Own room for child going secondary?

[Tobaiass22]

Currently in 2 bed leasehold flat. Considering splitting main room into 2 for my 2 children of same gender

Kids are similar age, soon to be yr 5 and yr 7 currently share a bedroom

Is it a good idea to pay the nearly 7k cost of splitting the room especially if I may need to return the room back to its original state if we sell in order to move

No immediate plans of moving but partner has mentioned wanting to move house to a 3 bed in near future but not sure our finances etc will allow that to happen in the nearest future

Do any of your kids share a room particularly if one in secondary, or is a bunk bed, separate wardrobes etc sufficient to save costs

I assume homework will be done in kitchen and they don't currently spend so much time in their rooms, mainly in garden/ living room at the moment

So is it worth the cost, will probably need to borrow against mortgage or personal loan for this and other home improvements I wish to make.

Sounds easy OP, dont spend all that cash, get those shelving dividers, provides a lot of storage as well as doing the job you need, no need for plastering or insulation if you use thick old books or storage boxes, they're only kids, fix securely to wall and floor so no worry about it falling over, get plenty of lighting in different forms.

I shared a bunkbed with my sister until I left home to go to uni. Four Yr age gap, and only one are in the room suitable for studying. Say on bed if it wasn't my turn at the desk. I definitely would not spend money that you don't have. They will manage.

You could do something like this - dividing a room using normal bunk beds, but each bed can only be accessed from one room each. Also, using wardrobes, each one facing the other direction to create a wall.

craftedpine.co.uk/blogs/crafted-pine-blog/dividing-a-bedroom-with-bunkbeds

My friends boys shared a room until their sister left home and got on fine. Three years between them (21 and 18ish). None of my three could share a room. They are too different and have some special needs. We are lucky we had a small family room so ds2 is in there. The room divider bunk beds are fabulous if your room is big enough otherwise a room divider until you can afford to move.

I wouldn't in a leased flat. I shared until I was 11 and my sister 13. Plenty of bedrooms but it wasn't until then that she wanted her own space.

Whichever route you go down did you know you can get kinetic light switches which means you don't have to have additional wiring run to a switch? You can use a kinetic switch to turn on a lamp on the other side of the room, or you can use them to say have a light switch by the bedroom door but another wireless one say by the child's bed that they can use to turn off their main ceiling light.

They do not have to be connected to Alexa etc, you can just use a manual switch. Nerdy video alert but this explains a bit of it and the second video shows them adding a switch. Ours controllers are not actually in the switch itself but the little box is attached to the lighting circuit at the light point and hidden in the ceiling. Just worth exploring.

Get a different quote! That's mad. Stud wall, get a couple of plug sockets and a main light each.

Don't get one firm to do it all, you'll be ripped off. I was quoted £1,600 + VAT to have a door moved about 2 feet in a stud wall. I asked a carpenter to do it and he charged £425. I'm also in London.

But she does own the flat. She has a mortgage on it, she says.

Really need to get some other quotes, that is shocking

My daughters had their own rooms, with desks (the biggest waste of money ever) but both did their homework at the kitchen table.

an ikea Kallax is a great way to divide a room, as the boxes hold SO much. If you get two colours they’ll know which ones are which.

We do own the flat

My teenagers seem to do homework on floor or bed, desk is used as a dumping ground. No way could they share they have very different interests. They both spend most of their time in their tiny bedrooms rather than the spacious reception rooms. If I had known buying a house 10 years ago I would have prioritised big bedrooms over living space as it’s just me and DH rattling around downstairs!

I wish mine would want separate rooms - if nothing else, so they don't wake each other up/keep each other awake - but they want to share (12 and 9) - TBH they do pretty much only use their bedrooms for sleeping though - and I suppose clothes storage (although I'm bad with laundry, so they often have to go fishing in the tumble dryer for their stuff instead)

I shared a room until I was 12 sis was 15, but most of my older siblings never got their own bedroom, we were the last two. I never had a desk in my room, I did my homework at the kitchen table. I did after school study in secondary school though.

We split two bedrooms into three, we did fit extra lighting- but the bulbs in all three bedrooms are identical to those we have in lamps elsewhere in the house- it's literally exactly the same! It would make no difference to any of those three children if they had a lamp instead!

One of those rooms also doesn't have a window but that makes no difference any way either- that room went to the cold that hates them anyway and had literally never opened a curtain or blinds in his life!

It had no adverse effect on him, he likes it that way and actually has more usable wall for shelves and posters.

But anyway sorry back to your question, love the look of those kallex units and that would give some privacy and tonnes of storage. 7k seems like a lot for a stud wall, I wouldn't be going down that route.

If we sell with it still in the same layout it will be labelled as a dressing room or study

We are in same position. I'm upgrading the bunks to adult bunks. Changing layout to there is a desk area and seating area

I would do it. My eldest dd tended to monopolise their bedroom, so younger dd felt a bit pushed out. Big difference in Y5 and Y7 imo.

Was just about to post this - www.diy.com/ranges/building-ranges/alara

My youngest sibling was born when I was 11 and my brother was 7. I am female, my middle sibling male and my youngest sibling female. Even though my brother and sister were opposite sex, they ended up sharing the biggest room and I had my own room for the exact reason that I was about to start secondary school. I wasn't asked about this, it just happened and I'm quite grateful that it did.

Circumstances forced us out of that house and into my parents purchasing a larger house so by the time I was 13 we all had our own rooms anyway.

Absolutely do not spend 7k on splitting the room. What a crazy waste of money.

Indeed @mumsys I think as long as the kids get on OK and respect each others space to get homework done etc it shouldn't be a problem to share, especially if it might be tough to enable a move to a larger property in the future.

Two boys currently age 11 and 14, have always shared a room. We’ve split it with a big curtain to give them some privacy but left a shared area where the Xbox is. Each has a mezzanine bed with a big desk and drawers underneath. No wardrobes: Kondo-style folding and seasonal rotation of clothes means they only need 1.5 drawers each 👍 for all their clothes (it helps that they are boys, no dresses to hang up).