9 of the Best Ways to Use Room Dividers in Your HomeEugene Chrinian

9 of the Best Ways to Use Room Dividers in Your Home

A room divider is an excellent tool for individuals who are looking to break up open space in their homes in clever ways. However, these separators do not need to be simple walls or screens. They can also provide perfect opportunities for you to ramp up the style of your home or create spaces with new purpose. Here are nine of the best ways that you can use room dividers in your house:

1. Divide Space with a Free Wall

Creating a freestanding wall for your home will not only help create the illusion of separate rooms, but it will also enhance the aesthetic of your space. With some basic DIY knowledge and woodcrafting skills, you can divide a room without minimizing the space entirely. Building a freestanding wall that is the length of a couch is a perfect way to separate living space from dining space while also allowing you to add a pop of color to the room. You can also create a moving room divider, which can not only transform your room but can also serve as a mobile television unit when mounted with a flat screen.

Image courtesy Johnson Design Studio | Flickr

2. Build a Blackboard

For an easy room divider that’s useful too, you can turn a few simple pieces of wood into a folding blackboard. All you need is three thin sheets of plywood, hinges to attach them, and special chalkboard paint. By connecting the pieces into a folded accordion shape, you will create a standing room divider that also allows you to leave memos or draw pictures on its various surfaces. For an added creative touch, you can paint your divider in a chalkboard color other than black.

3. Incorporate a Rustic Atmosphere

With a few reclaimed wooden shipping pallets, you can create a room divider that brings a unique, rustic atmosphere to any room in your home. Wooden pallets have space between each of the boards, which provide semi-privacy when used as room dividers. In addition to creating an earthy aesthetic, a pallet divider can serve as a mount for such decorative items as artwork and photographs.

Image courtesy Recycled-Things | Flickr

4. Create a Multi-Use Space

Room dividers can serve as much more than space separators. In fact, they provide ample opportunity for you to turn them into multi-use areas. Installing a divider in your bedroom can not only help separate your bed from your bathroom area, but it can also serve as a headboard and makeup vanity space. In your children’s’ rooms, you can attach storage pieces to a divider and use it to hold toys. Room dividers can also create extra space to use in your kitchen or dining area with the addition of a small bar and chairs.

5. Ramp up Your Foyer

If your home does not have an enclosed foyer, you can easily create one using a simple room divider. A solid wall is perfect for creating the illusion of a separate room in a home that has an otherwise open floorplan. Alternatively, you can designate a small foyer space using thin steel rods mounted at the floor and ceiling. This type of divider allows for ample light to flow throughout the room but still maintains a separation between spaces. Dividing your foyer from the rest of your house also allows you to specially decorate the area with its own furnishings and storage units.

Image courtesy Jon Cooper | Flickr

6. Increase Your Storage

Using bookshelves as room dividers will help you create barriers between different areas of your home without walling them off completely. In addition, they increase your storage space and provide an opportunity for you to decorate creatively. If used in your living room, a bookshelf divider can hold picture frames, sculptures, or even a television. You can also use shelving units to create a division between kitchen and dining room while also serving as a place for your dinnerware and other items.

7. Use Curtains to Open and Close Spaces

While typically used for windows, curtains can make particularly useful room dividers if you wish to create a bit more privacy in your bedroom. By simply mounting a curtain rod on the ceiling, you can drape tall curtains to separate your indoor space and create an exciting design aesthetic. When you do not need privacy, you can easily open the curtains—and thus the whole room.

Image courtesy Jisc Infonet | Flickr

8. Mask Cluttered Areas

You can use a room divider to mask the less desirable portions of your home from clear view. For a simple solution, a decorative screen can help block cluttered areas while also allowing for ample flow of light throughout the room. If you have a larger area that you would like to mask, you can install a partition. This wall also allows you to instill a bit of creativity into the room by painting it with an accent color or hanging decorations on it.

9. Bring Nature Inside

Room dividers can also provide an excellent opportunity for you to bring a hint of nature into your home. These nature-inspired barriers can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. For example, you can create a large divider by building an entire shelving unit dedicated to hanging small planters. Alternatively, a row of stacking planters can make an excellent room divider and indoor garden. You can even transform a clothing rack into a hanger for plants such as ivy.

Image courtesy Derek Bruff | Flickr