks until your kids need them? of course, you could also put them in storage or sell them. put the money away for your kids to use when they need beds. space is money too.

I think two double beds, a dresser if the second closet can't be used by guests, and a small nightstand would be lovely. if you already decided to get rid of one double, keep the bunks. dh and I have slept at people's houses on bunk beds. get nice linen if you want to make it a little more mature. not ideal, but I can't see anyone being seriously uncomfortable, as long as you have the double bed there too.

another suggestion for your craft stuff/bookcase storage: a customizable closet system from ikea. I have one, and I really enjoy it. I have doors for it (optional) and it makes my bedroom look a lot nicer than it did before we got it. it's not going to be cheap (especially not for a long wall), but you should be able to configure things so you can use part for your sewing machines. if you're going to work in it like the office in a closet mentioned above, make sure you can bolt it to the wall.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/cata.....9086/

they have a planner on the website, you can fiddle around with configurations. it'll make a shopping list for you and tell you the price when you finish. here's the planner:

http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/r......html
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 2:35 pm
oh, and one more thing. we have a small space in our basement for guests. we bought two loveseat size sofa beds. they unfold into twin beds. we bought memory foam toppers to make them more comfy. that may be another option if you need an extra bed that doesn't take up much room.
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Barbara




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 2:44 pm
Unless they're heirloom, gallery-quality pieces, sell the bunk beds. Chances are that your kids won't want them, or that they'll be deemed unsafe by then.

If the room is big enough, I'd divide it in half using shelving or a storage piece. You can put all of your sewing things, and other things, on the shelves, and leave yourself a small private craft area. If there's room, you can put a futon there for additional sleep space.

The closet on that side is for other storage of whomever's stuff you were referring to.

Tack pretty fabric to the back of the shelving.

I'd leave the two regular beds there, with a nightstand. Then they have the closet as well.
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JustHavingFun




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 2:48 pm
studying_torah wrote:
What about A futon or pullout couch that folds into sort of a couch and can unfold for a reg mattress?


TY for suggestion but won't work for us.
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JustHavingFun




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 3:02 pm
mummiedearest wrote:
you say there are two doubles and a bunk-bed in one room? are they all currently in a position in which someone can actually lie down on them? or is one of them in pieces and standing against a wall?

I think a counter/storage configuration would be great for your craft stuff.


mummiedearest wrote:

I like being able to close doors if the shelves aren't beautifully neat.

alternatively, consider installing a kitchen counter with cabinets underneath AND cabinets above instead of shelves. shelves are great, but closed doors will look nicer when guests are sleeping there.


Beds are theoretically usable: one is completely covered with the kids' junk I don't have storage solution for. I want to get rid of the double beds however. They're old and hog floor space. The bunks are very good quality so I don't want to get rid of them; expensive to replace. I saw I can buy a trundle to match the maple beds. Or, I can buy a metal high-riser and raise it for a guest and another (adult) can sleep on the bottom bunk.

mummiedearest wrote:
dh and I have slept at people's houses on bunk beds. get nice linen if you want to make it a little more mature.


DH is concerned that someone not accustomed to bunks will hit their head but I don't share his pessimism.

I like your PAX suggestion. And the nice linens.
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JustHavingFun




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 3:07 pm
Barbara wrote:

If the room is big enough, I'd divide it in half using shelving or a storage piece. You can put all of your sewing things, and other things, on the shelves, and leave yourself a small private craft area. If there's room, you can put a futon there for additional sleep space.

The closet on that side is for other storage of whomever's stuff you were referring to.


I considered a divider but it will look small and block off light from the windows (on an 11' wall) to the other half (craft half?) of the room. Great idea, however!
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Dolly Welsh




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 3:10 pm
Today's inflatables can be very good quality. They can also be normal bed height, not low to the ground. Some of them fold into sofas when not being beds. They can be Messed textured. Some have a built-in raised pillow. Some have a built-in inflatable headboard. You use normal sheets.

Just an idea. Google for sources.
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 3:19 pm
justhavingfun, if you want to get rid of the doubles, take the bunk beds apart and use as twins. if you can get a trundle to match, keep that under one of the twin beds so you can accommodate three people if necessary. definitely get a nightstand so your guests have where to put their glasses, cosmetics, whatever. and if you get the pax system and set it up to take over the whole wall, I bet you can hide your kids' junk in there. you can even organize it Smile
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 3:20 pm
oh, and I don't recommend the inflatables. no matter the quality, they can puncture.

signed, the guest who woke up with a falling feeling. it wasn't a dream, it was a deflating mattress. the next two nights were fun...
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Rubber Ducky




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 03 2014, 3:23 pm
mummiedearest wrote:
justhavingfun, if you want to get rid of the doubles, take the bunk beds apart and use as twins. if you can get a trundle to match, keep that under one of the twin beds so you can accommodate three people if necessary. definitely get a nightstand so your guests have where to put their glasses, cosmetics, whatever. and if you get the pax system and set it up to take over the whole wall, I bet you can hide your kids' junk in there. you can even organize it Smile


I do space planning professionally, and I agree with mummiedearest.
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Oct 04 2014, 5:32 pm
separate the bunk beds, get rid of the doubles, and get a trundle bed. That will give you potentially 4 beds if needed. And Ikea is a great idea for storage ideas.
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