Turn One Bedroom into Two

Kids who share a bedroom often argue and fight; its hard to live in the same room with someone else. But if bedroom space is limited at your house, and the kids are just driving you mad, look to the design of a standard office to save you and your nerves. Those panels, used to section off cubicles, are perfect for turning one room into two. The panels arent cheap but they come with all sorts of features, such as electrical outlets along their baseboards, and a quick setup strategy. Use the office cubicle panels or make a cheaper version of the room divider yourself.

Office cubicle panels come in a variety of heights so you can create just the divider that you want. Choose a height where, if you sit down, you cant see above the panel, or choose an even taller version. Each panel has adjustable feet for areas that arent level. Check your local home improvement store, or place that sells office supplies, for a selection of the panels.

Make a much cheaper divider wall for the bedroom - or other area - by using Styrofoam or foam board. When you purchase thick panels of foam board or Styrofoam you can quickly build a wall that, although it isnt hard like a regular wall, it will serve as a sturdy divider for a room. Purchase tall panels of thick foam - at least two to three inches thick - to build the wall. When you glue the foam board or Styrofoam panel to a base you can simply set it on the floor to separate the room. Glue it to a wooden plank, a flat yardstick, or even thick cardboard, to create a wall. For not-so-heavy bases, double-sided tape strips - on the floor - can help to secure the wall. You can make the wall much sturdier by weighting it along the bottom. One way is to use nails to attach metal items, like metal yardsticks or washers. You can also glue things along the bottom edge, like rocks or marbles. Weighting the bottom will make it much harder to tip over the wall. Even though the foam board or Styrofoam room divider isnt as strong as a real wall, it makes a great wall divider and more. Make several walls and create a fun maze in a childs room, or build a partial wall to separate a kitchen and dining area. The foam board or Styrofoam can be covered with wallpaper or cloth, so you can create an attractive wall, at a very small price. Kids can use push-pins to hang reminders, photos, accomplishment ribbons, and more, on the divider walls. With the walls, each child will feel as though he has his own room.