Anyone has a living room as a "multi-purpose" / IKEA style room?

[38carrots]

Especially with normal height celings? (i.e. not super high).

 

How does it work for you? Do you have photos?

 

I'm not sure I'm brave enough. But I always feel living rooms are such a waste of space. We hardly ever use ours and it ends up a disorganized dump (I guess we are not very formal folks ha-ha. Our large kitchen is the family hub). And the kids are only just now old enough not to have all of their toys in the living room.

 

So I'm imagining having a reading nook around the window; a loft or bunk bed insread of a sofa; a small desk / table / craft station. Those IKEA rooms look so awesome. But I won't have such a high ceiling. Can I pull it off?

 

 

 

 

[EndOfOrdinary]

We painted all of the walls a crisp, warm white. Then stained all the wood the same color (major pain in the rear! But worth it). That helped significantly. Natural light helps too, but doesn't it always. The unifying color means the space seems much more open and your eye travels. When the room was a pale green, it just didn't work. We went full Ikea and the white works so much better.

[eternalsummer]

I don't know what IKEA style means in this context, but we do most of our living in the living room, if that is what you mean.  Well, really the living room and dining room, which are mostly open concept.

[38carrots]

We painted all of the walls a crisp, warm white. Then stained all the wood the same color (major pain in the rear! But worth it). That helped significantly. Natural light helps too, but doesn't it always. The unifying color means the space seems much more open and your eye travels. When the room was a pale green, it just didn't work. We went full Ikea and the white works so much better.

 

Thank you!

 

Did you stain Ikea furniture white as well? What do you mean by crisp *and* warm?

 

What about the floor? I'm thinking to paint the floor white as well? Currently hard wood floors with a yellowish tint.

 

Do you like your room? Is it all literally Ikea or Ikea-style? How big is your room?

[38carrots]

I don't know what IKEA style means in this context, but we do most of our living in the living room, if that is what you mean.  Well, really the living room and dining room, which are mostly open concept.

 

I actually want to have a bunk bed in it. And a writing dest. And two craft tables. So not a typical living room but more of a multipurpose room.

 

Sort of like this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/bf/69/59/bf69597f137444c0579e89ce0aaf0b2c.jpg

 

Only the room itself is not very big and doesn't have a high ceiling. I find that those rooms with "stations" always look much better with very high ceilings.

[Guest]

We have a typical LR, dr Family-room-connected -to -kitchen-with-earring -space house. We live in the LR and turned the Fr into our formal living room. It just works better. If I didn't have a legacy dining room table I would totally use the DR for the LR and the LR for an office/sewing room.

 

If I had known I was going to homeschool, I would never have bought the dining table in our old house but would have used the Dr for our school room and our LR for a library/music room.

 

Use your house for how you live.

 

Our neighbors have a house similar to ours and they use they're LR/DR for a projection theater room. I say good for them.

[TammyS]

I actually want to have a bunk bed in it. And a writing dest. And two craft tables. So not a typical living room but more of a multipurpose room.

 

Sort of like this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/bf/69/59/bf69597f137444c0579e89ce0aaf0b2c.jpg

 

Only the room itself is not very big and doesn't have a high ceiling. I find that those rooms with "stations" always look much better with very high ceilings.

 

To me, that doesn't look like a multi purpose room.  It looks like a bedroom with a sitting area.

 

IME, living in places with low ceilings, you really want to keep your furniture height at less than 50% of ceiling height.  Otherwise the room look crowded (but I really prefer the open, airy feel).

[Bluegoat]

We switched rooms around in our place, so the biggest room which was intended as the living room is the dining room.  But that means it has a big table and china hutch, a comfortable chair, bookaces for the school books, piano, and a comfy chair.  It's actually our most traditional lookingroom, in a way, the walls are fern coloured, most of the furniture is wood, there is an old church pew for the dining table, and there is an Indian rug.  Lots of pictures, and my china collection.

 

The other larger room on the first floor was I think intended as a bedroom, we have a loveseat and big chair, tv, and some bookshelves in there.

 

In the past, we did try and do away with a living room altogether, and that didn't work as well - we found that we did need some space for some comfortable chairs. 

[scbusf]

We sort of have this. In our house, we have a living room and a family room. The living room has the main TV and our couches.

 

The family room is sort of our school room. It has a fireplace (which we haven't used in years), several bookshelves, a huge desk. I've been trying to figure out how to add a reading nook or something.

[38carrots]

To me, that doesn't look like a multi purpose room.  It looks like a bedroom with a sitting area.

 

IME, living in places with low ceilings, you really want to keep your furniture height at less than 50% of ceiling height.  Otherwise the room look crowded (but I really prefer the open, airy feel).

 

That's a good point. I guess I'd like to have a bedroom with a sitting area and a craft area and an office area in the room that is intended as a living room, and therefore has no door. And I'd like to use this room as a family room / activity room, but also to have a bed in it.

[scbusf]

That's a good point. I guess I'd like to have a bedroom with a sitting area and a craft area and an office area in the room that is intended as a living room, and therefore has no door. And I'd like to use this room as a family room / activity room, but also to have a bed in it.

 

Oh! Right now, we have a roommate living in our extra bedroom. Once she leaves, it's going to have a Daybed - for sitting or sleeping, my sewing supplies, my grandmother's antique sewing machine, and whatever else doesn't fit elsewhere in the house. 

[Carol in Cal.]

We switched rooms around in our place, so the biggest room which was intended as the living room is the dining room.  But that means it has a big table and china hutch, a comfortable chair, bookaces for the school books, piano, and a comfy chair.  It's actually our most traditional lookingroom, in a way, the walls are fern coloured, most of the furniture is wood, there is an old church pew for the dining table, and there is an Indian rug.  Lots of pictures, and my china collection.

 

 

Wow, now I am going to think about whether and how to make our living room into our dining room.

 

This had never occurred to me before.

 

When we moved in this house, it was supposed to be a 2-4 year stepping stone to a large home, meaning 4BR, 2+ full baths, living room, dining room, and family room.  This house seemed like a good compromise because the dining room was fairly large and could be set up as a family room most of the time but easily transformed into a dining room when we had company.  And, although it only had 1 1/2 bathrooms, the shower and tub were separate, so in theory DH could shower while I was bathing.  So it seemed like we got everything we wanted, just compressed, except for the 4th bedroom, which was not all that essential.

 

But.

 

We hardly ever switch the family room/dining room around.  And we hardly ever use the full bathroom together.  So it's not nearly as versatile in fact as it seemed in theory.

 

But if we made the dining room into a very comfortable living room/family room, then we could set up the dining room as a salon, with a big dining set and also a piano.  Hmmm.  

 

One major drawback would be that the kitchen is at the other end of the house.  That's not all that realistic.  WAIT!  I could resurrect the antique tea cart and move food around on it.  That would actually be fun, in a playing house kind of way.  And we could put a small table in the kitchen and eat there some of the time.  Must think about this further.

[KungFuPanda]

We do our living in the L-shaped LR/DR. This leaves us with a family room that gets reinvented for every event. We put in a wall of mirrors so it's a dance studio when I'm teaching a class. It's the BIG dining room when I want to seat up to 25. It's the sewing room when I have a project that I don't want spread out in our living space. It's also a kids dorm when we have company. Sometimes it's a guest suite. If I didn't use it as a dance studio most of the time I'd put a Murphy bed in there, but right now I can squeeze in 10 dancers and I want to keep that capacity. In the winter I put up a small shelf with grow lights to start plants for the garden. Sometimes I put the Christmas tree in there. This is the room with the fireplace and I can SEE the tree and the lights from my LR couch but I don't have to crowd my regular living space to enjoy it. During dance classes, a portable mirror blocks that doorway so you can't see into the studio from the LR couch.

ETA: When the kids were little this was the playroom space that I could see from the kitchen.

Edited February 14, 2017 by KungFuPanda

[Seasider]

Aren't you thinking of selling? Or am I getting you mixed up with another boardie?

 

If you are going to be putting your house on the market, don't do anything unconventional like putting a bed in the living room.

[38carrots]

Aren't you thinking of selling? Or am I getting you mixed up with another boardie?

 

If you are going to be putting your house on the market, don't do anything unconventional like putting a bed in the living room.

 

Imagining the set-up in the house that we'd like to buy! :coolgleamA:

[Bluegoat]

Wow, now I am going to think about whether and how to make our living room into our dining room.

 

This had never occurred to me before.

 

When we moved in this house, it was supposed to be a 2-4 year stepping stone to a large home, meaning 4BR, 2+ full baths, living room, dining room, and family room.  This house seemed like a good compromise because the dining room was fairly large and could be set up as a family room most of the time but easily transformed into a dining room when we had company.  And, although it only had 1 1/2 bathrooms, the shower and tub were separate, so in theory DH could shower while I was bathing.  So it seemed like we got everything we wanted, just compressed, except for the 4th bedroom, which was not all that essential.

 

But.

 

We hardly ever switch the family room/dining room around.  And we hardly ever use the full bathroom together.  So it's not nearly as versatile in fact as it seemed in theory.

 

But if we made the dining room into a very comfortable living room/family room, then we could set up the dining room as a salon, with a big dining set and also a piano.  Hmmm.  

 

One major drawback would be that the kitchen is at the other end of the house.  That's not all that realistic.  WAIT!  I could resurrect the antique tea cart and move food around on it.  That would actually be fun, in a playing house kind of way.  And we could put a small table in the kitchen and eat there some of the time.  Must think about this further.

 

It might not be as annoying as it seems to move the food to the dining room to eat.  Especially if you store most of the utensils and such there.

 

My house is a lot smaller than people are living in now with four kids - It's a one and a half story post war house, so two bedrooms and tiny powder room upstairs, and downstairs with a working kitchen, living room, and what were a small bedroom and a bigger one, plus a tiny full bathroom.  I've had to think creatively to make it work. 

[Selkie]

Thank you!

 

Did you stain Ikea furniture white as well? What do you mean by crisp *and* warm?

 

What about the floor? I'm thinking to paint the floor white as well? Currently hard wood floors with a yellowish tint.

 

Do you like your room? Is it all literally Ikea or Ikea-style? How big is your room?

Re. floors - our house has a very Scandinavian feel, but we had oak floors with a yellowish finish that dh and I did not like. We thought about painting the floors white but decided that would be too difficult to keep clean (we live in the country, have horses, and track dirt in all day long). Instead, we had the floors sanded so that all the finish was removed and have just left them unfinished. It's very natural look and we love it.

[ElizabethB]

An inner spring mattress futon is as comfy as a bed and looks like a couch when not being used as a bed, and would look better with low ceilings.

[Carol in Cal.]

Hmmm.  I'm liking the idea of putting up mirrors all over one wall somewhere.  There is nothing to stop you from putting furniture in front of them.  It doesn't have to be a blank, mirrored wall all the time.  Hmmm.

 

And, re. the living room turning into a dining room, the other issue is that it has a fireplace.  Hmmm.

But really, the main reason that the dining room and family room are combined is that I absolutely wanted a calm room without a TV in it, so I absolutely banned the TV from the living room.  Whereas now that TVs are almost as thin as paintings, they don't dominate a room like they used to.  I could even hide one without much difficulty.  In fact, I could hide one behind a credenza on a narrow platform that moves it up and down.  

 

Cue 'A Whole New World'...

Edited February 14, 2017 by Carol in Cal.

[Julie Smith]

I suppose we do. 

 

In our living room we have: 

 

A dining room table, for board gaming. :) 

An electric piano

A small table with light beside piano

A small computer desk for when my Dh needs to work from home

A couch and lazy boy chair

A coffee table that stores lots of toys

A computer printer

Two side tables

A shelf containing board games

Two small TV tray tables (to hold more board game pieces while playing)

An exercise bike

A TV

 

An no, our living room isn't that large. It just is lacking that much floor space now. 

 

[Guest]

We do everything in two rooms right now, except sleep and peepee.

 

If I had my way, I'd have bedrolls in the livingroom, too, and we'd just put them away (or not) during the day. We are huge sit on the floor types.

 

Well, and DH would keep his little game room for video gaming. It's nice to have a 100% totally kid-free place in the house for games, movies and et cetera.

 

We have those pass-through bookshelves and have used them in open-floorplan houses to separate spaces before.

 

I do like having the kitchen separate, if not the eating space. If I could keep food smells from the whole rest of the house that would be amazing, but I partiularly hate when cooking smells get inthe room where I sleep. yech

[Carol in Cal.]

 

 

If I had my way, I'd have bedrolls in the livingroom, too, and we'd just put them away (or not) during the day. We are huge sit on the floor types.

 

 

This is very Japanese.

 

In the Tokyo area, when you drive near apartment buildings you see bedding hung over the balconies outside on every non-rainy day.  

 

I visited the family home of an executive there once.  He and his wife had two children, and everyone thought that their home was HUGE.  But it was only about 1200 square feet.

 

In the great room, which wasn't all that big, they had a low dining table that they kept attached to a wall when they weren't eating.  To eat, they would set it on the floor, and everyone would sit on floor cushions around it.  Then they would put it back after it was cleared and cleaned.

 

I am not completely clear on where everyone slept but at least some of the family slept in that same room, on bedrolls/futons that were brought out at bedtime.  The futons didn't have frames--they were just unrolled onto the tatami floor, and quilts and pillows taken out of the closet every night to sleep on.

 In the daytime the housewife would hang the quilts up to air for a while, either on the balconies or draped inside, and then put them away, along with the futons.

 

I was never clear on where people studied.  The electronic entertainment systems were very miniaturized and kept on a shelf in the great room.  I don't think anyone had much time for TV but you could pull out the floor cushions and watch it in there when the table and beds were not set up.

 

It was a very efficient and lovely lifestyle.

 

 

Edited February 14, 2017 by Carol in Cal.

[Guest]

This is very Japanese.

 

In the Tokyo area, when you drive near apartment buildings you see bedding hung over the balconies outside on every non-rainy day.  

 

I visited the family home of an executive there once.  He and his wife had two children, and everyone thought that their home was HUGE.  But it was only about 1200 square feet.

 

In the great room, which wasn't all that big, they had a low dining table that they kept attached to a wall when they weren't eating.  To eat, they would set it on the floor, and everyone would sit on floor cushions around it.  Then they would put it back after it was cleared and cleaned.

 

I am not completely clear on where everyone slept but at least some of the family slept in that same room, on bedrolls/futons that were brought out at bedtime.  The futons didn't have frames--they were just unrolled onto the tatami floor, and quilts and pillows taken out of the closet every night to sleep on.

 In the daytime the housewife would hang the quilts up to air for a while, either on the balconies or draped inside, and then put them away, along with the futons.

 

I was never clear on where people studied.  The electronic entertainment systems were very miniaturized and kept on a shelf in the great room.  I don't think anyone had much time for TV but you could pull out the floor cushions and watch it in there when the table and beds were not set up.

 

It was a very efficient and lovely lifestyle.

 

 

I was never clear on where people studied.  The electronic entertainment systems were very miniaturized and kept on a shelf in the great room.  I don't think anyone had much time for TV but you could pull out the floor cushions and watch it in there when the table and beds were not set up.

 

Sounds great to me.

 

I already sleep on the floor on a  mat. We gave away our perfectly fine bed to do so a few years ago. And the couch last year. But the mat is in my bedroom, and that is the only reason I EVER go into, or heat in winter/AC in the summer ($!) that room. This summer I *plan* to finish the large, low table I built, so that we can sit on the floor to eat, as well.

 

ETA--I would say it's still nice for the boys to have their own bedroom, and obviously that will be increasingly true as they round the corner into the teen years. But I'd be pleased as punch with a small two bedroom place. Especially if it had a mud room. Mud rooms are everything.

Edited February 14, 2017 by OKBud

[Carol in Cal.]

I have to say, I think that that Japanese lifestyle was fairly labor intensive.  It's hard to imagine pulling it off without staff or someone at home most of the time.

[marbel]

I actually want to have a bunk bed in it. And a writing dest. And two craft tables. So not a typical living room but more of a multipurpose room.

 

Sort of like this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/bf/69/59/bf69597f137444c0579e89ce0aaf0b2c.jpg

 

Only the room itself is not very big and doesn't have a high ceiling. I find that those rooms with "stations" always look much better with very high ceilings.

 

I think this is a studio apartment setup (without being able to see the kitchen area).  It looks very much like something I've seen in our local store.  My daughter dreams of living in a place like that someday.

 

If there are beds in the main living area of your home, and there are kids living at home, what will you do when you have company over and staying past the bedtimes of the people who sleep in the beds?   For that matter, if there are multiple people using those beds, what about different sleep needs/times?    

 

Trying to think outside the box here, but I'm having a hard time.  I like the idea of a big room with lots of craft space, etc., but am getting stuck on the sleeping part. 

Edited February 14, 2017 by marbel

[38carrots]

Re. floors - our house has a very Scandinavian feel, but we had oak floors with a yellowish finish that dh and I did not like. We thought about painting the floors white but decided that would be too difficult to keep clean (we live in the country, have horses, and track dirt in all day long). Instead, we had the floors sanded so that all the finish was removed and have just left them unfinished. It's very natural look and we love it.

 

I like this! Why unfinished floor is easier to keep clean the painted white floor? Just visually? We'd have the same problem with tracking dirt it.

[Catwoman]

I think it's a cool idea but I wouldn't paint the hardwood floors or have a bunk bed in the living room. I would go with a nice big area rug to cover most of the flooring if you don't like the color of the wood.

 

I can't imagine walking into someone's home and seeing a bed in the living room, because unless it was a hospital bed for a sick family member, it would feel like a dorm or a frat house to me or like you were operating a rooming house. Will people actually be sleeping in there?

 

If you said this was for your finished basement, it would make more sense to me, but I'm not sure how it would look as part of your "real" house, particularly your living room.

[Catwoman]

One other thing -- Painting your hardwood floors could hurt your resale value and it could be expensive to convert them back to a more standard appearance. That's why I suggested you cover the floor with an area rug instead of painting it.

[Selkie]

I like this! Why unfinished floor is easier to keep clean the painted white floor? Just visually? We'd have the same problem with tracking dirt it.

Yes, unfinished floors do not show dirt as much as painted floors or floors with a shiny finish. All we do to keep ours clean is vacuum thoroughly every day. You can't use any type of liquid cleaner on them or it will stain.

 

It is a lovely nordic look, especially when combined with white walls and trim. I like it so much better than shiny floors or floors with a yellowish finish, which remind me of tobacco stains. If you are looking for inspiration, there are many pictures of beautiful Scandinavian homes on Pinterest with unfinished floors. 

[Storygirl]

Not Ikea style, but Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper on HGTV has designed several bunk rooms that include living spaces. They are very cute, but I think it's hard to keep a bedroom space clean enough for company. And some people might not like having reduced privacy, with a room that others are expected to hang out in.

 

If it were a den or basement area used for sleeping only when you have guests, I think it would work easier.

[Guest]

See making house arrangement decisions based on hypothetical company coming over doesn't make sense to me. We went through this when I wanted to put a bookcase in the dining room in one of our houses.

 

Who are ppl having stay the night in their homes, who won't just make do with whatever is on offer?!

 

We didn't have a separate guest room til this house (and it does have a proper bed lol) but until now we just bedded guests down in the kids beds and our kids camped on the floor, often with our guests kids.

 

NBD.

 

It's one thing to want a table the whole family can get around on Thanksgiving, but another thing altogether to not arrange your home for day to day living the way you like it just in case guests don't care for it!

Edited February 14, 2017 by OKBud

[Bluegoat]

I don't think having a loft bed or bunk in the living area implies that it will be the normal sleeping area for kids.  My kids like to spread out on our couch and read, which takes up a lot of room.  If we had something like a loft bed, I can see them using it for that, and maybe having a play area or homework area set up underneath.  It would likely only get used for night sleeping if we had guests.

 

I like the light floors in Scandinavian homes, but I don't think I'd paint hardwood in good shape.  But I might pickle it which is a typical Scandinavian look, and more protective than leaving it unfinished.

[38carrots]

Yes, unfinished floors do not show dirt as much as painted floors or floors with a shiny finish. All we do to keep ours clean is vacuum thoroughly every day. You can't use any type of liquid cleaner on them or it will stain.

 

It is a lovely nordic look, especially when combined with white walls and trim. I like it so much better than shiny floors or floors with a yellowish finish, which remind me of tobacco stains. If you are looking for inspiration, there are many pictures of beautiful Scandinavian homes on Pinterest with unfinished floors. 

 

Are they ever clean if you don't wash them?

 

I do love the look, and I really don't htink my hardwood floors are actually "clean" but I'd be nervous to never be able to wash them? Or can you steam them or something?

 

It will take some convincing DH to have unfinished floors! I just barely got him on board with painted floors! lol

[38carrots]

I think this is a studio apartment setup (without being able to see the kitchen area).  It looks very much like something I've seen in our local store.  My daughter dreams of living in a place like that someday.

 

If there are beds in the main living area of your home, and there are kids living at home, what will you do when you have company over and staying past the bedtimes of the people who sleep in the beds?   For that matter, if there are multiple people using those beds, what about different sleep needs/times?    

 

Trying to think outside the box here, but I'm having a hard time.  I like the idea of a big room with lots of craft space, etc., but am getting stuck on the sleeping part. 

 

Yes, a studio apartment setup.

 

We would use those beds for either guest or an alternate sleeping arrengment / reading nooks. I can't imagine having company over and having problems with this--when we have company we either all stay up, kids included, or we just made do. :coolgleamA:

[Mimm]

I actually want to have a bunk bed in it. And a writing dest. And two craft tables. So not a typical living room but more of a multipurpose room.

 

Sort of like this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/bf/69/59/bf69597f137444c0579e89ce0aaf0b2c.jpg

 

Only the room itself is not very big and doesn't have a high ceiling. I find that those rooms with "stations" always look much better with very high ceilings.

 

What would the bunk bed be for? Would someone be sleeping in there regularly? I guess I don't understand that part. We have a living room that's part office, since it has four desks in it, but also two couches, three bookshelves (it's large but very crammed full). We do most of our living in this room. I would prefer one of the couches to be a fold out couch so that it could be a bed for guests, but I wouldn't put a bunk bed in here.

 

[Bluegoat]

What would the bunk bed be for? Would someone be sleeping in there regularly? I guess I don't understand that part. We have a living room that's part office, since it has four desks in it, but also two couches, three bookshelves (it's large but very crammed full). We do most of our living in this room. I would prefer one of the couches to be a fold out couch so that it could be a bed for guests, but I wouldn't put a bunk bed in here.

 

 

I think she is picturing something like this, from the Ikea catalogue:

 

[marbel]

Yes, a studio apartment setup.

 

We would use those beds for either guest or an alternate sleeping arrengment / reading nooks. I can't imagine having company over and having problems with this--when we have company we either all stay up, kids included, or we just made do. :coolgleamA:

 

OK, that makes more sense.  I was understanding the bunk beds being the main sleeping area for someone, presumably kids.

 

But I also think of "company" differently.  I wasn't talking about overnight guests.  I was thinking more about having adults over for an evening, such as for a cocktail-type party where the kids would not be hanging out with us. Or, as I have sometimes done, hosted a book discussion.  I couldn't picture how to do that if the kids had to sleep in the main living area.    That's mainly where I was having trouble with the out-of-the-box thinking:  we don't always do "family style" when we have guests over. 

[38carrots]

I think she is picturing something like this, from the Ikea catalogue:

 

 

Yes :o But also trying to figure out if this will match my vision in a smaller room with normal height ceilings...It might not work out, but a girl can dream!

 

[38carrots]

OK, that makes more sense.  I was understanding the bunk beds being the main sleeping area for someone, presumably kids.

 

But I also think of "company" differently.  I wasn't talking about overnight guests.  I was thinking more about having adults over for an evening, such as for a cocktail-type party where the kids would not be hanging out with us. Or, as I have sometimes done, hosted a book discussion.  I couldn't picture how to do that if the kids had to sleep in the main living area.    That's mainly where I was having trouble with the out-of-the-box thinking:  we don't always do "family style" when we have guests over. 

 

See, for me, the main "hang out with adults" area is the eat-in kitchen. So definitely not a cocktail-type party :lol: .

 

I'm toying with the idea of DH and myself sleeping in the living room but having all of our clothes etc in the master bedroom. And having DD1 to temporarily sleep in the master bedroom while her bedroom in the basement is being done (which would be about a year.)

 

In any case, I'm super flexible with how to use the space. But am trying to figure out wheather my vision of an Ikea room would fit a smaller room with typical ceiling. Which might not work at all.

 

 

[Catwoman]

See, for me, the main "hang out with adults" area is the eat-in kitchen. So definitely not a cocktail-type party :lol: .

 

I'm toying with the idea of DH and myself sleeping in the living room but having all of our clothes etc in the master bedroom. And having DD1 to temporarily sleep in the master bedroom while her bedroom in the basement is being done (which would be about a year.)

 

In any case, I'm super flexible with how to use the space. But am trying to figure out wheather my vision of an Ikea room would fit a smaller room with typical ceiling. Which might not work at all.

I don't think the ceiling height will be an issue. If anything, the bunk beds will look cozier with a lower ceiling, especially if you decorate them with big cushions or pillows along the wall so they look more like sofas than beds.

 

I wouldn't want to sleep in my living room, but if you and your dh are always the last in the family to go to bed and the first to get up, I guess it could work for you. Otherwise, it could be a nuisance trying to sleep when other family members are still walking around the house, turning lights on and off, etc.

[foxbridgeacademy]

If the ceiling height is really bothering you then do one of the low loft beds and use the under area as either storage or a play area.  I'd do some kind of skirt around it so you don't see under.  Kids can play an keep toys under there.  In the middle of the room put a square table type desk or two regular no back desks together with chairs that push all the way in to save space. You can find dining tables that open up a lot but when folded are really small.  You don't have to have high ceilings to build bookcases to the top. Lots of storage, you could put rarely used things in baskets on top shelves so they look pretty.  If the walls are white and the ceiling is white I wouldn't paint the floor white.  Instead I'd go darker, something grey. 

[marbel]

See, for me, the main "hang out with adults" area is the eat-in kitchen. So definitely not a cocktail-type party :lol: .

 

I'm toying with the idea of DH and myself sleeping in the living room but having all of our clothes etc in the master bedroom. And having DD1 to temporarily sleep in the master bedroom while her bedroom in the basement is being done (which would be about a year.)

 

In any case, I'm super flexible with how to use the space. But am trying to figure out wheather my vision of an Ikea room would fit a smaller room with typical ceiling. Which might not work at all.

 

I think part of it depends on how you want to use the beds but also how comfortable you are in a close space.  I know you said they would be used for sleeping.  :-)  But also it sounded like you wanted them for reading-type nooks, which to me indicates you'd like people to be able to sit up in them.   You have to measure.  We once checked the height of an IKEA loft bed with the ceiling height in my daughter's room.  Not only could she not sit up in the bed, she felt like it would be claustrophobic for her to be sleeping so close to the ceiling, she'd hit her head on the ceiling if she woke up suddenly, etc.  

 

There might be adjustable loft beds?

[Bluegoat]

Ikea has a low loft bed, the KURA, with sort of a cubby space underneath.  You can either put a matress directly on the floor or use it for a play area or storage.  There are also lots of ideas online for making it into other neat spaces, like a playhouse or fort.  If you google "kura bed hack" there are a ton of cool ideas, some of which mght work in a living area.

[Tap]

We have a living room, family room, and bonus room.  I converted the bonus room into a home school room.  We didn't do a bed in there but did intend for a convertible couch of some kind.  We unexpectedly adopted and needed the room for a bedroom, so the idea got ditched, but it was great while it lasted.  

 

One thing I was really happy about....Both kids had large flat tables/desks that matched.  They did not store things on top of the tables, they each had a bookcase that was accessible by spinning their chair for art supplies etc.   They had a bin of supplies to bring to the table to work and then they just put it on the shelf at night.  This allowed the tables to be moved around and combined into one large table when we wanted it. I have two kids with ADHD, so they benefited from each having their own desk, which allowed them to move around a bit while working without bumping the table that someone else was working at.   I bought the folding legs, so the few times we wanted a larger space instead of larger tables, we could just fold the legs and take the tables out of the room.  They have also been brought downstairs for several holiday dinners.  LOL 

 

I lined all of the walls with book cases that had doors.  I allowed me to contain the mess and then close them up.  Some were solid doors, some were glass. Even having clear glass doors, really helped to visually stop the clutter.  I was going to decoupage fabric to the glass to make them semi opaque, but again....the plans changed with dd10 coming to stay.  I used Billy Book cases and in several areas, I stacked them double deep, (removed the back from one and put it in front of another).  I secured them together and to the wall for storage of larger items.  

 

One thing that I liked, was that as I planned the room, I made everything match.  The desk, chairs, storage supplies etc were all coordinating.  We went with the birch color because it is still light, but doesn't show every little dent and nick like the white does.  It is still warm and plays nice with any color palette. 

 

I always (!) angle desks towards windows when planning a room.  I hate sitting with my face to a wall to work.  I would not like work stations.  I prefer a multipurpose table that I can bring various work to.  

 

I made sure to buy long USB cords and power strips so we didn't have to worry about where plug ins were on the walls.  In fact, in several cabinets I cut a hole in the cabinet back,  to access the plug in, through the cabinet.   We just kept the power strip on the bottom shelf of the cabinet when not in use, but when we needed an extra outlet, we could just pull it out and use it, with minimal effort. Then it got stored back away when not in use.   The cabinet door would be slightly propped open when we were using the power strip, but that was no biggie compared to having the access when we wanted it. 

 

[ksr5377]

Do you need bunk beds or could you use a daybed?  Then you wouldn't have to worry about the ceiling height so much but would still have a cozy reading spot.  They make some day beds that pull out and become large enough to sleep two.