Best Bedroom Ideas When Raising Children
New bedroom ideas when raising children may mean great things when it comes to the best use of space.
Minimalism and tiny houses are trending right now. Whether it’s decluttering your way into happiness (think Marie Kondo), cutting down on debt, or using your space more effectively.
This particularly comes into play when your home is filled with little people and all of their stuff. Think about a bazillion Lego pieces and enough Disney princess dolls to create a pretty pink army.
When my husband and I bought our home we weren’t thinking of being ground-breakers in bedroom ideas especially around raising children. We found something that we knew we’d “grow into” once we started our family.
In our early double income no-kid (DINK) days, there were literally empty rooms with little to no furniture. We’d even complain about particular rooms becoming junk rooms.
New Ideas for Bedrooms And Other Rooms
Take a second and think about the rooms in your house. Especially dining rooms. How often do most people actually use them?
The vast majority of people use them a handful of times each year. Mostly over holidays and other special occasions when they have visitors.
Recent design trends and open kitchens show we spend far more time eating at a kitchen table or on a high stool around a multi-purpose island.
Dining rooms are a big waste of space for a lot of families, and some say they’re even becoming extinct.
With this concept in mind, it is not only dining rooms that could be better utilized. When the time comes for raising children you may grapple with ideas around bedrooms also not being put to good use.
Raising Children Means Clutter
We had no real idea how much “stuff” you acquire when you are raising children until we were in the thick of it.
Having twins, suddenly our home was filled with all sorts of paraphernalia. Change stations on every floor, Jolly Jumpers, high chairs, swings, and every teething ring known to man.
I foolishly believed that once the baby gates came down and the safety latches were removed from all of the cabinets that I’d have more of my house back. Boy was I wrong!
Since I work as a freelancer out of home and enjoy a home office, I wanted to keep my twins sharing a room for as long as possible. We have family stay with us from out of town several times a year, so the idea of an extra bedroom was appealing.
I also recognized that their stuff is everywhere in our home. A part of the reason why is child-spread (trademark pending), which is essentially like manspreading on public transit.
In my home this meant craft supplies, glitter, action figures, and single socks flung on every surface imaginable.
The Master Bedroom Idea May Minimalize Mess
Last year I complained to a friend about the child-spread encompassing our entire house. The panicked “tidy mode” we go into every time we’re about to have company (which anyone who has kids knows is as effective as brushing your teeth while eating Oreos).
He sent me an interesting article with the idea of parents giving up their master bedroom in order to give their children more space.
It’s an idea I loved but wasn’t sure if I was ready to give up my spacious master suite to aid my sanity in raising my children.
Most real estate agents will tell you this is a bad idea for resale value, but we knew we weren’t going to do anything we couldn’t and wouldn’t undo in a few years.
A New Bedroom Idea to Help De-Clutter the Chaos of Raising Children
As urban dwellers who live in a big city, we love our home for its walkability and proximity to public transit. The downside of this when raising children is we have a tiny backyard, and only one sizable bedroom – the master.
We are against televisions in the bedroom. Our idea is that bedrooms should be used for sleeping, reading, and, well, “intimate encounters.” This means that a lot of our bedroom was filled with wasted space, including a giant bowl chair that was the prime dumping ground for clean laundry. We all know that when raising children space is a premium commodity.
A few weeks ago my daughter started circling around wanting her own room and more space to play. We revisited a temporary room swap between us and the kids, so each child could have their own corner of space. Perhaps eventually maybe even a room divider if they wanted a little more privacy.
The Idea Of Children In The Master Bedroom
When we told the kids our ingenious bedroom idea they were super excited. Their furniture fit into the room with ease, and suddenly our crap collecting bowl chair would be a great reading spot for storytime.
We were able to move all of the dress-up clothes out of the basement and put them neatly into the wardrobe in their room. By giving them more living space in their shared room, we are now able to “re-claim” common areas of our home.
As for our new smaller space, for the most part it’s fine. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it. This bedroom swap idea has been amazing to reduce the clutter around the house, inevitable when raising children.
We haven’t quite found the sweet spot for all of our furniture. There is currently a heated debate as to whether or not removing one end table will ruin the symmetry of the room. We need to invest in some shelving to clear a little more floor space. It’s cozy, but comfortable.
Conclusion
Giving up the master bedroom to your children is a fairly radical idea. Before raising children it is not something that would have ever crossed my mind.
The next time I bump my shin on a corner while getting ready in the morning I’ll try to remember that it’s all for a greater good.
I can now shut the door to their bedroom if it’s not tidy whenever we have company. Seeing them actively play each day in a space that just a few days ago was empty except for between midnight and 7AM – that makes me smile.
We have more bedroom ideas for raising children in this article.
Would you ever swap rooms with your children? Please comment below!
An Occupational therapist, freelance content writer and more importantly a stay-at-home mom, Sara, like all other parents juggles her many roles. Her passion for writing combined with her professional expertise as an Occupational therapist (working with children with special needs) has helped her craft content specific to child health, wellness and learning skills. At present, Sara alternates her time between raising her two young children, and writing about what she knows best- children!
