In October 2019, Espace Loggia completely redesigned a 12-square-meter room for three young girls, and their parents answered our questions.
– In October 2019, Espace Loggia was completely redesigning a 12-square-meter bedroom for your three daughters. What were the expected requirements?
I have three daughters aged 17, 8 and 5. We live near Paris, in Colombes. My three daughters share a 12-square-meter bedroom.
In the bedroom we had a bunk bed and a single bed, all of which took up a lot of space, making it difficult to move around. The single bed blocked the entrance, and the bunk bed ate up a large part of the room, making it impossible to add desks, let alone a play area.
My three daughters are in different age brackets, so they don’t often have the same rhythm, activities or desires. I wanted to find solutions to optimize their space and make them more comfortable.
I was looking to combine three beds, work areas, a play area or a space to welcome their friends, storage and all this in 12 square meters – you can imagine the headache!
For several months, I looked for solutions on the internet, then I discovered the space-saving specialist Espace Loggia, and was quickly given some great advice.
– How did your project with Espace Loggia go?
The advisor who took charge of my layout really listened to me, and tried to understand my needs, which weren’t always very clear. It’s true that it’s sometimes difficult to project yourself or to say exactly what you need. He took his time and then made several suggestions, based on the room plan I’d provided.
In the girls’ bedroom, there’s a very large window on one side. This brings a lot of light into the room, which is superb, but on the other side it makes a wall that’s hard to use, and on the opposite side there’s the front door, and there were also the radiators to fit in…
We were lucky enough to have 3D models to project our room, which also enabled us to choose the colors. Since then, we’ve discovered the espace loggia configurator, which is great for creating your own layout from home.
– What was the layout proposed by Espace Loggia’s design consultants?
The advisor made us two suggestions, one of which we were immediately enthusiastic about and decided to go for.
For the sleeping arrangements, we were offered two retractable beds. These are called Dklés, and the idea is that as soon as you stop using them, you raise the bed to the ceiling, freeing up all the space underneath. In our case, each bed has different leg heights. The different leg heights not only create multiple levels, but also mean that you don’t have to fold up or move what’s underneath as soon as you lower the bed.
What’s more, the bed is very easy to handle, so there’s no difficulty for girls in this respect. Another advantage is that the bed structure only takes up about ten centimetres of wall space, so we save lots and lots of room in the bedroom. For the third bed, we went for a fixed bed for our last one – well, that was our initial idea 😉
The fixed bed can also be used as a bench when the other two beds are raised, which is great for creating a play or entertaining area for girlfriends. The podium bed also has plenty of practical drawers and storage.
As for the desk, we opted for two fold-down desks. The girls have their own dedicated workspace that doesn’t take up space when they’re not working either.
– How long did it take to put all this together? It seems enormous…
Well, I was the first to be astonished: assembly took about 5 hours, of course, not counting delivery and unloading, but we had two super pros to install the whole thing. We thought that with three beds and two folding desks, it would take much longer than that!
– The girls have been living together in their new bedroom for 5 months now. We wanted to get back to you, and it’s in a very special context that we’re exchanging news, as you, your husband and your three daughters have been confined to the house due to the coronavirus…. which gives you an idea of what it’s like to live at home…
Yes, it’s been a really difficult time, as we’re in the fourth week of confinement. We’ve had to learn to manage time and space, and little by little we’re finding our rhythm. It’s not easy to combine our activities with the girls’ homework, but also with their individual needs: they want to move around, play, have fun…
The girls spend time in their room, not always all three at the same time, but today they feel much more comfortable staying there. My daughters are delighted to each have their own desk, and I have to say that our living room is less inundated with toys, paper and felt-tip pens than it might have been.
The podium bed has been transformed into a bench during the day; they read and are very happy to have this little corner.
Without our Espace Loggia layout, we’d really be on top of each other.
– Did your daughters tell you what they liked about their new bedroom?
Oh yes, I can tell you that without a second thought! It’s not just the three of them, they’ve also got a roommate in their room: our very own Cookie Bunny! They’re so happy to have Cookie in their room. And how happy are we, the parents, that the cage is no longer in the living room!
This wouldn’t have been possible before, given the incessant jumping that our little cookie does in the bedroom, and I think it’s safe to say that he’s equally delighted with this lovely space for play and freedom! What’s more, Chahinez and Nourimene introduced Cookie to the feeling of an elevator, thanks to the movements of their beds, and it’s true that this scene is quite funny…
– Does this unprecedented period of confinement have you thinking about new optimizations?
In fact, we’ve already made a few adjustments since assembly. We’ve rethought how to optimize the storage spaces, particularly on the podium bed.
Storage blocks with trap doors have been transformed into storage space for school supplies and summer clothes, freeing up space in their dressing rooms outside the bedrooms.
We also placed a new order with new storage blocks to increase the storage volume near the secretary, and we now also have shelves between the two fold-away beds to optimize an empty space of around 55 cm. With homeschooling, we’ve had to buy a printer and would like to order additional storage bricks and new drawers. This period of confinement isn’t easy, but we’re learning to live differently, in greater harmony. We’re definitely happy and convinced with our new layout. Watch the video of the layout of this 12-square-meter bedroom for three young girls. This allows them to store their toys, books etc….
After a few weeks in their new room, the two youngest children wanted to change beds, so we added railings on either side of one of the foldaway beds to secure it when the youngest was using it.
Today, it’s true that other needs have arisen with this confinement. We’re planning to install a new retractable secretary, but this time in my bedroom!
With our homeschooling program, we’ve had to buy a printer and would like to order additional storage bricks and new drawers.
This period of confinement isn’t easy, but we’re learning to live differently, in greater harmony. We’re definitely happy and convinced with our new layout.
Watch the video of this 12-square-meter bedroom for three young girls.
The Espace Loggia team thanks the whole family for the photos 🙂