The Road Jess Travelled: Shared Small Kids Room

I have two kids who are seven years apart. The older brother is not keen on his younger sister getting into his stuff. I can't blame him. Tristan is 11 and EJ is 4 1/2. The problem is they have to share a bedroom.

The even bigger problem is the bedroom is really small for two kids to share while still having their own space.
We start moving in tomorrow.

The solution: bookshelves and twin size loft beds. This is a great solution for any older and younger siblings who have to share a room.

The room is 11 feet wide by 10 feet 4 inches long. There is also only one window.
To give the appearance that my daughter has a window in her side of the bedroom, I will hang a mirror on her wall and place sheer curtains over it as if it were a window. Not only will that provide reflection to make her space seem bigger, but it will also help distribute the light on her side. Luckily she likes cave-like spaces so having bookshelves around almost half of her bed won't be an issue.

The bookshelves will be nearly ceiling height so that the kids will have privacy. Or rather, so Tristan will have privacy. Each of the kids will have two bookshelves facing their side of the room. They can use them for books and displaying their toys or collections. The bottom shelves can be used for their shoes.

I made the diagram below to show you the layout. The purple and yellow side (her favorite colours) is EJ's space with the yellow bookshelves facing her side which is quite a bit smaller since she does not require as much space. There is a small TV stand where they will both be able to see it at the same time.
The blue and turquoise side (his favorite colours) is Tristan's side. It is larger because he needs space to study and space to set up his large building kits.
Both kids have a reading chair with a lamp as both love books.

EJ's loft bed will be only about 4 or so feet off the ground so it isn't as tall as Tristan's which is planned to be a little more than 5 feet - giving him head room while he's studying and enough room to not bonk his head on the ceiling.

Each child will have a nice piece of wall art reflecting their own style and personality on their side of their shared room. Examples are below. If you really like one of the posters, you can click on the link under it and it will take you to it and others like it.

Let me know what you think!

Until Next Time,
JessicaInSeattle