What to do with spare bedrooms?

[Kat]

My thoughts are kind of scattered on this, so I apologize if it seems disconnected. :O

Our new house will have two spare bedrooms with a full bathroom in same area. I am trying to decide if I should use one room as a guest room, and the other empty until we have kids. Another option could use one as a kids bedroom and one as a playroom. :think

Right now, I have a daybed, small roll top desk, bookshelf, and dresser. I've been using these as guest room items, but they could easily be used for a school-aged child.

We are definitely planning on becoming foster parents and hope to adopt. But we don't know what age or gender. In florida, we are allowed to have infants in the bedroom up to one year, and after that they have to have their own rooms. (if I remember correctly.)

What would you do?

[cindergretta]

You could loan it out to me! :P~ I have fantasies about spare rooms! :shifty A room dedicated to all the clothing in this family! A school room.... An office/library.... A baby/toddler room... I could go on and on! :giggle

A guest room would be lovely for you, yes? :)

[Kat]

We will already have a separate den that we will use as our home office and library. So the two other spare bedrooms are open to anything. :)

Ideas for rooms:

1) nursery

2) guest room

3) older kids room

4) craft room

5) playroom

6) school room

It's hard to plan for kids when we don't have kids yet. We don't know if I will get pregnant, or the gender or age of foster kids. We meet with the designer on Tuesday to determine flooring, paint, etc. I think I'll use the furniture I already have, and leave at least one room empty. That way I don't spend money on an unknown future. :think

[cindergretta]

That sounds very reasonable. Then it is available for any direction when you are ready. :tu

[Drew]

We have 2 spare bedrooms as well. One we have setup as a guest bedroom and the other is my office. Before P came to live with us we we had two empty rooms because my office was in the loft (now her play room) and we had no idea what to do with the empty room that has sine become her bedroom.

[abh5e8]

do you often have overnight guests? we do at least once a month...so a guest room is key for us. it doubles as the office (and sometimes playroom :bag) and the other spare room is dd and ds bedroom.

if you ar ento sure what you will need...i would just use furniture you have and wait and see.

[Kat]

We rarely have overnight guests, although my cousin did live with us for a year. However, even during that time, this house has had many problems: no central heat and air, broken tiles and cement floors, plumbing problems, no dishwasher, etc. It hasn't been conducive for inviting company over. :bag

Our new house will be built brand new. But even then, I don believe we will have company over that often. :shrug3

[abh5e8]

do foster children require their own rooms? if so, i would set up both rooms so they could easily accomodate children.

[Quiteria]

I'd do a guest room and a craft room....when you have a child who needs a bedroom, you can decide which one gets the least use and convert to a child's room (or move a foster child directly into the guest room on short notice). And then for the second room, you can decide whether or not you need a playroom based on how well you and the child are coping with toys in the living room or toys in the bedroom.

[Kat]

do foster children require their own rooms? if so, i would set up both rooms so they could easily accomodate children.

In Florida, you can keep foster babies with you in the master bedroom until they are a year old. After that, I believe they are supposed to have their own rooms.

What about a murphy bed? We could put one in either of the two spare bedrooms, or in the home office. A murphy bed might be too permanent for the spare bedrooms, though. The office will have french doors going out to the foyer, so we could add curtains for privacy. :think

eta: Then again, I'm not sure a murphy bed would fit in our home office. It's already going to be crowded. I'll talk to dh later on.