Making Room with No Room
One thing most NYCers can’t brag about? Space. We have about 1000 square foot 2BR apartment. Which was huge before kids. They eat space. One option…buy a 3BR. Well in addition to the HUGE pain in the ass of selling our apartment and finding a bigger one, we would have to fork out anywhere from 2-400,000 more for the extra room, literally THE extra room…singular. Plus…maintenance is paid per square foot….which means a couple hundred extra there each month too. Besides not wanting to ratchet up our monthly expenses, we just don’t want to move. 
We like our neighborhood, our building, our neighbors…even the unbearably whiney ones, our little park, even our doorman who gives us all really weird nicknames. So when it comes to space we need to be uber efficient…quality over quantity. Hence our latest project. The boys are growing and their room is in need of a Big Boy transformation. Thing 1 has outgrown the toddler bed and Thing 2 has outgrown the crib. The problem? Their room is 13×8. Yep. We need to fit 2 growing boys and their crap, which seems to multiply like fed gremlins, into that space. Here is the real kicker…at 2 and 4…they are too little for traditional bunk beds. Sound like a challenge? Why yes it is. Try adding an ounce, and I do mean an ounce of greenness and we have a Sisyphean feat on our hands….and that is why I will expect all of your brilliance to come flowing forth.
Furniture…We have decided on a low-loft bed that can later be converted into a reg. bunk bed. Either boy could can handle the ladder and if worse comes to worse and one falls- 3 feet seems reasonable. The older monkey will get the top and the younger will get the floor. Okay okay…we are going to give him his brother’s toddler bed and scoot that under. Although secondhand would have been more ecohappy…the bed we need is so specific and after a few weeks of looking at Craig’s list I wanted to punch anyone named Craig…oh and just order the bed we needed. 
For storage we are gutting their sizable closet and doing the CA Closet type thing. We are successfully finding homes for any furniture moving out and converting the dresser to fit in the closet. See…there is an ounce of green there.
Fabric…To save as much of the old as possible…I will be using the same color scheme in their room, meaning I won’t have to make a new set of curtains. (Of course I made their curtains…what kind of Needle would I be?) Here is my dilemma with the twin sheets, which we have none of. Do I go organic or fun? My 4 year old would literally poop himself if he found Indians Jones or Star Wars under his covers…not so much for organic tan. Fun or healthy? I may have to go organic sheets…fun bed spread?
Walls….Going to go with Benjamin Moore’s Aura…no VOCs. No big stress there. Great reviews…and safe around the wee ones. Okay…I get credit for a gallon of green there, no?
Floor…Out of courtesy to the poor women who live below us we really need to put in a thicker rug. The boys have a thin one now but they are beasts on the hardwood…beautiful but beastly. I am thinking of having a Stainmaster bound carpet in the earth tones family made. That way I could still clean the floors underneath, the rug will provide a good sound barrier, and will hold up well…meaning long term use…which in the long run will be greener. Not sure what other options are available really. (Hint hint…this is where you come in with the brilliance.)
If any one has any great space saver suggestions please, oh please share. Oh…and did I mention we have to get a desk in there for the upcoming kindergarten year? That fussy 4 year old of mine says it is too hard to concentrate while his brother tries to stuff Gorilla Munch up his nose…his brother’s…not his own. (He is actually really good at it. Talent comes in all forms people!)
These are some really cool ideas. While living in a small space has its issues, I really think it forces us to take stock of what we need and what we don’t. And also it forces us to get creative!
Fabric – Target sells organic cotton sheets in non-tan colors such as blue and green, or at least they did a while back. You could get a set or two of those and embroider some star wars-y type things on them.
Floors – check out flor.com for carpet squares. You can buy as much/little as you need, it applies easily, can be removed and WASHED (!!!), then when you’re done with it, the company will take the tiles back and recycle them into new tiles. Not sure about the thickness, but you can order samples for $5 and check it out.
3 of my 4 boys share the cape cod style loft room of our house. We thought about dividing it, but still two would have to share. They said they wanted it this way, so, Okkeeyy, whatever. That’s a lot of pushing, shoving and jumping for one room, but hey, I have boys. I just wear earplugs.
But, what I wanted to mention about shared space was the “special drawer” system. As they got older, about 5 to 7, they had each collected special items near and dear to their hearts. Shells, money, knick knacks, sunglasses whatever. These items did not want to be shared with other brothers. After many fights – That’s mine! No mine was the blue one. No it wasn’t, yours was RED… and so on. We set up a drawer in each nightstand that was completely HANDS OFF. Anybody busted in the other’s special drawer would receive a punishment like no other from their mother.
Now, my oldest boys are 12, 12 and 10 and they still respect this rule. It gives them a sense of privacy in a shared room.
Good luck with the remodel!
A patch of blackboard paint is good. chalk washes off crayon doesn’t. Also a long row of hooks up high is great for just about anything from jackets to kites to toys and even shoes (bagged or laced together, you name it, it can be hung.
What about a trundle bed? My cousin had one for sleepovers, but I think it would work for everyday use.
If you wanted to go really nuts — two little murphy beds — then you’d have floorspace galore when they weren’t in them.
Although, I don’t know where you’d find murphy beds.
Arduous…Yes-forced creativity is a good thing.
Heather- Thanks. I will check Target for the sheets. I checked out the Flor site. Cool idea…which we might use when we do our room which is oddly shaped. For the boys it would be a bit pricey. The ones I liked came out to be about 700$. The Stainmaster I like with the little squares in it bound would be about $400…and is thicker…better for jumping little feet.
Eco- I love the drawer idea!
Viv in nz- Hooks are good. The boys have a ton of costumes and I try to hang them to keep them orderly….but.
Allie- We did consider a trundle bed. The loft will allow them a little more space to play…and is kind of cool looking. After we convert it to reg. bunk beds in a few years we may add the trundle for storage or friends….or storage of friends.