Three Kids? Space issues with small rowhouses

[Anonymous]

It seems three kids is the norm around Capitol Hill and likely many places around the DMV.


What do people do to accommodate three kids in these tiny rowhomes? I know some of the homes on the hill are grand Victorians, but most are not.

So many homes with only one bath to share on top floor, how does that work?

[Anonymous]

Look at dorm room pics, they often have good ideas for dividing a room into two mini bedroom spaces. As far as bathroom, add lots of storage and a sign. Add mirrors/vanity in every bedroom or hallway. Whoever takes longer should shower at night, speedy ones in morning. In emergencies, they can go to your bathroom.

[Anonymous]

Sign which says occupied.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think three kids is the norm around Capitol Hill at all - what am I missing ( I live here). But anyway I assume they do bunk beds or some other shared room for the same sex siblings.

[Anonymous]

The two people I know with 3 kids in row homes have two bathrooms upstairs. They are federal style and a bit wider. They renovated to add the second bathroom.

Three bedrooms upstairs, and two youngest double up.

Both families have dug out their basements to make them more functional and add another bedroom down there. But I still think they will move before their oldest hits high school, because I don’t think they’ll want their teens by themselves downstairs. But we’ll see. It seems to work fine when the kids are young.

[Anonymous]

Young kids don’t need separate rooms or baths.

[Anonymous]

No exactly what you’re asking but close enough that I’ll bite.

We’re in one of those big row houses that was converted into a two unit condo. So we have the bottom two floors. Our square footage is 2000, which is def bigger than most of the other row houses we looked at!

We have one small bedroom and a full bath on the main floor. Our daughter has that bedroom. Then the other floor has two huge bedrooms each with it’s own bathroom. We have one; our two sons share the other. It’s plenty of space for us.

Most of the other three bedroom row houses we looked at were 1300 sq ft. Generally they just had a half bath on the main floor, then three bedrooms upstairs, at least one of which was usually TINY, and then either just a shared hall bathroom, or sometimes also a master bath (so either 1.5 or 2.5 baths). They all felt much more like starter homes for people with two kids - once the baby outgrew the crib, you’d outgrow the house. Or a forever home for people with an only child (third bedroom making a much better office or playroom than bedroom).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think three kids is the norm around Capitol Hill at all - what am I missing ( I live here). But anyway I assume they do bunk beds or some other shared room for the same sex siblings.

+1.

[Anonymous]

This is only an issue if you think each kid needs their own bedroom and bathroom. I'm in a small house in the close-in suburbs. My two DS's share a bedroom (ages 15 and 18) and my DD has her own room. All 3 share a bathroom. Would it be nice if everyone had their own room and bathroom, sure. But, I prioritized affordability, commute and school district over size. We've been in the house for 15 years and it was the right choice for you. Capitol Hill may not be the right choice for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No exactly what you’re asking but close enough that I’ll bite.

We’re in one of those big row houses that was converted into a two unit condo. So we have the bottom two floors. Our square footage is 2000, which is def bigger than most of the other row houses we looked at!

We have one small bedroom and a full bath on the main floor. Our daughter has that bedroom. Then the other floor has two huge bedrooms each with it’s own bathroom. We have one; our two sons share the other. It’s plenty of space for us.

Most of the other three bedroom row houses we looked at were 1300 sq ft. Generally they just had a half bath on the main floor, then three bedrooms upstairs, at least one of which was usually TINY, and then either just a shared hall bathroom, or sometimes also a master bath (so either 1.5 or 2.5 baths). They all felt much more like starter homes for people with two kids - once the baby outgrew the crib, you’d outgrow the house. Or a forever home for people with an only child (third bedroom making a much better office or playroom than bedroom).

The average home in the 1960s was 1200 sq. feet. Kids shared rooms and everyone shared bathrooms. This is still the case in Europe, including NEW homes in Germany, France, the Netherlands, etc.

[Anonymous]

Can brother and sister share a bedroom? Up to what age?

[Anonymous]

Get a storage unit. A few years to get you over the hardes years. Store off season clothes, off season sports equipement. As much as you can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can brother and sister share a bedroom? Up to what age?

Until they leave the house. There is no restriction on biologically related siblings from sharing a room even if they are of different genders. I shared a single room with my 4 siblings (2 girls, 3 boys) until the oldest left home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can brother and sister share a bedroom? Up to what age?

ummm look at Catholic countries.

[Anonymous]

I'm not in Capitol Hill but live in a small DC-area home. My two sons share a room, my daughter has her own room. They all share a bathroom.

Interestingly, when I share that my kids share a room, I often get the question of if we'll move / how does that work for the kids.

It seems like sharing a room is viewed as a deprivation in this area.

Growing up for me, it was the norm. I come from an UMC family and my sisters and I shared rooms until we went to college. My parents even had a study and a guest room for family and friends - and we still shared a room.