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What would you consider too small for a bedroom

movinginva
9 years ago

Would you consider a 9 x 11 room with walk in closet and en suite too small? Both closet and bathroom Have sliding doors. Does anyone have a similar setup, or even a master bedroom that is around that size? How comfortable is it particularly for someone who only uses the bedroom for sleeping and getting dressed?

Comments (25)

  • emma
    9 years ago

    Pick the size bed you want then make outlines on the floor and see how much room you have left. I like large rooms so it doesn't look cramped. If I had a home built now I would opt for a two bedroom 2200 sq ft or up no basement and not chopped up into small rooms. If I had a large sunny window in that bedroom and it faced the back of the home, I would set a comfortable chair by the window. My friends and I looked at some new homes and one was $450,000 and we decided we preferred our smaller homes with large rooms.

  • desertsteph
    9 years ago

    doesn't sound too small to me. my dd had a bedroom 9x9 - twin bed in it (headboard and footboard). she had enough space.

  • lazy_gardens
    9 years ago

    If there isn't enough room to walk around the bed and change the sheets ... either the bed is too big or the room too small.

    MINIMUM room size calculation: Take your preferred size bed, add space around sides and foot for access - 3 feet clear is adequate, so add 6 feet to the width of the bed and 3 feet to the length of it.

    Then make sure you have room for whatever clothing storage you will use ... don't let it encroach on the access paths.

    A cal king bed, for example, is 6ft wide x 7 ft long ... that turns into 12 foot wide by 10 foot long bed space to have good access, plus whatever other furniture you want. If the closet has enough dresser space you might only need the bed and nightstands. A bench or small chair for putting shoes on is nice.

  • bragu_DSM 5
    9 years ago

    and then you could visit one of the ikea multi-purpose wonder rooms. Just no place for guests to camp. Perhaps, one day, the world will be houses of 10x10 ikea rooms.

    oh, wow

  • idie2live
    9 years ago

    My smallest bedroom is about 10 x 12 with a queen bed against the wall, a bureau, small computer desk and night table. It is tight, but we only use it when my dgd is here.
    I think the biggest issue may be whether or not the bed is in the corner. In my experience, if it is, then the bed is harder to make every morning. Also, if you have a spouse and the person in the rear has to go to the bathroom during the night, then he has to crawl over you.
    When I was younger I didn't mind reaching over to make the bed. But as I got older (sigh!) I found it more difficult.

  • movinginva
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    We would be putting a queen bed in there and maybe a small dresser and small night stands.

  • Shades_of_idaho
    9 years ago

    My sewing room is 9 by 13 and if there was a closet across the one end it would then be a bit less than 9 by 11. We also had a house with a bedroom only 8 1/2 foot wide and 11 foot long with a long closet on one side. No bath of course. It was tight but I know when we looked at the house to buy there was two twin beds i there.

    We also had a master that was 9' 6" by 13 and I had a full sized bed a commode a old pie safe I used for clothes and two dressers. Oh and a small hall tree. The closet was only 6 foot long not walk in. It was tight in there but it was a fine bedroom.

  • User
    9 years ago

    Does not sound too small. You define the space as a place to sleep get peace, no distractions. You will sleep like a babe. Good lightning will make a difference

  • peegee
    9 years ago

    If everything you need fits, then it sounds great. I am beginning to believe, from recent experience with a small MBR, that large bedrooms (which I had formerly and continued to covet) are over-rated.

  • User
    9 years ago

    Oh, Shades, that is the funniest thing you've said all week! I love it. I'm going to read it to DH. He complains that both dogs go with him on his nightly trips. hehehehehe....

    Are you the one who usually feeds them in the morning? I wonder if that has something to do with it.

  • rosefolly
    9 years ago

    I don't like teeny tiny bedrooms but a moderate size seems sensible to me. You SLEEP in your bedroom. Save any extra space for rooms you will occupy while you are awake to make use of them. Hobby space, activity space, entertainment space, even exercise space.

    Anyway, these are my thoughts on the matter.

    Rosefolly

  • robo (z6a)
    9 years ago

    A queen is about five feet wide by seven long if you have a low profile bed frame.

    I personally think 24" clearance on any side of a bed is adequate for a sleeping room. So if one of the long walls was free you could place your bed on it. However you would only have room two small night stands and something very narrow (1 foot deep) at the foot of the bed.

    It also depends on where the door to the room swings in...no good if it will bang into the bed.

  • llucy
    9 years ago

    I've seen some lovely pic's on Houzz of small bedrooms, you might look for ideas there.

    Do you have the bedroom furniture you plan to use already? Why not move it in there and see how it looks to you? Or tape out the dimensions of the furniture you think will fit, to get an idea how tight it would be to walk around.

    Maybe you can use a small dresser as the nightstand. Or find a tall narrow dresser that would work in the space. A queen size bed is 60" wide, a full size is 54", so it could be decision about how you want to spend those 6 inches.

    My current bedroom is 10'6 by 11'6. I really wouldn't want to go any smaller, but I could if the space in the rest of the house made it worth it. The only issue I think you could have is when you go to sell. If the homes in your area have larger master's with en suites, one that is 9 by 11 may take longer to sell. If you are in an area where master en suites aren't common, you may be fine.

  • User
    9 years ago

    Aha, Robo, there lies the beauty of surface mounted sliding doors. Or, if you will, barn door hardware. I'd also consider shoji screens perfect for such applications. If there is plenty of light in the room outside the sleeping quarters, and you WANT light to come in, then the shoji could give the light while maintaining privacy.

    The question is, will the closet be inside the sleeping space or in the adjacent space. If not in the sleeping space, then no worry about room enough for dressing, nor accessing the closet.

    Also, raising the bed allows the option of storage drawers beneath the bed.

    And, think about making the doorway to that sleeping space a double wide doorway, so the end of the bed might be included in the regular portion of the bedroom. A 60 inch wide cased doorway allows 2 30 inch doors mounted on sliding tracks to open up, one to each side. Or, try bifold doors, if you do not have enough flat wall space to accommodate 2 full doors. The bifolds come as french doors.

    Our pair of glass paned french doors which fit the 60 inch dining/living room cased opening at our house have been used elsewhere, and I plan to buy two such french bifolds when I wish to close off the living room to use as our guest room....that is, after our remodel is done. But that won't be because there is a need for walk-around space for the sleeping area. Just privacy for guests, like our granddaughters.

    I'd think the doorway at the foot of the bed would be the best arrangement for looks also. It would look like a garden bower, and pretty coverlets would be inviting to the tired body.

    {{gwi:2137622}}

  • kirkhall
    9 years ago

    Check your codes office too. In my area, a bedroom must be 100sq ft. You only have 99.

    Otherwise, if it is only for sleeping, it will be tight but doable. 8.5 feet IS too small for a queen bed. We had a room that was that width (by 14) and the bed had to be against a wall. I'd say 9 is a minimum. 10 is better.

  • movinginva
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    The closet will be off the bedroom, so there will be three doors - one to enter the bedroom from th hall, one to enter the bathroom, and another to enter the closet. I was thinking of barn/sliding doors because there is ample wall space, but I really like your glass paned french doors. Where did you find them, if you don't mind me asking? I also planned on doing talk slender bookcases that will look like built-ins, and a queen bed that allows under bed storage.

    Llucy, most of the homes in the area are small ranchers, so they have small bedrooms, few of them with an ensuite.

  • User
    9 years ago

    MovinginVA, I got the french style bifold doors from The Home Depot. You can get them finished. They come in several widths. Pinecroft is the maker.

    We also used them in the Massachusetts cape, and they looked good there too.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Home Depot bifold french door options search

  • movinginva
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for your input. It has helped me make some decisions. Here is what I have in my head for what the room will look like with a queen bed. The room off the bedroom closer to the window is the bathroom, and the one closer to the door is the closet. Entrances to both from the bedroom will have sliding or the French doors moccasinlanding recommended.

    {{gwi:2137623}}

  • User
    9 years ago

    Nice. Just wondering if you might place closet and bath doors together in center of wall. Hang as barndoorshardware. Each door goes to side. You have more space near foot of bed and less devoted to a traffic pattern.

    My computer is on blink, using Kindle. Pardon my brevity.

  • movinginva
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Ideally, I would like to do that, but there is an existing door where the closet door is, so I am trying to use it. I do see how it would be much better and give me a few more options with placing maybe a bigger dresser in the room if that corner area is a solid wall. Hmmm - I don't believe that wall is load bearing, because the existing door is a pocket door. I like it!

  • User
    9 years ago

    Well there you go....It is going to be a jewel of a cozy space. Strong.

  • User
    9 years ago

    Well there you go....It is going to be a jewel of a cozy space. Strong.

  • billwms
    9 years ago

    I think I win the prize..... I am renovating a house on the ocean. The original bedroom was 17' by almost 40'. I am breaking it up into a 17' x 14' bedroom.....plus a MINI room of 6' 1" by 8'3" (plus a hallway). I decided that as long as a bed fits (6 feet), the proximity of the ocean will make up for the size. (I was trying to attach a photo but it is not going thru)

  • sloedjinn
    9 years ago

    When I was a kid, I had a 'bedroom' that was actually the closet off another bedroom. Big enough for a twin bed plus a small dresser. Probably not technically legal, but in a house with four kids and three bedrooms, you stick people where they'll fit. :). I loved it honestly.

    Our current master (and only) bedroom is ten by ten. We have a queen bed plus one dresser in the room. 'Bedside tables' are small wall mounted shelves, just enough space for glasses and a phone. Or a book. The bed is a storage bed, the Cynthia Bed from Pottery Barn. It's a life saver. We have room for all clothes plus other random stuff too, like our printer lives in one of the drawers.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Storage bed.