Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put the 9 year old in the smaller room with the promise of moving into the bigger room when 14 year old goes to college.

Put the kid who still has toys into the normal room.

Put the teen in the small room with a raised/loft bed.

+ 1

This is pretty easy really.

14 year old gets the smaller room. First because he's the one who's stumbling around making a racket at night, second because he's hardly there anyway with all his activities, third because he'll be off to college in a few years. Seems like he has no problem doing homework and leaving stuff all around the house anyway. Sell it that he gets privacy, wink wink nudge nudge, and if he doesn't like it then he can move back in with his brother but he'll be punished if he wakes the younger one up at night so he'd better start being quiet.

9 year old gets the bigger room because he sleeps in there longer, probably has more toys, and will generally get more use out of the room. However, 9 year old had better keep the room 100% clean or else.

Anonymous wrote:Pp here with the 14yo who has a tiny bedroom and an additional basement room. Our ds has a low loft built out of mall dressers from ikea. So his dressers are under his bed (plenty of examples on google). Instead of a nightstand, he has a bedside organizer pouch that hangs from the side of the bed. No other furniture necessary.

(Malm dressers)

Pp here with the 14yo who has a tiny bedroom and an additional basement room. Our ds has a low loft built out of mall dressers from ikea. So his dressers are under his bed (plenty of examples on google). Instead of a nightstand, he has a bedside organizer pouch that hangs from the side of the bed. No other furniture necessary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put the 9 year old in the smaller room with the promise of moving into the bigger room when 14 year old goes to college.

Put the kid who still has toys into the normal room.

Put the teen in the small room with a raised/loft bed.

Yes, I'd also put the teen in the tiny room. Could be a regular bed or loft. But, he should keep access to the other room, so the tiny room is like a private bonus. Take the new space in the regular room and put some lounge furniture that the teen gets preference on.

Are the rooms next to each other? Can you move the wall to make the smaller one bigger and the bigger one smaller?

Single murphy or wall bed for the tiny room?

Do you own the house?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you should try the use the small room for sleeping only, but realize this could come with problems (whoever sleeps in the larger room will want to claim it).

Maybe a better way to go is have the 14 year old sleep in the smaller room. Sell it as giving the older kid some privacy. But then ensure the bigger room is designed so that they both maintain thier own space.

I agree.

A high schooler does not have toys and does not play in their room.

A high schooler stays up late and sleeps in.

The only thing a high schooler does in their room is lounge around and plays on his phone/lap top. And sleep. He can do all that in the basement. Make that a hang out space for his waking hours or when friends are over. and put the teen in the small room.

The 9 year old has toys, friends who will play with the toys in the bedroom. A nine year old goes to bed earlier and gets up earlier.

What are the dimensions of the small room OP?

OP here.
About 6 by 9ft? The way the closet is built-in, a single bed would touch all three walls, and then there's just enough space to swing the bedroom door open. The bookcase is currently in the path of the door, so it doesn't open completely, but the room can physically fit (on paper) one single bed and one bookcase-sized piece of furniture, and maybe a tiny bedside table. We could perhaps have the door swing outward, or have a folding door.

Get rid of the dresser/desk in the small room. It's better if the kids are doing homework at the kitchen table anyways. Don't know if you can do this, but maybe a dresser in the hall.

Talk to the boys re who will take the smaller room. Let's say Bryan takes the Big room and Sam takes the Smaller room. Sounds like the smaller room will be totally private, but the larger room might not be because some of Sam's clothing etc. will be in Bryan's room.

So, there is the bedtime need--argues for younger boy taking the smaller room because there will be no interruptions when older boy goes to bed.

However; older boy might want smaller room because he's older and wanting privacy.

Ok let's say my assumption is incorrect and there will be none of Sam's belongings in Bryan's room. Then unless both can agree (and not be bullied into agreeing) as to which room each wants, I'd flip a coin and say they can switch in X month.

I don't think it's fair to just assume younger son should take the crappier room. That just reinforces many older children's idea that they are the main event and their sibling is an afterthought or second-class.

Ideas for a small teen room:

Can you make the smaller room a "guest bedroom" and have the 14 year old sleep in there only on the nights he comes home after the 9 year old's bedtime?

Flip and coin & have them trade after a year.

Anonymous wrote:I think you should try the use the small room for sleeping only, but realize this could come with problems (whoever sleeps in the larger room will want to claim it).

Maybe a better way to go is have the 14 year old sleep in the smaller room. Sell it as giving the older kid some privacy. But then ensure the bigger room is designed so that they both maintain thier own space.

I agree.

A high schooler does not have toys and does not play in their room.

A high schooler stays up late and sleeps in.

The only thing a high schooler does in their room is lounge around and plays on his phone/lap top. And sleep. He can do all that in the basement. Make that a hang out space for his waking hours or when friends are over. and put the teen in the small room.

The 9 year old has toys, friends who will play with the toys in the bedroom. A nine year old goes to bed earlier and gets up earlier.

What are the dimensions of the small room OP?

Anonymous wrote:I think you should try the use the small room for sleeping only, but realize this could come with problems (whoever sleeps in the larger room will want to claim it).

Maybe a better way to go is have the 14 year old sleep in the smaller room. Sell it as giving the older kid some privacy. But then ensure the bigger room is designed so that they both maintain thier own space.

This