Could you curtain off the right hand corner of the living room for a bedroom space? That would be a little more private than trying to turn the dining room into a bedroom.

Yes, I am open to all suggestions. If I did that, how would you arrange the living room furniture into the dining area to keep a living space?

Maybe put the TV on the wall to the left of the patio. Then put the sofa opposite it, with the back to the curtained off space.

I'll definitely look the size of that space. It's narrow like the stairs but I think you're right I should look at spaces in the living other than the dining area. Especially since it will narrow the entry.

The loveseat can be to one side of the sofa in an L configuration (or switch sofa and loveseat if that fits better). The ottoman could go opposite the loveseat for extra seating, or maybe use it as a coffee table and the coffee table as an end table? Put the bookshelves wherever they fit...maybe one in the dining area and one under the TV.

If you cut out pieces of paper the same size as your furniture (to the scale of the house plan in inches), you can play around with different configurations and figure out what works best. It'd be easy enough to move furniture around in that space after you're moved in also.

Do you go up the stairs from the entry side or the living room side?

The entry, just inside the door.

Bed in the corner (blue), with an armoire (green) for clothing, and a screen/divider (red) between the bed and the back of the sofa. The 2nd sofa or chairs back up to the breakfast bar. TV on wall adjacent to patio doors. If you get a Japanese screen or something with perforations, it’ll let in light in the bed area but still keep it private. And if you have additional guests, you can move the screen and use the bed for seating. Do you have a day bed or something that can go up against the wall? Hopefully stairs go up from the entry. Good luck...hope you can settle in soon.

Got the colors backwards...bed =green, armoire =blue 🤦🏽‍♀️

V Smith I can do paper and maybe get the kids to move it around between school and sports practice, but I'm disabled so I can't do much rearranging after the movers put everything in place. I'm so bad at imagining it in the space, too. Especially since I'll likely need to either buy a new living room set with a fold out sleeper and add in armoires for clothing and bedding storage or use my current set and make room for a wall or cabinet murphy (and get rid of the little bookcases, no big deal).

If I can block off a space with room dividers or track curtains I'll get a twin bed, clothes storage, and small side table.

Hemina I like that!! Then the dining room is more naturally part of the living room. Thank you!

Sorry but IMO the kids need to share a bedroom just like so many of us did when we were kids. I think you need privacy more than they do and for sure a proper bedroom. That main floor is barely big enough to have proper LR and DR without adding a bed. The only way I can see this working is a murphy bed instead of a wall unit for the TV and with the sofa integrated into the murphy.

If the teenagers are boy and girl they will need their own bedrooms.

If you decide to get a Murphy bed, you’ll need the lightest possible mattress since you said you are disabled. Make sure you’ll be able to open and close it yourself if you don’t want to rely on your kids.

The narrow area can work as a sleeping only area. With maybe a portable zip closet at one end . A dresser as storage and sofa table or end table. Curtains or folding screens, and you get a bit of privacy.

I had a studio apartment once, with a walk in closet. I put a twin in the closet, and the foot of the bed had short hanging above. Under bed storage plus a trunk as a coffee table, and dressers as media stands and end tables in the “studio” area. It worked. Because it had to.

I also lived in an oddball apartment where the entry door was in the bedroom, and you walked through to the living area. I used a series of cheap folding screens that shielded the bed area and created a “hallway” passage through to the living area. I just made them out of lathe strips and thin hardboard backing, with hinges added. Then I wallpapered them with some clearance wallpaper. 2 sides, so 2 looks. Paint and a stencil could do the same thing.

Here’s a hanging screen that’s a nice look. You could do the same with fabric panels. I have no idea if this company is reputable or not. Just linking the source of the image. https://us.ishomer.com/homedecor-c-4/hanging-room-dividers-partitions-folding-screen-decorative-partition-aluminium-chain-curtain-paravent-hanging-mobile-screens-p-77454.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiA4sjyBRC5ARIsAEHsELFGUOV4JrO2_AYgWx3H5a3yPRbZEWcjSLdMG877nmXnN5BGFx0bCsIaAtOtEALw_wcB

What is your budget? Most Murphy beds are thousands of dollars plus cost of labor to install. I might just stick a nice twin daybed in the living room for you if you are unable to use stairs due to your disability or if you can do stairs put one of the kids there.who wants to take out there bed every night? Just making it in the morning is tough for many it seems.

Then a nicely organized armoire for a closet in the corner. Although not as nice as my English and Irish pine armoires I have a IKEA European ikea wardrobes in my dressing room and they are very tall at 8ft but only 15 inches deep so they take a lot less space in a room and they house so much clothes and you can customize the storage to your needs.

Let’s think this differently. Can we put the kids in the ‘master’ bedroom and divide it into two sections? That leaves you with the smaller bedroom. Can we see the upstairs?

I was assuming that Gail's disability is the reason she wants the first floor and is less about teen entitlement. I hope this is the case :)

If you can’t do stairs, I like the twin bed by the stair wall idea. Just close off a cozy nook of your own.

Hi Gail,

Are you buying or renting the townhouse? I'm just wondering if we can install things or are looking at temporary ideas.

https://www.thespruce.com/perfect-studio-apartment-layouts-to-inspire-4124066, https://www.thespruce.com/bedroom-in-a-studio-apartment-4158707 one suggestion here is to build a temporary half wall, I really like that one! Other suggestion is making a loft--perhaps one of your kiddos would enjoy that.

HOWEVER, If you really want or need to have your bedroom on the main floor, I strongly suggest a proper bed; avoid a sleeper sofa.

I was thinking the same as auntthelma. Are the kids the same gender or do you have one of each?

Will your disability make it difficult to pull out a murphy bed every night?

Will you be buying or renting the townhouse?

There are portable wall systems that are used in New York to create rooms where there aren’t any. It would give you some degree of privacy Without having to build actual walls.

I'm renting the townhouse. I can't manage the stairs well. I don't need a full bedroom as much as a sleeping and changing area that's private from the living room. I don't want my bed exposed to my kids' friends or other guests when they come over. I don't want a daybed because don't want it used for additional seating.

An armoire can easily be incorporated into the living room decor so that's no big deal. I think, right?

PS my boy/girl twins are amazing :)

@decoenthusiast I love those ideas-so pretty!

My budget is $5000

Well there goes the sharing a room idea. BTW murphy beds are easily operated with the balance system a good maker uses. You do not mention the kind of handicap you have but I have a client with one arm and he has no issue with his murphy.

The wall and cabinet murphy beds I've been looking at are twin size and the reviews say they're easy to operate. I wondered if all of them were wrong? I'm leery of the cabinet style because the mattresses run about 6' and they fold: pretty much the same as a sleeper sofa.

I think an XL twin bed, along with an armoire and 3 drawer night stand should give you plenty of storage.

Then you can use a folding screen for privacy.

I'm not suggesting these finishes, just examples of what I mean.

You can add a runner alongside the bed for softness. Just be sure to use pretty, sophisticated furniture and bedding so the space feels special for you!

Is it open under the srairs? Could it be utilized for your bed or a closet area?

An armoire would look fine in the living room--no different than a closed entertainment hutch. If you want a space for you, a Murphy bed might not be the way to go. It would give you more living space, but no real personal space during the day. And you'd still have to arrange the furniture to leave space for it.

If you don't want to actually wall off part of the living/dining space as a bedroom, then at least claim the entire wall between stairwell and exterior patio door wall for your "bedroom". Set your bed and your wardrobe and your chest of drawers against that wall.

If you don't already have a twin bed for yourself, choose a quality metal twin bed frame with castors and without headboard of foot board -- one that, with appropriate pillows/bolsters, could pass as a day bed ... one that appears to be and could be used as seating; however, do NOT let anyone get in the habit of using it as seating or you'll end up with the side edge your mattress being worn and sagging in an uncomfortable way. (Aunt had this issue with her day bed when I was a child.) If you have any difficulty with physical activity, do not skimp on your mattress and box springs -- get the best of both and have the height of your bed be what you can use comfortably, such as swing your legs over the side and stand up rather than needing to climb up out of the bed. (Been there; done that -- too low is not good.)

On a tight budget, consider checking with Habitat for Humanity Restore Store for good used wood furnishings -- wardrobe and chest of drawers -- and even the metal bed frame. Would not upholstered furnishings or mattress used. You might also try checking with other local charity sponsored thrift stores and/or used/antique/consignment stores.

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