What’s better than having two children? Having two children who want to share a room! It’s the best of both worlds: You get the joy of seeing your kids excited to spend time together, while also being able to have your house back. If you’re thinking about sharing a room with your kid, or if you already have and are looking for ways to make it work, check out our tips on how to divide a shared kids’ room without feeling like you’re living in an over-sized closet. We think that dividing a shared kids’ room can be super fun, and also quite easy – as long as you follow our simple advice!
Make Sure It’s What Your Kids Want
If your kids are still young and you’re considering separate rooms, it’s important to make sure they want it. Kids at this age don’t always know what it is they want, but they also don’t always know how to communicate it. If you have a two-year-old and suggest they have their own room, they’re just going to say, “No.” But if you have a 10-year-old and suggest they have their own room, they’re going to say, “No” because they’re 10 and that’s what 10-year-olds do. If your kids are below the age of five, or if your kids are older but don’t really want to share a room together, then you should take this advice with a grain of salt. If, however, your kids really do want to share a room together, then read on!
Think About Flooring
Kids’ rooms are, by their very nature, messy. If you have a shared room, your kids are going to spill, draw on the walls, and generally treat their room like it’s their own personal art studio. A shared room is also likely to get a lot of traffic, so it helps to have flooring that’s easy to clean. A good option with all these things in mind is a laminate floor. Laminate is super durable – it’s made to withstand high traffic areas like a kitchen or living room. It also hides stains well, so it’s ideal for rooms where kids are likely to spill things.
Assign Different Shapes And Functions To The Space
If you’re going to have two separate kids’ rooms in a shared space, you’ll have to decide what the lines between the rooms are. Are the rooms next to each other, or are they separated by a wall? If there is a wall between the rooms, you can either do a half-wall or a partial wall. A partial wall would be a good option if your kids are very young – it’s a nice way of connecting the two different rooms together for them, but also keeping each room separate enough so that they don’t have to worry about being too loud for one another. There are many ways you can creatively assign two different shapes to two different functions in a shared space. Perhaps one room is a rectangle and the other room is a rectangle-plus-square; perhaps one room is a rectangle with a smaller rectangle attached to the side and the other room is a square.
Think About Storage
If you’re going to be sharing a room with your kids, you’ll want to make sure both of you have enough storage space. The easiest way to do this is to add some storage to the shared space itself. You could also add storage to one of the rooms, or a combination of both. Shoe racks are a practical option to add to a shared space, as are shelves for books and nick-knacks. You can also add things like a coat rack, hooks for backpacks and school bags, and a bench for bags or sports equipment. A shared space will likely include a desk for each kid (or a table for both if they’re really young); if it does, you should add shelves or cupboards to store supplies, books, and other items. For example, if one child likes to draw and the other likes to read, you could add a bookshelf with drawers for the readers and a desk with drawers or shelving for the artists.
Decide On A Colour Scheme Together
You might be thinking that picking a colour scheme is the last thing on your mind right now, what with the logistics of dividing a space, but it’s actually really helpful. If you’re like us, you’ll probably have at least one kid who wants to paint their side of the room, and a colour scheme will help you decide which colours are best for the space. If you have very young kids, you could choose a colour scheme with kid-friendly colours, such as red, yellow, blue, or green. If you have an older child, you could choose a more sophisticated colour scheme, such as blue, grey, brown, or beige. Whichever colour scheme you choose, try to make sure it flows between the two rooms.
Add Some Functionality With Furniture Or Artwork
When you’re dividing a shared kids’ room, one thing you might want to consider is the functionality of the space. Perhaps one side of the room needs more storage, or perhaps you want to add a bookshelf or desk to both sides so that your kids have a little more space for their things. Whatever you do, try to stick to what makes sense for the room. If one room is a rectangle and the other is a square, it might make sense to add a bookshelf to the rectangle and a desk to the square. If one room is a rectangle with a smaller rectangle attached to the side, you could add a desk to the rectangle and a bookshelf to the smaller rectangle.
Summing Up
Dividing a shared kids’ room is a great way to benefit from having two kids without having twice the space. It also allows your kids to have their own space while also giving them the benefit of being close to each other. It’s not as difficult as it might seem, and there are many ways to divide a shared space. Make sure it’s what your kids want, assign different shapes and functions to the room, and decide on a colour scheme together. Then add some functionality with furniture or artwork, and your kids are guaranteed to love their new shared room! Now that you know how to divide a shared kids’ room, you can start planning how to make it work! The best thing to do is to start thinking about it as soon as you know that you’ll have two kids. That way, you have plenty of time to plan out your dream shared kids’ room!