It looks like they're going to be tall like their Daddy, and they're just about to outgrow their toddler beds. We've actually been contemplating this move for about a year...remember when Mallory stopped sleeping through the night last spring? I was willing to do anything to bribe her into staying in bed ~ including buying new beds.
Recently, I found the beds of my dreams at a sale price I could live with ~ precious while sleigh beds reminiscent of their cribs. I've always been worried about fitting two twin beds in the girls' room across the back wall {where their beds are now ~ see below}. I knew we'd probably have to swap the dresser and armoire since the armoire is narrower. I was thrilled to find out two beds and the armoire would fit with inches to spare. Then it hit me that I'd never considered the length of a twin bed ~ a whopping 75 inches!
I'll spare you the hysterics I experienced last Saturday and simply tell you between deep breaths that two twin beds will NOT fit in their room {perfectly, which of course, is the way I want it}.
Look around the room, if you will; we have measured off every possible configuration, and they just won't fit...perfectly.
We have options, though, which I present to you here:
- option 1 ~ new bunk beds in their current room {I don't even want to go there}
- option 2 ~ buy new sleigh beds and move their bedroom upstairs into the playroom; move the playroom back down stairs to their current room {more than enough room upstairs, but the girls would be too far away from us, in my mommy opinion}
- option 3 ~ buy new sleigh beds and split up the girls {one would go into the spare room/former playroom right next door which is where we now keep my sewing machines, the girls' art easel, the wireless printer, etc. ~ I'm not thrilled with the idea of splitting them up, sniff, sniff}
- option 4 ~ could this be the perfectly imperfect option I've been looking for? I've been wrestling with this all week and yesterday I had a brainstorm! Could we take off the closet door, replace it with a cute curtain instead, buy bed frames and mattresses only {no new sleigh beds whose length is 86 inches!!!!} and just let the foot of the bed stick out a little in front of the closet doorway...
{add 11 inches to that and imagine how far out the sleigh bed would come ~ not a possibility}
None of these options is perfect, but we've got to decide which one we can all live with as long as we're in this house {which won't be forever, but I'm not sure new beds for the girls is an good enough excuse to put the house on the market}.
So, what would you do? What do you think we should do? Any and all opinions and advice are welcome!
1 comment:
we just went through this!
my original plan was to buy the boys bunk beds that could also be set up as two twins (until they are old enough for bunks—which is six!!). i then went around their room with a tape measure and couldn't come up with any configuration that worked. the wall that had the toddler beds coming off of it was too short for the heads of both beds to fit and the placement of doors, nooks and a huge off-centered window made things feel impossible. there was one wall that could fit both beds, but then getting to the bathroom was a bit of an obstacle.
so i turned our attention to the guest room. more of the same. the house just wasn't built for two twin beds, i guess.
and then, as i was agonizing, the boys threw out a curve ball—they wanted their own rooms! what?? separated?? that was never in my plans. all i could think of was how much "fun" time they were going to miss out on—all the sleepovers and late-night giggles. but after talking to a few grown twins, they made some points that made me think it was a good idea to split them up.
my friend natalie is a twin, and she's the less dominant one. growing up she and her sister shared a room and nat always felt like a guest in her own room. she would place a teddy bear in the perfect spot and come back only to find her sister had moved it. every day was like that. later they moved to a house where everyone could have their own room and she loved every minute of having a space of her own.
her story made me think of alex, definitely the more easy-going of my two. i didn't want him to ever feel that way. i mean, if you think about it, they had been together all the time since they were born—they shared a room, shared a class at school, shared a playroom, shared toys, ate together, slept together, even bathed together. there was nothing of their very own. a room started to feel like a good idea.
so we said they could ask santa to bring them their own. and he did. it did mean having to get more furniture (santa didn't think about the fact that there would be a need for not only two beds and two sets of bedding, but also two dressers, two bookcases, two clocks, two lamps, more art, etc.) and it meant having no guest room, but so far it's been an excellent decision for the boys. they are sleeping better (still not great, but better) and they seem to really like it.
they'll invite each other to play in their rooms. they like taking turns tucking each other in at night. the logistics of bedtime stories was a hurdle, but we figured it out. sometimes we read in max's room. sometimes in alex's. sometimes i end up reading the same story twice.
anyway, here's me agonizing on my blog if you want to read ...
http://shootingallens.posterous.com/time-for-big-boy-beds
http://shootingallens.posterous.com/sneak-preview
http://shootingallens.posterous.com/two-new-big-boy-rooms-for-christmas-18630
i still hope when they become bunk bed age, they'll want to share again, but who knows. if they do, we'll make the other room a play room/place for desks. if not, we'll just roll with it.
good luck!! i'm sure whatever you end up doing will turn out adorable. change is hard. i miss their toddler room with every fiber of their being, but i also love their new rooms, too!
Post a Comment