Tag Archives: small space

Jan 30 2012

Expand your Space for Grandchildren at Little Cost

Having your down-sized retirement home the center of your life with your Grandchildren can make the best of us feel trapped.

There is no need to “buy up” or invest in expensive remodeling to accommodate your family – by repurposing your current home for a just few dollars, you can make your place “live” bigger without actually making it bigger, call it thinking inside the box; here are creative solutions for cramped homes.

Multitask the dining room

Cost: $30.00

If you have an eat-in kitchen, your dining room is probably used for special occasions only.

Use it every day as a game/homework room without giving up dinner-party capabilities. You can add an inexpensive felt-backed vinyl tablecloth in a pleasing pattern to allow the kids to use the table as a desktop or coloring/game station without worrying about the wood.  A second table cloth could be trimmed into separate pieces and used to cover your chair seats if they are fabric or prone to wear. Secure the covers under the seat with double-sided tape or foam dual stick that can be purchased at your local hardware store. When you need the room to entertain, simply remove the covers.

 Build a homework closet

Cost: $100

If you do not have a dining room option, you can create a small desk for homework and a wireless Internet system — and you can often fit it all in a closet or armoire.

At its simplest, all you need are five or six deep, sturdy shelves made from wood or a composite product, which can total less than $40 at a local hardware store. In a closet, set the lowest shelf at 30 inches high so you can have the grandkids pull up a chair. The lowest shelf is used as a workspace, and the higher shelves can be used for books or office items, as well as keeping a couple for storage.

Lose the Guest Room

Cost: $100-$250

Do you have a formal guest room?  A spare just in-case?  You can turn this into a playroom for the grandchildren by simply changing the furniture.

You can replace the bed with a low-cost futon, or pull-out couch (think Walmart), and use the room for day-to-day needs. Adding in a toy chest and a playful children’s mat will allow this room to go from bedroom to playroom in no time flat. The futon pulls out perfectly for nap-time. Nothing makes my grandchildren feel more special than having their “own room” at Grandmas… even if they share it with 8 cousins!

Open the floor plan

Cost: Free

A choppy layout of undersize rooms can make any house feel claustrophobic.

To open your floor plan without major expense, remove doors from rooms that don’t need them. This is a trick used in many model homes, it adds instant walking space, wall space, and you won’t have to worry about that spunky two year old locking himself into the playroom you just gave him!

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