We are new empty nesters, with 2 kids now in college - a senior and a freshman. Both kids’ rooms are exactly as they were in high school (but cleaner, thankfully). We haven’t yet broached the topic with our kids as we want them to feel like our home is still theirs too, yet the reality is our older kid is usually only home for the holidays and not much more than that and I don’t see her coming home between college and grad school and beyond, although I know it’s always a possiblity. Our younger daughter will most likely spend at least one more summer here. When did you convert your kids’ bedrooms to something else? Edited to add: We don’t “need” the space to be converted to another use, but their high school decor and memorabilia seems like it might feel weird after a certain amount of time, I’m just not sure what that period of time will be.
Our kid’s bedrooms are still bedrooms. There is a much reduced amount of their “stuff” in those rooms, but we don’t need the space converted to something else.
Our DD actually lived at our house for almost 3 years after coming back from the Peace Corps. Our son lived with us for about 4 months a year after graduating from his masters program.
So…you never know…
Ditto that our daughter’s bedroom is still “her” bedroom but she took most of her personal stuff when she graduated college. It doubles as an extra guest room. We typically have a full house 4-5 times/year where all the guest rooms are in use.
@shawk we asked each of our kids what they wanted saved or left in their rooms. The list was VERY short. So…the other stuff was removed, donated, given away, or taken to the landfill.
Both of their closets are empty except for the top shelves which have some of the saved things.
I just recently converted my older D’s bedroom into a legit guest bedroom (removed all of her personal items, picture collages, etc.) She graduated college in 2017 and is now married. She told us the other day that we have her permission to dispose of anything of hers that is left (a box of t-shirts and some misc. college stuff, books).
My college senior’s room is still her room and will remain so for the foreseeable future - probably until she settles into an apartment post-grad. We did make some cosmetic changes after she graduated HS in an effort to make it look more grown-up. It will be easy to fully convert to a regular guest room.
I don’t have many guests any more now that my in-laws are traveling less. I could run a heck of an Airbnb though!
D graduated from college in 2019 and S in 2021, but both come home a couple of times a year, so we left their bedrooms as was. They still have their HS decorations on the walls. I think leaving their rooms as was is comforting to them when they visit.
We redecorated the older kids bedrooms when they graduated from college to become guest bedrooms. But the decoration theme for their rooms includes pictures (WPA style) of the cities/states where they went to college and are living now, so there’s still a semi-personal aspect to them. And we also have some of the Catstudio throw pillows with the same geographic/college theme:
We let both kids know that as soon as our daughter (HS Junior) goes to college we plan to move (adjoining state). While we will have rooms for them to “come home to” those rooms won’t be specifically theirs. It will sort of force the issue. 
Mine graduated college in 2020 & 2023. Their bedrooms don’t look much different. Older S’ is emptier. He has a small apartment he shares with GF, so most stuff is gone, but the furniture & decor is the same. Older S’ is very full. He is living his with his GF’s family until Xmas when they will be moving to a different city and getting their own place. I expect most of his will be emptier then, like his brother’s.
I don’t have much interest redecorating. I have 5 bedrooms. We are 2 people. I don’t need the space. I don’t need the other 2 empty bedrooms. Redecorating would just cost $$$ that I could use for something else.
All of their childhood memorabilia is stored in the attic. I am fine with this arrangement until they get their own houses someday. I have plenty of space, but once they have their own space - it’s theirs!
I also keep older S’ apartment Xmas tree/decorations in my attic. Again, I have PLENTY of space up there. They have none. No big deal for them to bring it here and store it. Gives them a reason to come visit me (twice!)
We just had our house painted last week so I’ve just started the process of packing away most of my daughter’s things. She’s only a college sophomore but we are planning on selling the house after S25 graduates and figured that since the walls were freshly painted, it was a good time. She’s sad about it and so am I.
This is an emotional/pragmatic issue - so interesting to hear different perspectives. Really sounds like the main litmus tests are whether the parents are moving while the kid is in college, or whether the kid gets a job in a different town upon graduation.
DD graduated from college in 2020 and stayed with us for a year during Covid while working remotely. Her room is still her room. We use it as guest bedroom but all her decor is still there. She still renting apartments in a different city and needs something permanent that she still calls home. She visits for holidays and family birthdays so her room is still her room.
We’ve shifted bedrooms depending on need. Five kids, not one of them has only.had one bedroom. We technically have 6 (small) bedrooms, and some have moved back and then out again. Two are college graduates and live elsewhere, 2 are away at college, 1 commutes. The 2 away at college will be back full time in May. My 23 year old’s current bedroom is actually her first, but she’s had 2 others.
I can’t imagine that even if I was to keep my kids bedrooms as “theirs” that 22 year old them would want the room to look like it did for 17 year old them.
We did/always would keep designated sleep space for our 2 that are out of town to come back and stay in. At some point in college we gave them the opportunity to “upgrade” their at home bedroom - can be done cheaply with a can of paint, a stuff clean up and a few new accessories like new bedding, rug, lamps, plants…any or all of that. They loved having a say into a new paint color for “their room” and helping to select the accessories. Or if they didn’t, I would choose.
You’d be surprised how fast (like an hour or two!) you can take a few plastic bins and pack up their childhood belongings and make the room anew and still THEM.
I wouldn’t hesitate at any time after say freshman or sophomore year of college to at least make their bedroom dual purpose. Their bed and stuff/my office or Their bed and stuff/ our exercise equipment.
The girls’ rooms are pretty much how they left them, plus they are storing furniture and wedding supplies in them now as well. They haven’t lived at home since 2017 and 2020, respectively, but spend the occasional weekend or week at home. They will continue to be “their” rooms indefinitely. We seldom have any other overnight guests. Someday they might get cleaned out more, especially if they come home and need a crib or pack and play set up 
We never really did anything to son’s room after he graduated college and went off to his first job, which is just as well because he boomeranged back home three years later. The next time he left was when we sold our house and moved. I said that we sold our nest to a developer who tore down the nest.
Eldest went to college last year. After we got through the first few weeks of big parental emotions my spouse spent a whole day doing a deep clean of our son’s (enormous) bedroom. Not very much of his stuff is left in there.
We were expecting a guest and it makes a great guestroom. I was particular that it not become a storage area for my spouse’s voluminous hobby stuff, so it got turned into my spouse’s tranquil music listening room. We and our guests all really enjoyed using it last year. Our son used it while home for the summer and didn’t care about any changes we’d made.
We haven’t done the deep clean yet for this year, though it stayed pretty clean over the summer. I think we’ll do this same thing each year but we’re downsizing our house before he graduates. Then he’ll have no room that is “his”. He seems to not care at all, which is consistent with his personality. In contrast, our younger son puts a lot of effort into his room and we’ll be more careful with his once he’s done with HS.
Once our son left for boarding school in 2011, he only used his room for summers and holiday breaks, but he still needed it, so I left it alone. We moved to our current home when he was a senior in HS and let him have the privacy of the casita which I decorated in a rowing theme for him. He only used the rooms on holiday breaks as he was never home again during the summer for more than a week or two while at the academy. When he commissioned, the Army moved everything he owned and every stick of furniture from the casita to his first duty post in Georgia. I then turned that empty space into a more appropriate guest suite and “she-shed.” I spend a lot of me-time there. I posted pics of the reno in the Their Room thread which discussed this topic a while back. We also touched on this subject in the Do Your Adult Children have a Bedroom in Your House thread.
When my oldest moved into his apartment after graduation and took his bed from home with him that answered the question. If I’m buying new furniture, I’m starting over with the room. Now it’s a lovely guest room that he and his SO use when they visit (a couple times a year) but it’s very clearly not “his” room anymore. I’ll probably follow the same for child #2.
After college graduation the rooms were no longer “theirs” as they began 12 month leases on apartments in other states - work, grad school - that became their homes. They do still have things stored here, mostly mementos and books, some clothes particularly for the one who likes to fly to visit with only a personal item.