Partitioning a big bedroom to make two smaller areas?

[gingertoo]

I've got 3 DCs and 2 step DCs who stay with us at weekends.
We live in a 3 bedroom house so it can be quite a squeeze but we manage!
However, one of the sharing combinations is an 8 year old and a 2 year old which is starting to cause a few problems (mainly due to 2yr messing up the 8yr olds stuff - the actual sleeping isn't a problem thankfully!)
The room they share is a good size but is too small to be made permanently into 2 rooms but I'm pondering the idea of having some sort of temporary partition to give them their own areas.
Has anyone done this or have any ideas how it could be done?

Thanks

How about putting up cupboards out of reach of the 2yo?

I wouldn't go to the trouble and cost of partitioning because 12m from now the 2yo will be old enough to be told to stay away from the 8yo stuff. But the 8yo should have somewhere safe to put special things away out of reach.

friends with this issue moved wardrobes so that they divided the room into two areas. Obviously they need to be firmly fixed so they can't be pulled over. Advantage of that was it took up no extra space.

You could possibly fix track to ceiling and floor and have sliding doors that could be removed later. Not a cheap solution if it's a big room.

Ikea do room dividers.

We've got 3 girls in two sets of bunk beds in the biggest bedroom. dd1 is desparate for her own room, but it's just not going to happen (ds is in the little bedroom, dh and me in the second room).

We've compromised by putting a triple wardrobe across the middle of the room to partition off a section for dd1. It does help a bit, but isn't completely dd3 proof.

I like the out of reach cupboard idea, juuule. I think DS2 would love the idea of having a special place for his precious things.

The wardrobe idea is good too - I hadn't thought about that. He would love the idea of having his own 'area', even if it wasn't totally DS3 proof!

Just off to google the Ikea room dividers - wondering whether they would split the space better than a wardrobe or not??

Thanks for all your ideas

when i was younger, our room was divided down the middle with the wardrobes and chests of drawers: so my sister and i had exactly half of the room first (i got the window and she got the door because i was the eldest and more bossy)

Unless the partition had a door which could be shut, it is unlikely to keep a 2yo off the 8yo things. Much better to keep them out of the 2yo reach.

Op says there isn't an issue about sleep or how much space each child has. It's about the 8yo not wanting his things messed with.

You may wish to take a look at the room dividers here roomscapes

When I was younger my parents divided a large room using wardrobes. One of the problems was light in the non-window half.

I think in a very short while the 2 yo will be old enough to understand to keep off the 8 yo things.

In the meantime is it possible to have high or lockable cupboards/wardrobes for the 8yo to keep their things safe?