You have good instincts to not want her to "cry it out" - all these moms are telling you that you HAVE to let her cry it out - it's the only way, etc. That's hogwash. The "cry it out" method has been researched at Yale and Harvard medical schools and has shown to be harmful in the long-term.
http://birthnotes.blogspot.com/2007/08/cry-it-out-attitud...
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/handout2.asp
http://www.childandme.com/cry-ing-it-out-my-damage-babys-...
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=179657
Elizabeth Pantley has a wonderful book called "The No-Cry sleep solution". Also, kellymom.com is a wonderful resource for advice about sleep issues under("parenting: nighttime and sleep".)
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/index.html
She's getting old enough that she may be able to climb out of a crib. Not too long ago, I met a mom who's 13-month-old daughter climbed out of her crib the first time and broke her arm. I don't want to freak you out, but you just might consider it.
Since you have the space in your room, you might consider just putting the crib mattress on the floor. Then you might be able to snuggle her for a few minutes,(some moms like to get up before the baby is completely asleep, and some wait until the kid is completely out). That way, you won't have to transfer her after she falls asleep.
The crib mattress (or futon) on the floor beats those toddler beds, in my opinion, because they can still fall out of the toddler bed, or get an arm stuck near the guardrail, etc. I still have a full-size futon on the floor of my older kid's bedroom (He's 4, almost 5). He's old enough for a big kid bed, but I'm sure the baby would want to get on it, too. This way, they can take afternoon naps together safely.
In my room, I've set up my toddler's mattress on the floor on one side of my bed, nestled between the wall and the bed. It's cozy there, and we snuggle up there for storytime, turn off the lights, and I lie next to him as he nurses to sleep. (Once I was so tired that I actually fell asleep on that crib mattress, my feet hangning off, and didn't wake up until the middle of the night. Those mattresses aren't all that comfortable for adults - I can't believe I fell asleep there!)
I've noticed there's a LOT of folks warning you to NEVER let your child sleep in your bed, although there are many more dangers inherent in solitary, unsupervised sleep, including the vast majority if SIDS deaths.
Yes, an adult bed is not designed to be safe for an infant, but that doesn't mean the hazards cannot be eliminated or that bedsharing is unsafe. There are guidelines for safe bedsharing. (I can't tell you how many times I've been told that my child will *NEVER* want to sleep on his own, but one trip to IKEA to pick out some cool sheets changed that. Once he got to personalize his bed, he wanted to be there.)
Peggy O'Mara'a current editorial addressed this subject:
"Tina Kimmel, MSW, MPH, PhD, analyzed the data on which the CPSC based its recommendation against bed sharing... Kimmel's data show that crib sleeping is 2.37 times more risky than bed sharing.
"James J. McKenna, PhD, is a professor of ?anthropology, and the department chair and director of the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame, where he observes mother-infant pairs during sleep. His research on these observations demonstrates that the human infant's body is adapted only to the mother's body, and that cosleeping with nighttime breastfeeding remains potentially lifesaving.
"Finally, Peter Fleming, CBE, PhD, MBChB, FRCP, FRCPCH, professor of infant health and developmental physiology at the University of Bristol and a pediatrician at the UK's Royal Hospital for Children, Bristol, is considered the top expert in the world on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). He recommends sleeping in the same room with the baby and, if breastfeeding, bringing the baby into bed to feed. He thinks that these and other recommendations will significantly reduce the risk of SIDS."
(from http://www.mothering.com/guest_editors/quiet_place/quiet_...)
Don't let people frighten you needlessly, guidlines for safe bedsharing, if that is something you want to do, are here:
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/familybed.html
good luck!