Set two flex items side by side in a flexbox column - html

Question

I have some elements I am displaying in a column direction within a display: flex container.
This places the containers within into a stacked view.
Say I have 5 stacked elements I need to make two of them display inline or flex direction row.
Without placing the two elements in question into another div that i can apply flex direction row to...
Is it possible to get these elements to sit side by side?
.flex-column {
display: flex;
flex-direction: column;
}
.flex-column .column-item:nth-of-type(4),
.flex-column .column-item:nth-of-type(5) {
width: calc(50% - 10px);
display: inline-block;
float: left;
}
.flex-column .column-item:nth-of-type(4) {
margin-right: 20px;
}
<div class="flex-column">
<div class="column-item">a</div>
<div class="column-item">b</div>
<div class="column-item">c</div>
<div class="column-item">d</div>
<div class="column-item">e</div>
</div>

Answer 1

I don't think it is possible once you have given your parent the flex-direction:column; property, alternatively you can enable flex-wrap:wrap and control the width of elements using the flex-basis property. This allows you to achieve the effect you want without altering your html structure.
.flex-column {
display: flex;
flex-wrap:wrap;
}
.flex-column .column-item {
flex-basis:100%;}
.flex-column .column-item:nth-of-type(4),
.flex-column .column-item:nth-of-type(5) {
flex-basis:50%;
}
<div class="flex-column">
<div class="column-item">a</div>
<div class="column-item">b</div>
<div class="column-item">c</div>
<div class="column-item">d</div>
<div class="column-item">e</div>
</div>

Answer 2

The layout is fairly simple with flexbox. You don't need flex-direction: column.
Just use flex-direction: row with flex-wrap: wrap.
Then make each element long enough to occupy a full row.
Reduce the flex-basis on the elements that are to share a row.
.flex-column {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
}
.column-item {
flex: 1 0 61%; /* flex-grow, flex-shrink, flex-basis */
margin: 2px;
background-color: lightgreen;
}
.column-item:nth-of-type(4),
.column-item:nth-of-type(5) {
flex-basis: 40%;
}
<div class="flex-column">
<div class="column-item">a</div>
<div class="column-item">b</div>
<div class="column-item">c</div>
<div class="column-item">d</div>
<div class="column-item">e</div>
</div>
With flex-grow: 1 defined in the flex shorthand, there's no need to use calc().
Since flex-grow will consume free space on the row, flex-basis only needs to be large enough to enforce a wrap. In this case, with flex-basis: 61%, there's plenty of space for the margins, but never enough space for a second item.
There's an even simpler and more efficient solution using CSS Grid:
.flex-column {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr;
grid-gap: 5px;
}
.column-item:nth-of-type(-n + 3) {
grid-column: span 2;
}
.column-item {
background-color: lightgreen;
}
<div class="flex-column">
<div class="column-item">a</div>
<div class="column-item">b</div>
<div class="column-item">c</div>
<div class="column-item">d</div>
<div class="column-item">e</div>
</div>

Answer 3

.flex-column {
display: flex;
flex-wrap:wrap;
}
.column-item {
}
<div class="flex-column">
<div class="column-item">a</div>
<div class="column-item">b</div>
<div class="column-item">c</div>
<div class="column-item">d</div>
<div class="column-item">e</div>
</div>