We have had the kid’s shared room “split” for about a year and half now. We used the Elvarli shelf from IKEA in our desire to make it look as much like a Vitsoe system as we could. I wanted to report in on how it has been working for us. If you want to read more about the original decision, here is the previous post.
Pros
Delineation of space – the clearer zones for their sides of the room has been a big win. It is more clear where his side of the room starts, and hers begins. If belongings travel across the room, they can easily be moved back to the owner’s side.
Cleaning expectations – with the shelf, it is even more clear if one person’s room is messy and the other’s is clean. There has been less fighting about who the mess belongs to.
Playdates – while I don’t love a traditional “playdate” as you know, the kids do entertain quite a bit and the shelf helps keeps things separate when needed. But because the shelf doesn’t fill the whole room, there is a 3-4’ opening from the doors, it’s also easy for multiple kids to interact and all play the same game. When they do have friends over , we usually put away our wall bed so there is an additional open room for play. Play looks different these days as they are getting older, but it’s often drawing, Collaging, bracelet/keychain assembly, sticker making, graffiti practice, chatting, video games, movies…..
