August will turn two this week, on Friday (already!), and I’ve been thinking about his ‘big boy’ room. Brandon and I had already moved Eleanor to her new room (and into a twin bed) when she was around the same age. A big difference between them though is that Eleanor waits for us to come get her in the morning. Still does. August, on the other hand, will bolt the second he’s given a chance. Thus it behooves us to keep him in his crib a little longer, until he figures out how to scale it. (We’re surprised he hasn’t yet.)
I’d like to have a room plan in place though, and that hinges on the bed. I had a hard time choosing a bed for Eleanor, too. I thought about a curlicue wicker headboard (too fragile), or IKEA’s adjustable Minnen bed (not bad), but in the end decided to buy a Jenny Lind bed. This time around, all of those options are out the window.
August’s room is great for a nursery, but it’s oddly shaped. It’s only 7′ across, from the door to the window. At 14-1/2 feet, it’s the widest room in our house, but the ceiling slopes downward on each side. Only the middle 6 feet of the room has a full height (86″) ceiling.
I pulled his crib out from the wall to see how a twin-sized bed would feel in the room. Not good. There’s barely enough room to walk by the dresser, and the bed would of course be much longer too. A 42″ wide bed just doesn’t work that well in an 84″ wide room.
We could make a twin-sized bed work if we move the dresser to where the glider and ottoman are, and then leave the dresser wall blank.
I worry that the bed will feel too big for the room though, even if it does fit. Alternatively, I’ve been considering IKEA’s Sundvik toddler bed. That’s a stopgap measure though. What will that buy us? Three years? Another option is to use our Lubi Daybed. It’s what we had in the room before we turned it into a nursery, back when it was a guest bedroom. It’s as long as a twin bed, but only 32.5″ wide. Ours is orange, and currently sitting in our basement, not being used.
Then the dresser could stay where it is, and we could replace the glider and ottoman with a play table and chairs. Or a tent, or teepee, or some other such thing.
I don’t like that there isn’t a real headboard for the daybed, because I am inordinately annoyed by the idea of pillows slipping down between the bed and the wall. With a couple of bed rails though, it may be the best choice.
There is one other option too. When we bought the house, the people that lived here told us that they use to put a mattress down in the opening that we’re currently using as a play area. Hello, giant fort! I don’t know how easy it would be to change the bedding though, because the mattress would slide under that opening a little. And for some reason I think it would be a spider haven (even though we don’t have a bug problem and I have no reason to think that).
What would you do? I guess I’m leaning toward the daybed, but I’m really not sure.
*Update*
Here’s the layout of that weird little play area nook. It’s actually open, under the floor, for nearly two feet. We currently utilize that space by sliding plastic bins under for toys.
