Comments on: Every room, every day

By: Maureen

Maureen — Sun, 15 Mar 2020 07:23:13 +0000

We’re in Switzerland, where space is at a premium. It always amazes me how many people on International House Hunters want the extra bedroom for a guest room. Our solution is sofa beds. We’ve got four — lounge, play room and each of our two kid’s bedrooms. One used to be in my husband’s home office until they swapped rooms (and nobody wants to move really heavy furniture). Overall I think our use of space is good, and now I’m again (after reading this) starting to think of further optimization potential, e.g. the play room is a bit in a transitional phase (kids are 11 and 13), the husband’s office gets heavy use but not necessarily a lot (one day a week plus one-off admin sessions) and I work from the kitchen table one day a week.

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 12:17:23 +0000

In reply to Kate.

@Kate – I did buy it online – it’s the Coaster Coleman table and chairs. Humorously, it is sold at wildly different price points, so I’m glad I figured that out! I haven’t assembled the table yet, just the chairs. The table will have some small divots which might not work for homework, but that’s what our dining room table or kitchen counter are for…

By: M

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 18:32:28 +0000

In reply to Kate. We custom-ordered a glass top for our table. My husband was skeptical, but it has worked out great.

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 12:48:06 +0000

In reply to chloe. @Chloe - aw, thanks! Please tell people about it!

By: Cassie

Cassie — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 03:22:40 +0000

Interesting! I’m in a different life stage than many here – single-ish, no kids, in the city. I have what feels like a lot of space – living room, dining room, kitchen, and two bedrooms. I obviously use the living room and bedroom 1, and I typically eat in the (casual) dining room, even if it’s just me.

My guest room isn’t used much – it has a futon and desk, so it gets used for guests every so often and 2-4 days per month when I work from home. When I bought the condo, I thought it would be a stretching/yoga room as well, but as it turned out I prefer to do that in the living room.

But even though I don’t use it every day, I CHERISH that extra space – being able to host guests from afar means so much to me that it really doesn’t bother me that it’s often just sitting empty for days on end.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 00:09:09 +0000

Laura, long time reader! I’m looking for a replacement kitchen table that can also double as a homework center. I love the rustic/farm look but many of those are rough surfaced, which doesn’t work well for homework. Did you buy yours online? Might you have a link or manufacturer/name you could pass along?

By: chloe

chloe — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 19:55:49 +0000

Just chiming in to say that I read that book upon its release and just checked it out again from the library this week! I think it is my favorite of yours.

By: Sarah K

Sarah K — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 19:10:51 +0000

We have a 4000 sq foot house that we built, but I wish we had put in a guest bedroom. We tend to have house guests frequently and then I have to put them in a kid room and put two kids together. We have 3 kids and 4 bedrooms. We have a huge basement playroom that the kids love and I kind of hate because of the mess. I wish we had just built the main living room/kitchen bigger but that wasn’t possible.
I really am just looking forward to when the kids move out and we can move to a nice condo instead. Mine are 14, 12, and 6 now. Thinking of downsizing when the two oldest move out.

By: Kathy Johnson

Kathy Johnson — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 14:46:44 +0000

I love Susanka’s work, and the idea of using every room every day. My family is at the other end of the timeline that yours is in. Our son has moved out, and we still have our 4-bedroom home, but we use almost all the rooms almost every day. One bedroom is my office, and I work at home as a freelancer, one bedroom is a guest room/exercise room that is used frequently, if not every day. We host all family holidays, and use our formal dining room for that purpose (and it’s where I do jigsaw puzzles). We do have a couple of rooms that don’t get used, our son’s bedroom and bathroom, but we also have three aging parents between us and the possibility of having to take one of them in. We’re debating the merits of selling our large house with its higher taxes and homeowners association fees and downsizing, or keeping the house with the idea that we will take in one of those parents. There are also many things we love about the house and neighborhood that it’s a hard decision with no obvious clear choice.

By: Kathleen Layman

Kathleen Layman — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 12:36:25 +0000

We made 3 bedrooms in our basement when our sons wanted their own space. We are reworking some of the basement now to add a 3/4 bath and beverage center. One boy has moved out, and his room is now a more comfortable office for me. However, I expect him to boomerang home a few times in early adult years as apartments are so expensive. Finished basement rooms add value to your home because some day someone has to sell the house. You can live in your house while work is being done in the basement.