Bedroom
Executive summary: I truly believe the key to living comfortably in a 1-bedroom with kids is to stash them and their stuff in a place where you can close the door and walk away.
Before I committed my family of then-three, now-four, to living in a 1-bedroom apartment, I scoured the internet for blog posts and articles about others who had also opted for this insanity. I have a couple of favorite blogs that gave me a blueprint and also the confidence to try it. My husband and I were no strangers to small space living, given all the apartments we’d been in through our college, first job, and grad school days, but it was simple to do as a child-free couple (that really enjoyed spending time together, maybe I should add). Throwing kids into the mix was upsetting the equation. But what I read repeatedly is that giving the lone bedroom to the kids is the easiest setup, because you can reclaim your adult space at night once the kids are in bed. Not to mention you can corral all their (often garish) stuff in one place. So we followed suit, and it’s been working for us.
Twin bed frame: Crate & Barrel | Duvet cover & sheet set: Macy’s | Floor lamp: Target | Stool (used as nightstand): IKEA Bekvam | Crib: Nestig Wave | Rug: Amazon | Glider: DaVinci (via Amazon) | Throw pillow: Crate & Barrel | Banners: Amazon | Felt ball garland: Paper Source | Curtain rod & clips: Amazon Basics | Blackout curtain: IKEA Bengta | 4x1 storage unit: IKEA Kallax | Storage bins: 3 Sprouts (via Container Store) | Star Wars picture: DIY | Baby: DIY (jk, but she does make a good prop while napping)
Like the main living space, I wanted this room to be as open and bright as possible. I kept the furniture to a minimum to create a large area in the center of the floor for playing. I also opted for a low storage unit (it’s all toys in there) so I wouldn’t worry about furniture tipping over if an overenthusiastic child climbed on top. It’s worked out well, since my son likes to play on the surface as well as store his creations on top. (The trick is figuring out how to keep baby’s grabby hands away from the fragile masterpieces). Meanwhile, the stool spends most of its time posing as a nightstand, but a couple times a day, it moves by the glider to become a side table during a certain baby’s feeds, or a tablet stand for a certain preschooler’s shows. Modular, multifunctional furniture – my favorite!
Feats of magnet tile and building block architecture on display.
Below is the room seen from another angle, to give you a sense of the layout. The bed and crib are a few feet apart, which means no one will be kicking their sibling in the middle of the night. The biggest issue is probably noise, but honestly, it seems that they’ve gotten used to each other. My son barely stirs when baby cries in the middle of the night, even though her parents have heard it loud and clear from their sleeping area in the living room. The rug could probably be larger from a design perspective, but I don’t feel like replacing it. I call it our “barf rug,” because that’s why I got it in the first place. When my son caught his first stomach bug from daycare as an infant, he vomited on the carpet of our prior home. The stain never fully came out, so I decided that if he ever got sick again, I’d put a rug under his bed so that the carpet would be spared. Since that fateful day, no one has barfed on the floor (knock on wood), so it’s a barfless rug, but I feel good knowing it’s there juuuust in case.
Picture ledges: IKEA Mosslanda
One thing I dislike about our apartment layout is that the stacked washer and dryer are accessed from the bedroom (through the slatted door). I’m very grateful to have our own laundry setup (it’s rare if you don’t live in a newly constructed or remodeled apartment), especially with the messes that kids make around the clock. But I feel the need to coordinate our loads of laundry with baby’s nap schedule, which makes my life less smart and simple than I’d hoped. Oh well, you win some, you lose some, right?
Hooded animal towels: Target | Over-the-door hooks: Umbra (via Amazon)
If you look around, you might notice that there is no dresser. We bid farewell to dressers (for everyone in the family) years ago. It’s one of those things I feel like you never question, but then one day, I’m looking at our dresser and wondering why it’s so big but doesn’t seem to store a commensurate amount of stuff. Out it went to Goodwill, and in came these lightweight mesh drawer units from IKEA. I love how easy it is to hide them in the closet, leaving maximum floor space available in the bedroom for playing.
All the kids’ clothes (plus odds and ends) fit in these four mesh drawers in the closet. In case you’re wondering, the blue contraption sitting on top is our SkipHop baby bathtub, which my son used every day for years, but is now mostly for when we stay in hotels without bathtubs.
I enjoy spending time in this room, rolling around the floor with my kids, reading books in the glider, tucking them (and their stuffed animals) into bed each night. Like the living area, it’s been designed with all our habits and needs in mind, so I find it highly functional and easy to maintain. I do think we’ll try to give the kids their own rooms in the future, but I’m talking like 5+ years from now, as I don’t think there’s much of a need until they get closer to puberty. But we’ll see how it goes as baby becomes increasingly mobile and opinionated; I’m not looking forward to the sibling fights that are probably inevitable. For now, I will enjoy the (relative) peace and this room where I get to close the door on them each night and be glad that we made it through another day without too many meltdowns.