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"We gave up our bedroom so our kids have their own space - and sleep in the lounge"

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A couple gave up their bedroom so their kids could have their own space - and now sleep in their living room.

Paige Boakes, 29, and her husband, Ashley, 28, decided to give up their bedroom to give their children - daughters, aged seven and 11, and sons, aged three and seven - their own space.

The couple moved into the living room in their two-bedroom house in March 2024 and spent seven months on a king size air bed.

Paige and Ashley, a binman, prioritised renovating the two bedrooms for the kids but have now invested in a pull out bed for themselves.

Paige, a stay-at-home-mum, from Bexley, Kent, said: "I felt guilty they were all crammed in one room."

"You always feel guilty as a parent."

"I didn't want them to resent me."

"I have always prioritised them. You get on with it as a mum."

Paige was a single mum to her two girls - aged seven and 11 - before she met Ashley.

The couple had their son, Teddy, three, together and Ashely has a son, seven, from a previous marriage.

With three to four children in the house at one time, the kids were getting squashed in one room.

Paige said: "My eldest turned 11 - it's a time of puberty."

"I didn't think it was appropriate them sharing."

"It's quite a little room."

"My son is three now and going on a bigger bed and we didn't have room for him."

"I decided I was going to start the boys room and take our bedroom."

Paige and Ashley originally slept on the sofa but then found a king size blow up bed to put in the living room.

The pair redecorated the rooms so their two boys and two girls have separate spaces.

Paige said: "They loved it - the girls have always wanted their own desk."

"My eldest wanted a desk and a whiteboard and my other daughter has got a dressing table."

"The boys have got toy boxes."

"It'd comfy and cosy."

Paige renovated the rooms on a budget over the last seven months - spending £200 on new mattresses and £100 on the boys' bed from Facebook Marketplace.

The couple refurbished the girls' bed themselves to make a storage space for their clothes.

Paige shared the renovations and her living situation on TikTok but was pleasantly surprised by how many others were in the same boat.

She said: "I felt embarrassed I couldn't afford to give everyone a room."

"It's nice to know we're not the only ones."

"You give it up for them to have their space."

"You have no space but you focus on them."

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