Disorganized family starting over with a new rental

8 years ago

Hey there! My family and I recently relocated from Australia to the Bay Area, and want to plan our home better than in years past to help us keep ourselves organized and happy.

I've a wife a three kids, ages 14, 13 (both girls), and 11 (our son). We just rented a 4 bedroom single family home, but our furniture won't be here for another two weeks or so.

While we do have furniture coming, we are replacing pieces to make the home work better.

My daughters agreed to share a room again so that I might gain a work from home space and a guest room (in exchange I agreed to getting a puppy).

The girls' room is my primary concern, and I think may need to design it from scratch to make it work, lest I have to give up my office or deal with feuding daughters in my home.

Lastly, and most importantly, the house doesn't have A/C or overhead lights. So we need some creative solutions for lighting in all the bedrooms and the living room, in addition to some cooling solutions for the summer.

I'm going to measure the place today, and will come back with pictures and measurements. I also have an inventory of the items I have to accommodate.

My wife and I are Keen to give this a shot, because our modest budget and weird requirements mean hiring a consultant doesn't seem feasible.

Don't even know where to start!

Featured Answer

Kerry Blossom

8 years ago

for the girls in would do beds with storage underneath it... let them pick the paint and the bedding.. let the space be really theirs.. ikea is great for that and affordable stuff and not a huge investment when they want to change it out.

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Comments (16)

PRO
JudyG Designs
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Wow! Huge move..tell us what you can and cannot do in the rental…can you paint the interior? Fresh paint can make old new again.

Most important..Bay Area…from what direction does the light come? West?
John
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I spoke to the leasing agent who said we can paint (and hang items) as long as it's not a dark color.
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PRO
JudyG Designs
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Okay…you still haven’t told from where the natural light comes. but if you are looking west..do B.M. Patriotic White on the walls and if you are up to it, do the woodwork in B.M. Super White.

Now you have a background for the entire space…neutral and whatever your furniture you can add fabrics to make it work..let’s look at your daughters’ shared room.
John
Original Author
8 years ago
I am really new to this what does BM stand for?
capeeliz
8 years ago
Benjamin Moore paint
PRO
JudyG Designs
8 years ago
Benjamin Moore paint, readily available.
PRO
JudyG Designs
8 years ago
Your son’s room..this is PB…Pottery Barn...
jansgirl
8 years ago
Not having overhead lights isn't a big issue to me. Tables w/ lamps take care of that for the most part. Cooling, now for me that is a big issue!!
John
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you. I was not able to locate a clear answer using Google for BM lol. I am almost to the house and will take pictures and measurements.

One of my biggest concerns is the the storage solutions for the girls. Especially because the bigger room had the smaller closet.
er612
8 years ago
You don't necessarily need to purchase storage beds for your daughters. Instead you can use standard bed frames with long plastic containers underneath. This will make future moves much easier. Tip: If you put the lid face down and the containers on top of the lid, they're much easier to slide (and you don't have to bother pulling the entire container out just to get the lid off).
Sharon
8 years ago
If the room for your daughters is large maybe invest in an IKEA Pax wardrobe unit with both hanging and drawer space to help them keep their possessions neat and organized.

Using storage solutions throughout and having everyone on board in using them will help keep your family on track. The biggest issue is generally consistent use and follow through. Good luck.
John thanked Sharon
jhope
8 years ago
We've got kids sharing a room as well. I'd recommend bunk beds or, if you're handy, my husband built beds on stilts, essentially. The beds up off the ground allow for some cube organizers for toy storage underneath. Get a nice, big dresser and each kid get half. Alternately, I've got a big cabinet and tubs of clothes in bins that are stacked on shelves organized (#2's pants, #3's pants, etc).
John thanked jhope
acm
8 years ago
Ikea also makes loft beds that can free up a lot of the footprint of a bedroom for study, reading, and play space.
John
Original Author
8 years ago
@sharon: that's exactly what we're thinking... storage-storage-storage. And getting creative with the layout will help.

Re: bunk beds: We actually have bunk beds for the girls, but they were Ikea bunk beds and we weren't crazy about them. The top bunk could only accommodate a thin, uncomfortable mattress. We ended up using them as separate beds in our last place. We would likely need new bunk beds that were bigger and able to accommodate a decent mattress on the top bunk (and yet, budget...).

@judy: House faces the northeast. I have a good idea where the light comes from, and will include it when I add the room dimensions. As of now, it's just scribbles on a piece of paper, and I may not be able to add them until tomorrow.

For now, the dimensions of the girls' room is about 144 sq/ft, with a window facing west/northwest with a window that's about 5x3.
lcswilcox195kw
8 years ago
Go to Napo.net and find a professional organizer. He/she will be able to help you sort, organize and beautify your new home.