Parenthood: Boy and Girl Sharing One Bedroom Challenge
All parents get pleased when seeing their boy and girl growing up older after years of waiting… But this nice dream may become a nightmare since their own house only contains one single bedroom for the kids that they have been sharing together over the past few years, until now.
In addition, the time did finally come to be separated from each other, each one in his own bedroom to benefit from his own privacy without having that uncomfortable feeling towards his or her opposite-gender brother or sister’s roommate.
Facing this new situation, Dad and Mom started to search for a proper solution; do we have to find another new bigger house or we could make some modifications to the current layout? The majority of parents will go through the second option, in my opinion, due to its lesser cost in the first place and to avoid the disturbance that the first choice might cause anyway; In fact, a small calculation between both two options will show clearly the exactness of this choice.
So, we all agree to go through the editing process of the current layout and to make serious changes in the bedroom for the kids, but…
Do we need an architect or an interior designer to achieve that mission?
Not an obligation anyway because in this article, you will learn a conventional method that can be applied to any room with standard dimensions to divide it into two smaller equal spaces. In the end, each one can have its own private Tiny Cozy-Corner for studying and resting.
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| How to split 1 bedroom into 2 useful spaces with less cost | DIY, Photo: Edited, Pin Archive 101ArchiTech |
The Needy is the best Simulator Key for Creativity
Psychologically and socially speaking, we all know the bad effects that could result from sharing the same room for both boys and girls during a specific period of their younger age and later on its impact on their mental or physical development.
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Follow Our WebsiteTherefore, it is always recommended to follow the instructions of a healthcare advisor about any expected problem; Here, is a sample of what healthline.com recommends concerning this matter:
… Often, once children are in school, they begin to become aware of the need for modesty and may feel uncomfortable changing in front of an opposite-gender sibling; however, accommodations can be made for this, and kids can change in other areas or at separate times. Yet, by the time children reach puberty, it will be much more difficult for them to feel comfortable sharing one room, and the need for privacy and space should be respected as much as possible.”
Having that said, from that point forward, we generate the need for privacy inside every kid's mental and physical formation when their age reaches around 10 years old or maybe a little bit more, according to each kid's behavior, which should be treated separately for each case.
Without going further into a complicated psychological study and research, where different factors might interfere, let’s go back to our main subject of discussion.
Tips to Follow to Share One Bedroom (DIY) with Live Example
Here are some basic tips to take into consideration before starting the process in general:
- The necessity of using eco-friendly materials to build the various elements of the project, such as shelves, closets, and of course the partitions. Wood is the most suitable material for use in that case, due to its flexibility and easy-to-use properties.
- If you are equipped with the proper tools and devices, you can carpenter it yourself (DIY). Otherwise, you have to hire a professional who will provide the necessary shop drawings to accomplish the work accurately and based mainly on measurements taken from the specified room, such as existing walls and position of the openings, etc … Why do so? That is, for the related plans to exactly fit on-site.
- Ask for a portfolio of his previously executed projects to rank its capability before being engaged. Don’t forget to make a contract that will include all the necessary details such as the accessories needed, the additional work, and of course the cost.
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| Fig.1- Samples of colored transparent plexiglass sheets, Photo: indiamart.com |
- I will suggest a typical preliminary drawing with related dimensions for a prototype room, at the end of this article, free to download and for personal use only.
- Meanwhile, other kinds of acrylic or synthetic materials can be used as well, available in various types, colors, and sizes, such as plexiglass. You can find the right product for you online or in the market. (see Fig.1)
- An essential and primary fact not to be ignored is to provide an equal distribution of fresh air throughout the two newly-created divisions; if only one window existed before, split it into two, otherwise, try to set one or more openings for each independent space. If none of those are available, then avoid the partition from reaching the ceiling by leaving at least 40 to 50 centimeters of clearance or whatever, depending on the floor height.
- Every centimeter counts! Don’t waste any space; benefit from every small unused void. It can be transformed into a useful box or closet for various arrangements.
- Using sliding doors instead of hinged ones will gain even more space to manage; This applies to the shutters’ doors as well.
- Avoid using types of furniture with different styles; utilizing pieces containing a lot of carvings and useless ornaments can take up much space that we might use for managing other purposes. Simple and easy-to-manage stuff is always more suitable and effortless to handle and fix in such minimal spaces.
- The usage of mirrors in such specific and tiny spaces can bring magical effects in visually enlarging the spatial perspective; Try them out often!
Next, we will be proceeding in executing our little project by following the example below:
First, presuming that we have the following prototype room to work with. (see Fig.2)In fact, this is an example of an existing room in reality, precisely from my own house, which I intend to modify following that method when the right time comes to do so.
Anyway, as we said before, we have a 360 x 320 cms clear dimensions room as shown in Fig.2 above, with an opening window at nearly the middle of the upper wall and facing a right-handed door at the bottom of the top view.
As we can see, the door isn’t directly opened on the wall due to the existence of a column right behind it, which can be transformed into a useful closet or a storage unit.
Secondly, we have to establish the main axis which will define the construction line to follow when splitting the room. Therefore, a general analysis of the plan will easily detect that the middle of the window is the ideal place to set this axis and it can also include an entry for one of the separated areas, as shown in the detailed view in Fig.3.
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| Fig. 3- © Created with AutoCAD - AutoDesk™ |
Then, we will create a common area (which is indicated by the color yellow) with access to the other part of the room, with a sliding door as well, to minimize the waste of space as much as possible.
For instance, 65 centimeters in length is more than enough to define the opening’s width. |
Fig.4- Various partitions can be made inside the closet; Choose what is better for you.
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We will buy also two single beds with standard dimensions: (92 x 185 cm), in addition to two study desks with two chairs for both. In this example, we will use the standard 18 mm thick, wooden board panels that come in various cut sizes as per your needs. You can compose different forms and layouts accordingly. (as shown in Fig.4)
Finally, have a quick look over Fig.3 and learn how to finalize a drawing to be ready for execution, in terms of clarity and understandability to avoid any mistakes that can occur during the finishing stage;
None of the dimensions should be missed, mainly the essential ones.In the end, hope this short DIY was helpful and instructive for everyone looking for better space management inside their own home, for a comfortable and easier lifestyle.
And before concluding our post, I will suggest having a look at another typical and practical example of splitting one room into two, by following this simple image (Fig.5)
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| Fig.5- Another great idea is to split one bedroom into two, Source: decosoup.com |