I know you didn't ask this, Val, but how does DS feel about the conversion? I only ask because my DD was a bit hurt because I converted her room for my grandkids, and she's been out of the house 8 years!

But, to answer your question, I like the last one because it feels more masculine. I think it would look good under the window.
Dee

I think all of those beds are attractive. I do have a suggestion: I would get a queen instead of a full size bed if you will have couples as guests.

I like the darker furniture better than the existing and agree with texan that a queen would be better for guest but I wouldn't change any of his things right now. It's still his room.

Dee: I don't think my DS will feel at all hurt. He's very excited at the thought of going off to college--first preference is to go to east Coast and we live in CA. We have no family in the area, no guest room and often have to shuffle our three kids around to accomodate visiting family members. In fact, I didn't mention this, but one of the reasons making the change more urgent is the prospect of his godparents coming from out of the country in May to attend his graduation. He well knows the financial situation we've been in and will be in as our children attend private schools and college tuition is astronomical; hence, we had to make many compromises over the years regarding the size and value of our home.

I would wait until DS has graduated and gone out on his own to change the room. The room right now is what he knows and loves. It's part of the comfort he'll feel when he comes home on break, and a reason for him to want to come home and stay in touch more. Taking that away from him right now pushes him farther out of the nest, so to speak, and could result in your hearing less from him and seeing less of him. But maybe you urgently need the room for something else? Up to you.

All the beds you pictured are pretty, and I like buying on CL because it helps out regular folks and doesn't send the money to China.

Have you looked in our Bedrooms thread for inspiration? Pour yourself a nice cup of tea or glass of wine and feast your eyes on this... (the gallery link is at the bottom of every page) ...

Here is a link that might be useful: Bedroom Inspirations

Since his room is only 10'x12' wouldn't a queen be too large?

That middle metal bed is from Overstock, the Stanley. It has great reviews and runs about $300. I just bought it for my guest room in a queen. I would think a queen would be too big for a 10x12 room - the size of our small but very functional spare bedroom.

grlwprls: Thanks for correcting me about the metal bed. I realized my mistake later. So you put this bed in a queen size your 10x12 guest room? I'd love to see pics of your room with this bed.

Just to clarify, I plan to phase in the changes; the bed being the main one I was thinking of working in before he leaves as I think he also would feel more comfortable sleeping in a larger bed. I was even thinking of getting two sets of bedding: one he'd pick for when he is there and another for when guests visit. It really is very frustrating not having a guest room. My husband's family lives in Canada and weekend visits are not an option nor having them stay in a hotel. Mine are in a different part of the state and so also need a place to stay; only they will typically visit for only a weekend. I've had to shift all of my kids out of their rooms at various times in their lives (doubling up with a sibling or sleeping on airbed in family room); sometimes a few days, others for months when their grandma has stayed with us. It's just what we need to do in order to maintain relationships with our extended family. As my BIL does the same for us when we visit him, my kids have come to accept this as normal, though I realize others with larger homes or smaller families may not need to make these adjustments. Coming from a family with six kids, I recall doing much of the same while growing up in a 3-bedroom home.

Most likely I won't make any changes until Spring break when my DS will go with my DH on the college road trip to finalize his school choice; but I am trying to get ideas and coalesce a plan now since it takes me awhile to determine what would work best and be the most versatle solution for everyone. If I were to go with the CL bed, I'd probably store it in the garage until then. I've just been looking from time to time as sometimes it takes awhile to find what you are looking for.

Older DS came back to live after grad school, and younger DS had moved into the larger bedroom once older DS left. So older DS is living in a 10 1/2 x 11 room with a queen bed, 5 foot long desk, 5 foot long oak dresser, small entertainment center, and a phone stand for a nightstand. Oh, and a dvd/cd rack that stands about 4 feet tall. Yep, it is crowded. You certainly wouldn't want to have that much furniture, but I am just telling you that certainly a queen bed can fit just fine.

I want to add one other thought about your son's room. You don't know for sure that he will not end up back home, unhappy after a year away at school, perhaps even struggling in school even if he has never done so before. We are dealing with this right now with younger DS. It is a tough journey, toughest for him, and came as a complete surprise. I am glad that he has his room to come back to and feel secure and grounded in while he goes to school here and decides where he will finish.

I guess I am suggesting that you consider waiting a while before making any big changes, other than perhaps putting a larger bed in the room. But I would make sure that whatever you pick for a bed works for your son, first and foremost. You will have plenty of time in just a few years to convert that room into your official guest room.

Laughed when I saw that your son has the same nightstand that younger DS has in his room.

Actually, our guest room is a bit larger than 10x12 - we have an exercise room that is 10x12 (and maybe having huge exercise machines in there is clouding my judgment.

Sorry to have added a layer of confusion.

Another thought, if you make the changes now he will get used to it before he leaves and it will still be "his" room when he comes back home. You should just think of it as the beginning of your first sentence "I'm in the beginning stages of updating my college bound DS's room". It's okay to update bedrooms. Even college bound kid's rooms. :)

I updated my 16 yr old daughter's room last year. Or should I say finished updating. It took me awhile to get everything done but she loved it right away. I say go for it.

Les: Excellent points! I'd love to see how your DS cramed all that in that amount of space! Don't think DS will have adjustment problems at school since he has done summer university programs for past 3 years and we are lucky to hear from him while away, but there are many reasons plans change. Certainly he'll always be welcome at home; though with two younger siblings also at home in smaller bedrooms, there is no guarantee it'll always be this room which also has the largest closet. At first I was going to let 15-year-old DD who has smallest room at 8'x'9' swap rooms; but I would dearly like to have another bed in this house where a couple can sleep together and this is the only other room in the house large enough. This room will most likely serve a dual purpose for the next serveral years, though in another two years DD will leave for college so realistically that will open up another option as well if DS decides to move back home at some point. There is also even remote possibility I would have my MIL move-in at some point, who knows? I've had pretty good success buying/selling furniture through CL so if/when life gets messy and plans need to change, I'll look there.

sundownr: I think you expressed what I wanted to say perfectly. I also feel if I start updating now, then he has input in any changes and will feel comfortable about it vs. he goes off to school, comes back home for Christmas and poof a new room that he had no input in the decor. At same time, I do also want it to function as a guest room and not always look like a dorm room and smell like a locker room which is my present difficulty in even offering overnight guests to sleep there.

That is also why I'm leaning towards the full bed as opposed to a queen. I have measured it out and I can keep all his present furniture minus the current bed with a double in there. Whenever my brother comes to visit, he sleeps in DSs room and always complains about the bed as it's too small for him. DS doesn't know any different, but I'm sure will appreciate a bigger bed.

So, please do give feedback on the bedding size (full or queen), location (under 12' long window wall or 10' long wall on right), and style (CL bed or other wooden headboard, metal bed #1 with taller headboard, or platform metal bed #2 (no boxspring, but lower profile).

If I were doing this room I'd look into one of the nicer thicker inner spring futons, making it a great room for guest couples since most come in queen size. When your son is home on break it will not only be a great hang out for friends, but also still his bedroom.

They certainly do like the updates as far as a larger bed- that I can vouch for! I'd do a darker, traditional, full sized bed...centered in front of the window.
May I say how TIDY he is?!?

valinsv
I love the mahogany bed, and would put it in the center of the wall without window.
I think it is classic and gorgeous. I believe it can go equally well for a female or male.
If your son takes part in the redo then I am sure he will still feel like the room is his.
I do not see a problem in doing it now.

How tall is your son? A full size mattress is the same length as a twin, which is too short for my 6'2" son. Of course the decision has to be what works for you, but you can definitely fit a queen sized bed in there. My son's room is 10 X 11 and my daughter's room is 10 X 10. Both have queen sized beds in their rooms.

Go ahead and put a full or queen size bed in there ASAP if he has been using a twin so that he can enjoy a comfortable bed every night before he leaves for college and also know it is his bed when a guest is not sleeping there.

I began refurbing/renovating my home after my DD married and left home almost five years ago. I had postponed updating and making many needed changes while financing her college education, being busy with a lot of other personal issues, and just life in general. She has mentioned that a lot of the changes I made after she left, she would have enjoyed having while she was still home. Like stripping wallpaper! In her room. And the DR and Kitchen. And the horrid sofa and loveseat we had.

You might want to think about a compromise on removing all the other furniture items. Maybe give it a year or so and let him be a part of furnishing it in a way he can function and feel comfortable when he is home, but will also accomodate guests.

Tuesday

justgottabeme: I hadn't thought of doing a futon as most I've slept on aren't comfortable, but I'll have to think about the inner spring one.

loribee: Tidy-haha! Those are a collection of old photos from when I purchased a rug for his room and taken the day after the cleaners came! I dare not take any pics now. There was an old thread where some members posted "real" photos of their teenagers bedrooms. His very much falls into that category! He is very involved with competitive debate and not only has evidence and homework papers ALL OVER, I think he has kept every case and scrap of evidence for the past three years--via a collection of plastic tubs, stuft in closet shelves, nightstand drawers and foot high stack on bookcase. I'm definitely proud of his achievements, but will be so glad when he "retires" and it can all be recycled.

mom2five-home: DS is 5'10" and turning 18 next month. As my DH is also 5'10" and I'm 5'2" I don't know that he'll grow too much taller. My brother who finds DS's bed cramped is 6'2". I was thinking DS could always sleep diagonally in the bed. It'd probably be more cramped than a queen though. Just curious do your children have beds with footboards or is one side against a wall? I want to avoid putting it against a wall for the situations when I need to squeeze in two guests.

I heard back from the seller of the mahogany bed and it's still for sale. She's going to get back to me with the measurements. Given it's still listed after 4-days, I think I could get it for less as well. That is my personal favorite which I'm hoping would be versatile enough for any future use: room for DS, DD moves into this room, or guest room--just by changing up the bedding for a more masculine/feminine look. It obviously doesn't go well with furniture there now: only potential odd item is the black IKEA bookshelf. My DS made several very nice pottery pieces at school some of which were exhibited at local art shows so I was thinking of putting all of his pieces there once he no longer needs all the space for textbooks and magazines (which can be offloaded into the closet).

I agree that the old style futons were not comfy in my opinion, but I was amazed at how comfy the inner spring ones were. If you'll be keeping his other furniture I'm sure you'd be able to find an oak frame too. Check your local Craigslist. I see really nice futon frames on ours quite often.

I love the mahogany bed, so that's the one I would choose!

Laurie

I like the idea of changing the room now with input from your son and while he can get used to the room so when he comes back on breaks, he will feel comfortable in the room.

I like either the Mahogany headboard and footboard or the wrought iron bed but like you said if you are planning on rearranging the furniture, the taller headboard many not work as well.

Please keep us updated.

By the way, my bedroom is 11 X 11.5 and I have a queen bed with a 5 foot iron headboard but no footboard, a Chest of Drawers that is 49" high and 36" wide, a double dresser (could not fit a small armoire in the room with the triple dresser and I had a balcony door on one side of the room that I could not place anything in front of and I had to keep the furniture off the two floor vents int he room under the two windows), a small 36" or 38" wide armoire, a bedside table the same width as the small armoire since they both use the same bottom piece but the armoire has a TV deck on top, and a small round iron table on the other side of the bed. Yes, all that fits in that room! And now I added a skinny lingerie chest on the wall that the door opens up to put my humidifier on. Since I went with light furniture, the room does not look too crowded. I really wanted Cherry furniture but my room was not big enough to handle Cherry furniture unless I used less pieces.

I too think you should go ahead with your plan. He will still have the feel of it being "his" room when he comes back to visit if something remains from when he lived there. So making some/most of the changes now is a good idea.

Regarding the size, go for the double if that is the way you are leaning. DH and I have a double and will not change. In fact when we get hotel rooms, we always ask for a double if available. We HATE king sized and will take a queen if we have to. Everyone is different therefore if you want the extra space in the room then the double will give you that.

Love the CL one you are considering.

I only had a chance to read a few of the posts, so if I am being repetitive, please forgive me.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that when your child goes off for the first time, it isn't a good idea to change his/her room until they have finished sophmore year. Something about all of the changes, and coming home to things that are stable and secure, especially with respect to their bedroom. IDK, I don't think I would make any change to your DS' room until he is well settled at school and confident in the change in his life. He can't possibly be confident at this point as he hasn't yet graduated from high school, let alone started college.

I hope you accept this in the spirit in which it is intended. I realize you are pressed for guest space, but is there another option?

Val

Join the club of "children going off to school" Trust your gut instincts about the timing of changing the room. You know your DS best. I may be in the minority here, but after 3 off to school & another 4 to go. I rest more in the camp of not making it too easy to acclimate back home. That said, I don't want to sound severe - lot's can happen, and does. The most important thing we can give our children is love and support.

I love the Mahogany bed and it goes with the style of the rest of the decor in your home. I like wrought iron - but only the antique vintagy stuff.

Another thought - we have a pull out type single frame mattress in our summer home. It doesn't pop up, but sits under a small twin tightly. Works well for lil ones, I don't think too many adults would be comfy. I think it needs only 11" of clearance under the bed to fit under properly. I think we purchased it yrs ago @ land of Nod.

Best to you & yours, I love following your projects.

Thanks for everyone weighing in with their thoughts about the proposed room changes for my DS's room and the bed. At this point, I do plan to go forward with upgrading his bed to a full size; but have yet to determine the timing of the other changes. One thing I know from raising my own three and talking with other parents, is that each child is very different, so what strategies work for one, may not for another so we need to choose what's right for our own situation. My close friend's daughter for instance turned down several scholarships last year to stay home and attend the local junior college because she just was not ready to leave home. Knowing them for past 18 years, I can say that was definitely the right choice for them. My DS, on the other hand, has always been very independent, and actually gets frustrated at times by our efforts to "micro-manage" his life, meaning the college applications process. He is in that limbo stage right now, ready and eager for the next stage of his journey and we are doing our best to avoid being "helicoptor parents." Planning some changes to his room and envisioning some positives for us when he is gone, is one way for me to avoid that.

I'm still in two minds initiating other changes before he leaves, but I'll talk it over with him to see what he prefers. Changing the bed, possibly the paint, I think I may do over his winter or spring break as I don't want to mess too much with his papers--both for debate and school. As he is a pack rat and seems to keep every paper and many old text books for past 4-years, I definitely will be expecting him to do a purge and store come summer.

The dimensions of the mahogany bed are as follows: The height of the posts is 46" and the middle part of the headboard is 39" high. The width of the bed is 57".

As the window height is 46" sounds like it would work in either location. I am just wondering about the mattress. There is one in the Costco store right now; hence another reason to make the change now as we really need to tighten our belts with college looming and so these changes need to be as economical as possible. It comes with a full height boxspring and I'm wondering if I'd be better off getting the reduced height. The Costco set I am considering is 20"H for both boxspring and mattress combined.

Here is a link that might be useful: Costco mattress

With weighing everyone's input, I'm now thinking maybe I should just go ahead with a room update that would satisfy both his needs for part time use of the room over the college years plus my need for a guest room. Another factor driving the update sooner rather than later, is I know we will have several guests coming in May, both for DS's graduation and my DH's 50th birthday and the closer it gets to May, the busier I will get with party planning. There will be an opportunity in February to paint while he is away for 3-days at a tournament, then when he returns it is winter break so he would have some time to help me put his room back together and be part of the changes. That way, he will be included in the plans. He is away right now until Friday at a retreat so I haven't had a chance yet to run my ideas by him, but I will when he gets back.

Main issue with the mahogany bed is it doesn't really go well with his existing furniture so I've been thinking about what I can/should add to make it look more cohesive without breaking the bank. Once he is out of school I don't think he will need such a large desk and hutch plus I do own another very similar one in DD1's room and DD2 has a smaller vintage kneehole desk which I really like as it has great storage space without a lot of room.

Offhand, I have a single mahogany nightstand which I can replace his with:

I'm now thinking perhaps I should just replace his desk/hutch will a smaller vintage kneehole type one so that he would have a place to work on his laptop when he is staying with us. When searching for DD2 last year I found a lot and here is one listed on CL for only $50:

What do you think? While these pieces may not be his first choice for his room, I feel it would allow for more growth during the transition of this room into serving dual functions over the next several years. Long term, my mom has promised to give me my grandmother's mahogany secretary and I can see that working well at some future point when DS no longer lives with us and most likely would replace the desk.

As for paint, I was thinking a soft grey or pale blue. He is very fond of blue, but I find these walls too dark. I can get him a blue comforter and keep the present rug for now; then get another set of bedding to use when guests visit.

If anyone is still following my decorating angst, as much as I like that mahogany bed, my gut is telling me it's too soon and I would need to change too many other elements in my DS's room. I'm now leaning towards a matte black metal bed like this one from Overstock:

It comes in both a full and queen size, has excellent reviews from buyers who purchased it either for a guest bedroom or for a teenaged son, college aged son returning home, etc. DS has some black accent pieces, including the IKEA bookcase, frames, display cubes, coat rack, etc. that would work with this plus I think it would work with existing oak furniture until such a time we feel it's no longer needed. The main thing right now is the bed. At point when room becomes a true guest room, I can always work in more vintage furniture.

I think I would paint the room grey.

Thoughts anyone?

Here is a link that might be useful: Austen bed on Overstock

Or Lancaster?

Or Kristen?

Or are they too "feminine"? I like the lines of the Stanley bed but perfer a gray or black finish over the brown.

What works best with what he has now yet would also work in a guest room?

What if you did a combo of light wood and iron...to tie in his light wood existing furniture? Something like this~

Here is a link that might be useful: wood and iron full headboard

Lori: That's also a pretty bed. I do want to phase out the light wood pieces, they have been there many years. The bed we purchased when he was a toddler and years later added the desk because "it went with the bed" even though at that point DS preferred black furniture, hence more recent additions are in black. So my delimna, is how much do I try to work with what is there now when much of that I don't care for and he is outgrowing anyway? I guess this is a bit like what you are going through with your breakfast room and trying to work with a style that is not your own; except in my case, the pieces have no sentimental value.

Spoke to DH about it this AM. He thinks we really should just sell off the desk along with bed and replace desk with a kneehole type one since DS mostly uses desk as a repository for all his stuff. The nightstand he has now I feel wouldn't work as it's too low--esp. if a reading lamp is put there. Right now he has a wall lamp, but I don't think I want to put that back after painting. He said I need to think about what we want long term, not just go buying stuff and selling it 6 mos. later. Ah, men....... Or just put a mattress/boxspring there now with just the metal bedframe--said DS won't care and he probably won't, but I do. For long term, I will at some point be getting my grandma's mahogany secretary which I would need to find a place so as the room evolves, that is also at the back of my mind. That would replace any desk eventually.

I'm going back and forth between the Kristen bed and the mahogany bed. Of the metal beds, the Kristen seems to have the lower headboard and footboard and I don't think it should be too tall or it will overpower the room. I asked the seller if I could see it Friday night since DS will be back from his retreat by then and could go with me to look at it. Philosophically, if it sells before then, then it isn't meant to be.

Topic just really caught my attention, so I'm chiming in late. Did you purchase a bed yet?

My DS is a college sophomore this yr. And I had recently started feeling sort of guilty for never having provided him with a better bed before he graduated from high school. Oh, sure, all kinds of reasons, including dollars, but at 6'1" the twin is a little pathetic. And he's not a complainer ... it just comes up occasionally.

Maybe I'm weird ... and this doesn't sound like it fits your situation ... but when I started thinking about this during winter break with ds at home, I started playing with the idea that, well, when ds sets up his first more-or-less permanent pad past whatever level of schooling he ends up completing, the bed we purchase for him could help him set up housekeeping.

Hmmm ... now that I think about it, my folks did that for me.

But my main point is that nearly-adult kids appreciate their creature comforts and your son will enjoy the new bed. I agree that different kids handle things in diffferent ways, but it also sounds like your guy will enjoy his room as it transforms.

So ... which bed did ya' get?

Wellspring

I'm chiming in late having just read this post. My son is 6'2 1/2 and still sleeps in a twin bed! I've offered to purchase him a bigger one but he loves his bed so I haven't. We're in the same spot. He graduates this May, however, he is staying at home and going to our community college. We have no family in our town either and have to shuffle everyone around to different beds when guests arrive. We have a pullout sleeper that is very uncomfortable. What to do? But in our case, I would love to have guests use his room. He sleeps in our finished basement and has his own bathroom. Perfect set up for guests except he's very messy and lets his laundry pile, which means smelly. I'm not trying to get off topic but these are factors for us, which may be factors for others too.

Regarding the O.P. bed, I like the Austen one from O. It has clean lines and fits both masculine and feminine tastes. I feel for you with your company coming and hope that you can get some of the room changes resolved before they come. Congrats to your son on his accomplishments. He sounds like he's off to a wonderful start!

wellspring: Your idea doesn't sound weird, it sounds really thoughtful! Not necessarily for my situation as my DS is the eldest and we're still juggling around what we have. I still remember when I bought some vintage furniture on CL for my DD last year, I bought it from a girl whose mom had painted it for her when she was young and then she was carting the furniture around with her to her apartments while in college. A cross country move, though, finally necessitated that she sell it. One thing I've realized from this thread and reading everyone's feedback, is these college years are a time of transition. As for the bed, I opted for the CL bed. DH didn't like any of the metal beds and really felt the headboard should stay below the window. See link below for new thread I had posted with pictures.

joanie38: Sounds like a similar situation with our DS's. Those of some of the issues I'm dealing with as well. I was beginning to think I was the only one who has to play musical beds everytime guests visit!

Still need to get the mattress and figure of the bedding and clear out his under bed drawers which I use for storage so that I can change out the bed over winter break.

Here is a link that might be useful: CL Bed Purchase

I'm not sure if anyone else has posted this, so forgive me if it's repetitive: Have you thought about having your son pick the bed out? When I went off to college (damn that was a long time ago!) my Mom and I redecorated my room around this time of my senior year. Now, I'm a gal so maybe that's why I remember it fondly, but she did it in a way that made me feel grown up and like it was mine but also made it a better guest room after I left. We even picked out a paint color and I painted it myself. I had no idea how clever she was to set that one up as a fun project I could do! :-) Anyhow, maybe let him have some say in the bed and other furniture and he'll probably be pretty psyched to sleep in a larger bed - I know I was!
Lastly, my friend bought this desk (http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Oxford_Corner_Writing_Desk_I/210/) for her high school son's very small room and it really opened up the space since he had a desk similar to the one you have. I'm a big fan of corner desks in small rooms too...
And if he has no interest in the bed I'd go with the one you posted from overstock :-)

chris: Thanks for the suggestions. With all my kids, I've always leaned towards the parents having greater say in furniture selection and letting kids focus more on the decor (paint, bedding, etc). Reason being, that furniture is more expensive, is kept for a longer time and may need to be repurposed later on (in a younger sibling's room or in this case, a guest room). For the most part, he thinks his room is just fine as-is as he is preoccupied with school and his extracurriculars. My DD's (and esp. my 9-year-old) had much more interest when I redid their rooms last year; DS not so much; hence I'm narrowing down choices, but let him make final choice.