the shelf, the mess photo @modernnestphotography

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…..

Cons

Clutter - I find the shelf can appear quite cluttered. Each kid decorates their side with their current favourite items. Theo’s is currently anime figurines and books and thrifted Nike shoes. Mae’s is tons of tiny cute things, art supplies and lipglosses and skin care (she collects but doesn’t need).

I wish the shelf was under my styling control and I do add a lamp or object here or there as well as some crates and boxes (my forever favourite crates and boxes HERE and HERE in all sizes and colours), but in the end, it is their room and I have really relinquished control at this point. Still I dream of a perfectly minimal curated shelf one day. But that day is not today.

Damage - we set up one of the shelves as a desk for Mae that she uses as an art desk and vanity. The shelf is not meant to be a desk so the shelf is a bit unsteady and can’t hold a lot of weight. I’ve considered reinforcing it in some way but that hasn’t taken priority yet. She does use it quite a bit so it may be time. Also because she is drawing and painting on it, the shelf is now stained and scratched. I bought an extra shelf for this reason but haven’t swapped it out yet. I have also thought of getting a leather desk pad for her so may do that if I reinforce the shelf in some way.

view from the kid’s room into ours photo @modernnestphotography

So would I do it again….

So all in, 1.5 years later, I would do this all over again. It has really helped with individual responsibility and giving the kid’s a bit of (perceived) privacy and independence in their shared room. Since we added the shelf, we also changed their beds to the Ikea Slakt beds with underbed drawers and trundle beds.

I would also recommend this option for even smaller rooms I would just swap out the 20” deep shelves for the 14” deep shelves. You will just need to manually build your cart with the poles shelves and brackets. There’s a planning tool that’s helpful as well!

Also if you are reading this and you are feeling bad your kids don’t have their own space, please don’t ! I’m so glad my kids shared a tiny room for many years and didn’t have separate clearly defined zones. I think they learned valuable lessons in sharing and compromise that will serve them well in life. While I am happy I can give them this separation now, I don’t think it is necessary.

Update on the Kids' Room Shelf Divider