Is it appropriate for sons to share a room

[Roomies888]

More of a wwyd, but hoping to get some good ideas/feedback from here!
Sorry bit long, but didn't want to drip feed.
I have 2 sons, one nearly 13 years (from previous relationship) and a 6 year old with my husband.
We live in a 2 bed house with a largeish double room and a good size single room. We can't afford to move. Our area is very expensive and moving out of the area is not a possibility due to jobs and boys both in schools they love. Even the surrounding areas are just as expensive. We'd have to move out more than 50+ miles to even start being able to afford a 3 bed.
My youngest has had medical needs up until about a year ago requiring supervision and medication at night. He's now stable and not anticipating anymore issues.
My oldest is in the other room. He has also suffered some trauma from his bio father though he hasn't seen him in a couple of years. I can't go into too much detail but he's dealt with it really well and in a good place.

We've been thinking about how to sort the rooms out in the next year. We had thought of moving our oldest into the bigger room to share with the youngest. We could fit a double and wardrobe etc in the smaller room but not much else. But I'm unsure if it is really a good idea having my oldest sharing. Hes always had his own room and is going to need space even more as he gets into teen years. On the flip side, can we really keep sharing with our youngest? Theres only 1 window so a stud wall isn't that practical etc and I dont think a curtain or ikea unit provides enough separation.
We feel a bit stuck!
Do we let the boys share despite the age gap and try with what partition we can?
Keep sharing with youngest because oldest needs his space now?

Thanks for any suggestions!
Edit to add: there's no way of converting the attic, no living space to convert and no room in our small garden for an extension.

Is there any attic space you can convert maybe?

Would a bunk bed room divider in the larger room work? https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/bunk-bed-room-dividers-what-are-they-proscons-and-diy--694961786241111587/ It would have to be by the window which is possibly not ideal but it would give them both some privacy. Especially if you have the teen on the top in the side away from the door, perhaps with a curtain divider so he can go into his own space.

I get it’s not ideal but I think your older one is just going to have to suck it up as your younger one sharing with you is more of a pressing issue. If you can stick a curtain or something up for them then great but if not he’ll just have to deal with it - many teens do.

That’s really quite cool

Do we let the boys share despite the age gap and try with what partition we can?

It's fine. Seriously, this is fine.

Bunk bed divider all the way. Lots of great concepts available now.

I know you say your garden is small, but would you have room to add a conservatory anywhere at all?

You could insulate the roof and use it as your sitting room, and then make your existing sitting room into a third bedroom.

If that's not possible then yes, I think the two boys sharing the bigger room will be fine.

When I was at uni in the noughties there were still twin rooms in the halls of residence, although there wasnt the same age gap obviously.

Get them to share, imagine not many 10 year olds will want to be in their parents' room and it will be so much harder to get your eldest to share at age 17.

Hm. Ordinarily I'd say kids are good to share, but actually in this situation I don't think that is very fair. It is a big age gap and he'll be a teen, and like you say he's had some trauma. I think having your own space is really important. I might have shared with my close in age full sibling, but not my much younger half sibling. I'm sorry but it's just different.

What's your ground floor like? If there is a separate living room to the kitchen then I would look to having a fold down bed in there for me and DH. If an extension is possible then that's ideal. Otherwise a family discussion about school vs moving house and see how the kids feel

Nothing wrong with 2 brothers sharing a bedroom. I shared with my sister until I left home.

Could you not have a stud wall with a window in there? Or just have it long enough so that at least the beds are separated?

Lots of siblings have to share.

I shared with my sister ten years older than me until I was 11 - she lived with her dad mostly but was there all the holidays.
I used to poke knitting needles through the mattress of the bunk bed to wakeher up to play 😃 It was only as adults that I told her, and that it never worked that she said of course it woke her up, she just ignored me.

It’s hard because you don’t really have an option, but I don’t think it’s fair - no. My circumstance was different in the sense that my parents were selfish and instead of keeping my two sisters to share who only had an age gap of a year, they thought it was about time one of my sisters had their own room - so they forced me (the oldest) at 14 to share with my 9 year old sister. I really suffered because of it, I had no privacy. I couldn’t do what normal teenagers did and have friends over. I couldn’t stay up late or have peace to do my homework. I do think it reflected poorly on my GCSE’s because I couldn’t study in my own space. I spent more time out of the house and I suppose I ‘rebeled’ in a way just so I didn’t have to be at home. I’m grateful I had a safe and loving household and a room over my head, but being a teenager everything is dramatic and I honestly believe teenagers deserve the right to have their own personal space to grow up in.

How is your bedroom currently arranged with your DC2 sharing? What space do you have in the rest of the apt? Is it all open plan?

In principle there's no reason at all they shouldn't share but your dc2 is still quite young and while annoying for you, should be oblivious for quite a few more years? So you have maybe 4 yrs? DC1 will still be at home but 16 sharing with a 12 yo also at senior school is a different dynamic?

My sons had to share. The boys were 5 years apart in age. It worked fine. But they started sharing when my oldest son was 7. Your oldest son isn’t used to having to having to share a room so it depends on whether he can handle it. He has to, I guess.

How will you fit in a single room OP? Surely bunk beds in the single fie the boys.

Members of my family have had to share a room with a sibling with a similar age gap.
Approach it in the right way and it should be fine!

Honestly, I don’t think sharing in this situation is all that bad. It’s not as if there’s any choice really as it’s better the brothers share rather than you sharing with your son, like how long can that last.
Don’t let it seem like a negative thing when you approach your oldest. Just make it sound like the next phase.
If you have like a separate dining area downstairs or any separate space, no matter how small, you can convert it to a reading area for your first son as he’ll be writing exams soon so may be staying up later than the youngest one.

It really won’t kill them to share. It used to be quite normal.

Can you overcome the window issue by getting a sun tube fitted to give natural light?

That bunk bed divider suggested by @Unexpecteddrivinginstructor looks like an excellent option!

If there is no down stairs space you can utilise then I don't see that you've got a choice really unless you can split the big room somehow. Would it be easier for you to stay in the big room and seperate off a small bit for your younger child with a temporary fix coming up to the window. Can you change the window for two abbuting opening lights?

My 16yo is off to a state boarding school in sept - no single rooms. The kids all share 2 - or even 3 - to a room. With people who are strangers at first. They thrive. His room has a bookcase/desk to divide the room in two, so the bunkbed divider seems like a great idea. If they are loved, secure, happy their schools then having to share a room because you are limited by the house size is really not a big ask. But investigating an attic conversion is also worthwhile as it adds value to the property.

Thanks for the replies.
The 2 boys couldn't share the smaller room, I don't it would be fair and they'd hardly have any floor space. We could fit into the smaller room and happy to for them to share the bigger.
Unfortunately, any conversions are not possible. My oldest trauma was sexual related so thats another reason I thought about him keeping his current space. He is in a good space now etc but I do worry.
We could also split the room so we just have a part with our bed and youngest having his own space. But again not sure how realistic it is and if a curtain or something similar would really be much help.