How long can you share a 1-bedroom with your kid?

Topping the list of suburb-avoidance tactics for young NYC families is making that one-bedroom apartment last as long as possible. Just how long spawners can comfortably cohabitate with their offspring in a one-bedroom (or even a junior 4) is the question over on UrbanBaby.com.   Generally speaking, most agree that a year or two is workable, with babies and parents sharing the bedroom for the first few months, before one or the other decamps for the living room.  But plenty of commenters--with kids ranging from age 4 to 11--said they co-existed happily for years longer.

If you're interested in trying this at home, here are a few examples of how others have made it work before you:

• "We made a playroom in one corner of the LR [living room] and her bed is in our room. we bought ikea cabinets to divide the dining area/entryway with the play area. works well and gives us a ton more storage"
• "We did it till our daughter was 10. Really, it wasn't so bad. Divided the bedroom w/bookcases into her room and our office; we slept in the LR, which was divided w/ a piano."
• "I put up a wall and lost my [dining area]. I never had a high chair, just a booster that I used with my antique dining chair. I only had one stroller/carriage at a time. I kept lots of toys and still do in very large red canvas bags (red looks good in my apt.) My son has a captain's bed with drawers under it. You can make it work."
• "My baby gets the bedroom. It works because after I put him to bed and close the door, I have free reign in the kitchen and livingroom, can hang out, watch a movie, and even have company over. I built a wall with a sliding pocket-door in the corner of the living room and created a little "sleeping nook", just big enough for a queen-sized mattress. I love sleeping in there because its so dark and cozy. I also have a sleeper sofa in case I don't feel like going in the nook, or in case a friend or family member sleeps over. It all works really well. Of course it helps that I'm a single mom. If I was living with a husband I don't think it would work as well."
• "We did it for a year. We put the crib in the bedroom with us. The other 'nursery' furniture in a corner outside in the living room area (we had a large LR). It was fine but once baby was older, she needed (and we needed) our own spaces."

(UrbanBaby.com)