# Another house layout thread-for those in cape cod style houses



## Mama Poot (Jun 12, 2006)

We are considering buying a Cape-Cod style house (2nd floor is one big room). The other two bedrooms are downstairs. We would use the 2nd floor for the master bedroom, and the boys would share a bedroom downstairs. It's a small house, so it would only take a few seconds to get down to them in the night if they woke up. But I guess other safety issues come up, like what happens if a fire starts on the first floor and we're trapped upstairs? Anyone here have this setup? Are you comfortable with it?


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## staceychev (Mar 5, 2005)

Can't give you the positives, but we opted against that style house (quite prevalent in this area) for those exact reasons. With our family being so young, we just didn't feel comfortable...


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## veganone (May 10, 2007)

We looked at a house with the master on one end and the other bedrooms all on the other end and upstairs (split level). We opted not to buy it mainly for that reason. I don't want DD that far away from me and wouldn't until she's quite a bit older. I have such vivid memories of having a bad dream and runnning right into my parents' room next door and can't imagine having to run across the entire house...

We thought about it seriously enough that I was thinking when she was old enough to be in her own room (she's in our room for now) we could get a walkie talkie for her to call for us if she needed to!


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## BathrobeGoddess (Nov 19, 2001)

Moved to family safety!


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## sewingmommy (Apr 21, 2007)

we have a cape cod but when we bought it it had two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs ...so we were lucky in not having to worry about where the kids would be ...I personally would not feel safe being upstairs and the kids being downstairs ...I would feel comfortable with the kids upstairs and us downstairs..don't know why but I just would ....


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## Mama Poot (Jun 12, 2006)

Thanks for the move







I keep forgetting we have this forum now. Anyway, we are buying the house. We've decided to place the boys in the smaller bedroom that is directly beneath the upper level. We will be able to hear everything and we will leave the door at the bottom of the stairs open at night. DH and I discussed the fire issue, and we will be installing fire ladders upstairs (God forbid we would ever need them!!!)


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## MacKinnon (Jun 15, 2004)

We have this layout and right now, I don't like it at all! It's just been recently though... We use our upstairs as a big master/family bedroom. It's been nice to have the extra room for all of us, we have a king and a queen up there!

My DD is 4 1/2 and ready to be in her own room at night, BUT I won't leave her downstairs by herself. I worry mostly about the ground floor access to her room and seperation from us in case of an emergency. Her room is at the foot of our stairs, so it would be very quick to get down, but I worry we wouldn't hear her or something.

I don't know what we are going to do... We are talking about setting up a corner upstairs as her own space with a folding divider or curtain or something. It's a huge room, like 30X15, or something crazy, so there is pleanty of room for her to have her own corner. My neighbors made their upstairs the kids room/playroom and took the smaller downstairs room for themselves. We might do that down the road, by right now we are still co-sleeping with DS.

We were planning on moving, but that's not a choice with the economy so bad, so we've got to come up with a plan B,

I wouldn't choose this layout again!


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## Mama Poot (Jun 12, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ilovemyavery* 
We have this layout and right now, I don't like it at all! It's just been recently though... We use our upstairs as a big master/family bedroom. It's been nice to have the extra room for all of us, we have a king and a queen up there!

My DD is 4 1/2 and ready to be in her own room at night, BUT I won't leave her downstairs by herself. I worry mostly about the ground floor access to her room and seperation from us in case of an emergency. Her room is at the foot of our stairs, so it would be very quick to get down, but I worry we wouldn't hear her or something.

I don't know what we are going to do... We are talking about setting up a corner upstairs as her own space with a folding divider or curtain or something. It's a huge room, like 30X15, or something crazy, so there is pleanty of room for her to have her own corner. My neighbors made their upstairs the kids room/playroom and took the smaller downstairs room for themselves. We might do that down the road, by right now we are still co-sleeping with DS.

We were planning on moving, but that's not a choice with the economy so bad, so we've got to come up with a plan B,

I wouldn't choose this layout again!

I agree it isn't ideal, but I think it can work. Right now we are co sleeping with Fleur (she's only 2 months), and we also talked about putting up one of those room dividers to make a space for her when she gets older. I thought about putting the boys upstairs but there are space and safety issues with that particular setup as well. Two of the largest closets in the house are up there, and I'd rather have them for mine and DH's stuff. And again, the stairs are an issue. I'm fine with them coming up the stairs if they needed to at night, but I don't want them playing around on the stairs and that's what would happen if that was their room.

We looked at so many houses, and fortunately and unfortunately this was the one that made the most sense for us.


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## MommaCrystal (May 25, 2006)

We are on our 2nd Cape Cod house. The first had two bedrooms upstairs and I was good with that.

This one has two upstairs but we cannot get our bed up there so our bedroom is downstairs.

We mostly co-sleep so the boys are generally always with us at night. So right now it isn't that big of an issue. But someday it will be. Plus, they do nap up there and the older does play up there.

We had a security system installed complete with smoke detectors. Should one of them be triggered the house alarm would go off instantly and the fire department would be dispatched.

We have THREE gates blocking those stairs so no no one can fall.

It is the best I could come up with.


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## Herausgeber (Apr 29, 2006)

We have a Cape Cod, and we love it. Ond our last house was a 3 level rowhouse. Land prices here are so high that it is virtually impossible to find a one level house, anyway.

In our house, we have 2 bedrooms downstairs and 2 upstairs. We use the two downstairs as offices. DH, DD (20 months) and I sleep in one bedroom upstairs and the au pair sleeps in the other. We have a fire safety ladder. When DD is old enough for her own room, she'll go in the other upstairs bedroom. I wouldn't want her on another floor.


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