Thanks for responding. Giving our daughter the bedroom and using the daybed as a living room was our original idea, but the living room (pictured) is so small that a full sized daybed would actually dominate the whole space to the point that we would be unable to put any other furniture in.

Wife and i decided to suck it up and do a full over full bunk bed where we get the bottom and she gets the top. Even that will dominate the bedroom, but at least we can set up a small area there where she can play.

At least with this new plan, the living room can actually be a living room, albeit super small. The bedroom is pretty much where we’ll go to sleep and hang out clothes. There’s no room to do anything else.

And for those of you wondering why we’d do such an extreme move? We want a home or some kind of investment property in two years. Torrance CA is becoming super expensive but the schools are great, it’s safe, and my wife works ten min away. She preferred to sacrifice space for the locale, and now we’re reducing our rent by HALF which gives us the ability to one day get one of the beautiful homes that we see on this very site! One day...

First off, kudos to you for making short-term sacrifices for a long-term goal! You will get there and look back on these tighter living conditions with fond memories.

Similar to what was suggested above, I would dedicate the room to your daughter and put all of her toys (and your dresser) in the bedroom. Toy clutter in every area of the house will overwhelm the living conditions. Make sure to contain the toddler-trail of toys.

For your room (aka. the living room) I would check out IKEA for easily convertible couches. I know from experience, that they have different quality level of mattresses for the sofas that you can select from, in order to avoid a "college futon" feeling.

Keep the rest of your furnishings clean, simple and full of function!

Here are some ideas...

Himmene Sleeper Sofa

Fakse Rug

Stockholm TV unit (great for hidden storage)

Hektar Floor lamp

Side Tables

Slakt Bed with storage (extra bed for potential guest/grandparents)

Hemnes Dresser

Storage Baskets

Wall Lamps

Hope this helps!

Check out www.apartmenttherapy.com for lots of great examples of furnishing small apartments, incl. layout suggestions, storage, etc.

If you're downsizing from a larger place, can you not use any of your prior furniture? I mean, you may want to replace every table with a super-efficient storage version of itself (I have an end table that's my home office!), but surely you don't have to stretch your budget to cover, say, a couch too? Hard to know what to suggest without knowing what you already have, what activities you need to support, how much space the new place has, etc.

Just gonna comment on the Himmene sofa, don't ever get it.

Made the mistake of getting it for one of our smaller guest bedrooms and it's the most uncomfortable thing you can ever sleep on. Even if you love firm mattresses, this thing is beyond that. Just extremely uncomfortable. We have to now get rid of it and get something else in it's place.

Thanks for the great recommends, all. To answer the question about our current furniture, it’s all living spaces stuff and the couches are too big. We have a 3 seater and a live seat. We considered keeping the loveseat but wanted to listen to other suggestions here first. If it made more sense to get a modern ikea couch that could be a bed for guests, we’d go with the consensus.

As for bed couch situation, there are a couple of things we have to stick with and one of them is a comfort for health. I would love to get a good couch bed that is full sized but if it’s u comfortable, misery follows. We currently sleep in a medium firm ikea mattress which my wife tolerates, but finding a good couch for us to sleep on for two years is a needle in a haystack...

I'll take my wife to Ikea this week to try out the Hemme sofa, however. It's a very good suggestion. At least it's a direction. We looked at full-sized daybeds. Talk about HUGE.

Here's a link to a video of the apartment if anyone is curious:

Sounds like this is a pretty important adventure you are on!

It will take some adapting but 2 years will fly by! Some other great places to check for affordable, smaller-scaled furniture would be thrift stores and some antique stores. Older furniture tends to have good, sturdy, bones are more likely to hold up over the years and can be refinished to suite your future spaces and styles- much unlike many of the pieces you may find current affordable furniture vendors. The suggestion would be to look for accent furniture like tables, trunks, and shelving units. For seating, World Market has some pretty affordable love seats and day sofas.

The best advice is to suggest you maximize the use of vertical space for some storage as it wont interfere as much with your living space.

Best of luck with you new project!

Have you look at Craigslist for a few good pieces for a very good price?

I like the idea of loft bed for parents with the toddler bed underneath. Will the landlord let you do that?

If you do the loft bed, you get some advantages - you can put a firm mattress on a plywood base and have the firm bed your wife likes. You can also have a toddler size mattress on the floor underneath and also have a little play area for her. A table and chairs, maybe, or a doll house, toy kitchen or toy storage.

You can design the loft bed for your specific needs.

Storage beds are great, or even a high bed that you can put containers under, but that likely wouldn't work with bunk beds. I like auntthelma's recommendation for the kid's area behind the couch. Your room looks like it might do better with the couch against the wall though, so maybe a play area in the other corner. Just try so separate it so the whole room doesn't become a play area.

Get rid of anything you can then take everything you don't need to have right now, but don't want to get rid of, and store it in big containers in a closet somewhere. Having less stuff will help you not go crazy in a small space. I would also get some big slouchy baskets for toys for each room so that cleanup is easy. Lots of places sell them and you can even make some out of rope if you wanted.

Get a media console with some closed storage to store things in. Not sure what your style is, but minimal is best for small spaces. Keep lines and decor neat. They also make coffee tables that can be pulled up and used as a dining or work space. That could be nice.

Use tall storage/dressers in the bedroom to maximize your wall space.

Look for end tables with magazine racks on the side -- they make great laptop holsters! :)

Kudos to some very smart, motivated parents. You daughter's "toys" will be the biggest issue. Stick with books, building blocks, and several small items. Explain to well-meaning relatives that "less is more" when it comes to gifts...for all three of you. Hang tough, it will be worth the struggle.

This thread is so awesome and so encouraging! I'm feeling much better about our decision now! I've been obsessing and anxious for days so much that I've been unable to sleep!

I'll look into the loft /storage solution. I was just worried that the bed would fall on our daughter or something. We definitely DID NOT want to do the bunk bed, but we thought - space and comfort situations withstanding - that would be our only option. The ceilings aren't super tall. If i can convince my wife to climb, that may be a great solution if the ikea couch idea is a bust. We have a firm mattress now and as I said earlier, she 'tolerates' it, but would rather have something soft. The last thing we need are back problems.

Also, thanks so much for the living room/play area suggestions, too. I'd much rather just let our daughter have the bedroom free reign as long as she's confined there with her toys. However, if there's spillage (inevitably), the slings over couches or even a storage cubby might work too.

We're looking into self-adhesive wallpaper (thanks for the tip about Apartment Therapy!) and lighting solutions. Even though we have the dreaded popcorn ceiling, I think paying an electrician to install some kind of lighting from IKEA might make a huge difference.

What do you all think about shelving? Wallpaper styles?

Emily, where did you find that table? The one coffee table/laptop desk in your response??

I would seriously look at Murphy Beds for the living room. It will take a chunk of your budget, but Costco even sells them for under $1k. Spend a little more and get bookshelf/cupboard storage. Plan on using in your new home in the guest room or another room. If you can fit one in, you could keep your loveseat and give your daughter the bedroom.

My friends have a custom one, which would be more $$ but when it's up, there is a pull down table. They use it in a family room as a puzzle table except when they have guests.

Online Price
$1,899.99 Less $400.00 Your Price $1,499.99 after $400 OFF Valid 12/1/17 through 1/3/18. While supplies last. Free delivery and handling

This one is $999, free shipping.

Both of these are double size, queens are a bit more. You might even think about one for the bedroom, with an additional toddler bed, if the living room doesn't work. If it would fit, you could then fold it up and out of the way for play space for your daughter.

I see them on Craigslist once in a while, too.

eta: this is the one my friends have...much more expensive tho and shipping would be $$. But there must be manufacturers in your area, too.

Is there room in the bedroom for a true trundle bed? You could have a normal sized bed at a normal height, and your daughter could sleep on the trundle. Push it under the bed during the day, so it doesn't feel so crowded. It might require arranging the furniture in a less than optimal configuration, like the bed up against a window or something. But it's temporary.

Congratulations on making this huge decision!

I lived on a 27 ft sailboat with a toddler for three months because I wanted a simpler summer and it was great! Your digs seem colossal in comparison! When we think about it our kids would just assume play with pots and pans in a tub than the million toys we buy them . I think sometimes we try to buy furniture to fit our stuff rather than paring down. Be ruthless and donate as much as you can rather than buying nifty furniture solutions. If after your cleanse you need better storage buy it than. Remember you are here to save money!

It is totally possible to raise a three year old with just a small basket full of toys and a butt load of imagination. Think of staying in a hotel it works out fine. I would put your daughter on the top and since it is a full she will actually have loads of room to stow soft toys. My kids love playing in their top bunk beds!

Look at this as an adventure and remember parents and children live in far smaller abodes across the world. It is a short term goal reaching situation that also has a great possibility to teach you how little space we all really need.

Kudos!

Y'all need something to sleep on. Twin over queen would be my want. Something to sit on to watch TV, read, ect. Something to eat dinner on. Kids need a LOT less toys than you think.

I second (third?) giving the bedroom over to your daughter as her space. For one thing....if you're new at the marriage thing, plus you're putting these demands on your lives, you really want to keep some amount of coupledom. Having a grown up space separate from a family space will save your sanity.

I think what you're doing is great. It's smart and you'll manage just fine.

I also think a murphy bed is your answer here....You can also do a drop down table so you can have room to pull the bed down when needed and the table up when needed. Folding chairs in bright colors can hang on the wall.

Loveseat and chair (Poang is very very comfy) from Ikea and you're good to go.

Your situation is awfully much like ours many years ago(different country though)..also had just our older daughter back then..tiny rental, two rooms..living was smaller with a tiny window, but bedroom was roomier and with a window and a dooor to outside

We lived there since I got pregnant and until DD was 3..then we could move to our first place

so I'll share some of my experience. Hope it's fine

first , we shared a bedroom with her, but was easier a) we moved out when she was three, while you're just moving in b) she slept in her crib next to us all this time and got more grown up bed only when we moved eventually, and she got her room. She's on a smaller side though..was and is.

But I did want our tiny living to be a living, and as it didn't have big enough window also didn't want to put a kid there.

My advice. Invest in a good mattress. That'd take a big chunk of your budget but will be worth it. Wouldn't do a Murphy bed in a rental. Find a sofa that will unfold for the night for the living-having guests? one of you is sick and needs to spend a night separately? the most versatile and comfy you can find. Look into vintage ones, especially check retro styles, they knew how to make these things back then. Also, good sofa can be taken with you later.

Dont do full bunk beds-too tall for a small girl..and no, I wouldn't agree to climb never ever..we women use facilites more..usually..also hard to predict, maybe you'll want another child during this time, how she'll climb?

If already-trundle bed that goes under the bigger bed would be my choice. Neat duing the day..at night you can roll it a bit away so you have space to put your feet on when getting in/out

And. I'd look for it on Craigslist, Nextdoor, you name it. And especially I'd look there for casegoods and lighting. Granted takes some time..but you'll get more interesting space with more quality pieces for less money. Even IKEA-look for it on Craigslist too..since somebody already put it together for you..)) True, involves delivery problems sometimes..see what makes sense for you and what doesn't.

In general-the less placeholders the better. Go for whatever you can repurpose later. And don't buy a bunch right away, that's how mistakes are made. buy the most important then slowly collect.

I second usefulness of Poang chairs..)) and no, I mean yes, kids don't need a lot of toys at all..they need the ones they can play with over and over. Few favorites go a long way. They're very imaginative in this age..obviously dolls and books and things to build from and drawing stuff..but a kid can imagine the whole big story using almost anything. I had two pairs of plastic necklaces when a little girl myself, I imagined they were two ladies(if you put each necklace in a way when you get very uneven shape "eight"), could play like that for hours. My mom also let me borrow couple blouses of hers that I considered very beautiful, a scarf..that's it, that's hours of imagining myself a princess, a gypsie, a whatever book I read at the moment/movie I saw, and made impression. Wood floors? Great. One can imagine himself a figure skater. When I was a bit older than your daughter, I had 6 imaginary students whom I taught figure skating..each days lessons and all)) In short. Don't worry about toys. couple baskets/bins. IKEA has cute organizers by the way. Do alot space though where her artworks can go..even frame the best if you so wish.

Look into Tempaper for wallpaper that's removable..check also plenty of options on Etsy.

Great decision. For me location always trumps the size too. With right organization you can have a very cozy and livable space

What's your style? In furnishings etc? So we could suggest more specific?

Also I'm not that far from Torrance CA..don't seem to have furniture you might find useful at the moment but who knows.. might have something else.

Ah. And size of that rental was truly last thing that bothered me. Or my daughter. And no, she grew up having no issues sharing room with us for three years..if anything I'm more upset now on how long hours of her daycare were, since I worked full time and continued studying. If I could change something back in time-I wouldn't even think in the direction of that rental. It was a good thing. I remember it as happy place. Money was tight that's true(in addition to rent, we payed also mortgage for a future condo that was being built..endlessly..lol)

You could do something like this right of the front door and invest in good quality twin mattresses for the two of you now and for your daughter's room later. It would serve as seating and sleep space.

I think a 3-5 year-old might enjoy sleeping in a tent. Especially good for giving you some privacy if all of you sleep in the same room.

Double on the bottom and single on the top can work well.

Or try a single daybed with a pop-up trundle that lifts the bottom mattress up to make a double bed.

Get a good mattress and box springs for the adults to use in the bedroom. Your little girl can sleep on a good twin size bed in the living room. Use your loveseat in the living room with a coffee table and tv. You can make up the twin as a seating area also. Might be time to purge some toys or store with a relative. Your daughter will come through this with flying colors. But get a good bed for yourselves.

I wouldn't invest too much in this apartment. It looks clean and move in ready.

I would buy a sleeper sofa for you and your wife in the living room. Are you near a Raymour and Flanigan? My DD bought a comfortable sofa bed for a reasonable price. It has a memory foam mattress.

Both my DD's live in studio apartments, so I know tiny. Your apartment while small is not tiny.

I think we can help even more if you share the actual dimensions and layout of the rooms.

Sorry, but I am not an Ikea fan. Used them for both DD's college years. I think the quality has gone down.

Yes, you can get an inexpensive murphy bed, but I would be hesitant about the quality and comfort.

There are some that have sofas attached and then fold down into the bed. Those are pricey.

ETA: I just read Banjo's comments. Building on the idea of your daughter in the living room, I am wondering if it makes sense to buy a juvenile bed. Something smaller than a twin, which can eat up a lot of space.

There are also chairs that convert into beds.

From Denver Mattress a queen size for 600 dollars. Get a bed frame for it. You need to sleep well. Don’t suffer on a junky bed you deserve better, and need your privacy.

oh, I found one apartment that impressed me several years ago

obviously you can't and shouldn't customize it like that-it's a permanent space in NY and all that's going on there while very cool and smart is tons of money thus unrelatable

but some ideas like a small trundle on this pic

http://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/house-tours/g899/small-apartment-decorating-0710/?slide=16

(btw I'd be elated to sleep in a tent as a kid. but. I'm not sure that's a long term solution, and couple years is a couple years. Depends on what's on the floor I guess, etc. Also tent takes precious space while trundle can be hidden. Tent can be hidden too though..theoretically..okay I'm confused now, lol)

the idea of a storage everywhere you can find it...in an ottoman, in a bed..not a new idea, obviously, but look for things like that

http://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/house-tours/g899/small-apartment-decorating-0710/?slide=10

(why banquette is a good space for towels I don't know but hey it works for them. main idea-the more built in spaces you have inside your furniture pieces the better)

carving the entryway.

http://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/house-tours/g899/small-apartment-decorating-0710/?slide=5

obviously you can't paint etc-but organizing one's entry(which you do have, I think? the narrow one?) is very important to how you'll feel in your place and how well it'll function-maximize it as smart as possible. yes, Apartment Therapy site is good, but their books (the first couple ones) are even better in that regard..highly recommend.

especially this was well composed and gave plenty resources too https://www.amazon.com/Apartment-Therapys-Book-Small-Spaces/dp/0307464601/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1513317806&sr=8-3&keywords=Apartment+Therapy

ignore whatever is unrelatable here, but the idea stands..and I find it useful for years already wherever I move-if you have a wall use it to the max..in a way that will make sense.

http://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/house-tours/g899/small-apartment-decorating-0710/?slide=4

Can be wall system, simple bookshelves, some mix of open and closed storage..to me main problem in storing are always all these documents, paperwork, kids' artwork every family has and it grows and grows..and I hate clutter especially one can't afford clutter in a small space. And these are things that you generally want them to be in certain place so you don't overturn the whole house when you need document X or certificate Y or prescription Z.

(granted we're more miserable than most, with the amount of documents we have, changing several countries and all..but all these papers tend to pile with some cosmic speed)

And if you find something like this(can be traditional, can be modern sensibility) second hand you're very lucky. They're modular, and if you like them enough-you can drag them along for years afterwards, using in this way and in that way. My ex still has our first wall system from 20 years ago. I'm not counting how many houses it changed. True, that one we bought..but then we didn't have Craigslist either)) First neighbors, donations..then you slowly buy what makes the most sense.

Okay shutting up now..sorry for the long post..congrats on your new home!

Keeping your daughter in a toddler bed for longer (which someone suggested above) is actually a good idea. How large is the closet in the bedroom? Could you designate part of the closet as her sleeping quarters? I'm only thinking of long-term privacy for you and your wife.

I thought and thought..no, wouldn't put a kid in a living. Not conductive for everyday life. Say she's sleeping-and you:

-might need to stay later to cook in the kitchen

-want to watch TV. alone or with guests

-have a small party that goes past her waking hours

etcetera etcetera. say she goes to sleep at 8 or 9 pm(depends on a kid of course)-that's your time to do stuff around the house, or relax for a bit. If she's in the living,even if she's a very good sleeper (we kinda trained our kids to be very good sleepers but no doubt it also depends on how a person is by nature too)-will cut into your ..roaming free there lol

while certain aspects of privacy...let me put it this way..they don't have to be taken care of strictly in the bedroom. it doesn't matter where it happens that much. as long as you feel comfortable.

as somebody who went though similar experience...I believe both you and your daughter will feel more comfortable and have more privacy sharing the bedroom..which is your initial plan anyway..

Friends raised two children in a space that size. They slept in the living room, on a sofa bed. Lots of people in expensive cities live this way. It will not be awful for 2 years. You just need to educate yourself about your options for small scale, multi-purpose furniture.

Capitan's beds with built in storage underneath are easy to find and inexpensive.

A floor plan, even a rough one, would help. Please include dimensions.

The only way you are going to keep your daughter's possessions in a room where she will have to spend time by herself is to lock her in there. Kids want to be where the other people are, not off by themselves ALL the time they play. Solitary confinement for a 3 year old?

My advice would be to not do the loft bed thing with you guys on top and her on the bottom. We used to do this when we'd visit my mom and the kids were little. I'd stay awake all night thinking the bed was going to collapse and crush them. I'd always end up getting them to come into bed with us.

Do a big dresser in the living room to put the TV on (if you have one). You can use the dresser for storage, but it will look like a buffet.

We had to share a bedroom with our pre-teen daughter for a year while our house was under construction and she slept in one of these. Privacy Pop It might not work in your situation, but the tent idea posted above made me think of it. It helped when we wanted to stay up and read and she wanted to sleep (or more usually, she wanted to stay up playing video games and we wanted to sleep).

Good luck!

Nobody is suggesting solitary confinement....jeesh...

why, she can play/draw/dance in the living then pick up the toys etc before changing routines or going to sleep. put them in a bin or a basket or a drawer that's hers, a shelf that's hers. like millions of other kids. what's the problem. she's gonna get her bedtime story. she's gonna have a totally normal life. actually she'll get to spend more time with her parents due to these close quarters. True, kids this age want to be close to their parents-so she'll be too, just like everybody else if not more.

for the first several years of my life we were 6 people in 2 rooms, kitchen and bath communal with neighbors. I don't remember being unhappy. I do remember myself more or less since age one..of course I remember also whatever scared me or shamed me or worried me, but overall life was full of wonders, at this age. My parents and grandparents, they probably felt less elated, living like that for years and years...

I agree; giving a child a room of her own, where she can have a place to keep her toys and a quiet place to sleep doesn't mean she won't always play where her parents are. It just means that things can be put away and the parents can have some respite at bedtime. Do other children who have their own rooms feel like they're in solitary confinement?

It was mentioned as a solution to have ALL her stuff in the bedroom where it would not become clutter in the living room.

I guess my thinking was just that they'd have a place to store all the kid stuff and she'd, of course, have toys in the living room when she's playing with them and not have them in the main living area all of the time.

Would the bedroom fit a double with trundle?

For living room, a sectional with chaise…some nights you have to be alone and a chaise can accommodate a little one or double as the back seat in the car.

We all need a cuddle once in awhile.

How much space between the front door to the corner? 6 feet?

I think the single bed over a double or queen bunk is the way to go since you could use any mattress that you find comfortable. And your daughter could use your bed as part of her play space. Use the space under the bed to store her toys, and find a container for more toys in the living room. Don't make this more complicated than it is - just be prepared to pare down as much as possible. Shoes stored on the back of the closet door, (cheap) plastic storage units in the closet, etc. You can make this work.

Good luck!

I wonder if they’ve moved in yet? We seem to have been abandoned.