Clever room divider ideas for open-plan living
While the attractions of open-plan living are obvious – a sense of space, room for entertaining, plenty of light and air – it is often desirable to find ways to separate spaces according to their function. Room divider ideas might well be the solution. These can range from flexible, temporary options such as folding screens or curtains, or more permanent installations including bookcases, partition walls, sliding doors or even a small boxed-off space (as you will see below, these can be incredible creative and playful while serving a clear and useful purpose).
Perhaps you need a quiet corner to work or for your children to do their homework; maybe you feel the kitchen is encroaching on the dining or sitting area; or it could just be the case that your small flat would benefit from some clear zoning to make life feel a little more organised. Whatever the desired result, these room divider ideas will inspire you to create the ideal solution for your home.
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Clever room divider ideas from the House & Garden archive
Simon Brown1/19In this colourful Notting Hill townhouse by Studio Vero, a corner of the landing has been transformed into a tiny work station with a sliding glazed door that lets the light in while providing a sense of separation and some much-need peace. Ferrick Mason’s vibrant ‘Kinkead’ cinnabar wallpaper tones with Farrow & Ball’s ‘Brinjal’ paint on the desk and door, for a beautifully bold look.
Simon Upton2/19This surrealist-inspired London house by Rachel Chudley is full of wild and wonderful decorating ideas. In dining area, the background of Nina Mae Fowler’s framed drawing of Judy Garland, I Could Go On, has been extended across the wall with red velvet curtains that can be drawn to delineate it from the kitchen. A table made by Fowler & Co, Hans J Wegner’s ‘Wishbone’ chairs and a banquette in velvet and leather complete the sumptuous, richly layered scheme.
Martin Morrell3/19When space is at a premium, folding screens can be an excellent solution. Here in a stylish garden guest house in Fulham, a folding screen in an eye-catching geometric design offers some sense of separation between the dining table in the window and an antique desk that the clients were keen to include in the scheme. Those who want to carve out a tranquil work from home spot within a main living space should follow this example.
Mark Anthony Fox4/19The kitchen and sitting area of this 17th-century Cotswold house by Emma Burns can be separated when needed thanks to the installation of recessed sliding doors, concealed without the custom-built joinery. This is an excellent option for those embarking on a renovation who are seeking a large open space for entertaining and distinct rooms for daily life.
Boz Gagovski5/19Benedict Foley and Daniel Slowik’s flat is a lesson in smart ways to manage a small space. The sitting room has a large opening into the bedroom, that can be screened off with curtains as a way to make one large room and then divide them when they want to.
Dean Hearne6/19In their flat, Olympia and Ariadne Irving have done the same thing between the kitchen and dining room. It’s ideal when entertaining as you can close the mess of the kitchen off from guests. The girls made the reversible curtain from a Carolina Irving & Daughters ‘Pink Tulip’ tablecloth stuck together with double sided tape. Above hang a collection of plates the girls have designed over the years which are ‘impermanent while still adding colour’.
7/19Having the luxury of a spacious bathroom offers the option of building enclosures within the room to house (and hide) a loo and a shower. In this interior by Buchanan Studio, pink and white tiling and pitched roofs give the booths the appearance of beachside chalets. Between them is a pair of basins, but with a different configuration, the space could be used for a bathtub.
TARAN WILKHU8/19A tall partition housing gloss-red units, open shelving and a two-sided fireplace creates a dramatic contrast with the pale cedar-clad walls and ceiling of this house by architect Sarah Featherstone. It marks a division between the dining and sitting areas and is echoed visually by a second run of gloss-red units at the opposite end of the kitchen.
Romain Ricard,Romain RICARD9/19This sitting room designed by Retrouvius, features reclaimed 1940s glass doors installed on a sliding track, so they can be opened or closed without space being lost. Using salvaged doors in a contemporary setting introduces unexpected detail – in this case, the chevron design of the panes and the industrial-style leading.
©Isabel Parra Photographywww.isabelparra.com10/19In this artfully reimagined loft-style apartment in New York by Tala Fustok and Crina Arghirescu Rogard, there is an elegant juxtaposition of rippled glass, oiled timber and marble. The tall glass door has been shaped so it fits perfectly into the curve of the partition wall. Particularly pleasing visually is the addition of woodframed, glass-bottomed shelving, which provides display space that can be seen from both sides of the divide.
Michael SINCLAIR11/19Pallas Kalamotusis of Krokalia has created a spacious bedroom with an en-suite bathroom by removing the dividing wall between two smaller bedrooms in her own flat in a Victorian mansion block. The oak and glass room divider fits neatly into the breaks in the mouldings left behind by the previous wall. Its style is reminiscent of both Japanese shoji screens and modernist architecture, while the wall now frames the bed.
Michael Sinclair12/19This hand-painted screen is in the Devon farmhouse of ceramicists Cath and Jeremy Brown of Feldspar. As screens were commonly used in historic houses (where plumbing limitations meant bathtubs were often used in kitchens), there are many beautiful antique options available – this one dates from the 18th century. Plain screen panels in MDF, available from The Dormy House, can be enlivened by covering them with an eye-catching fabric or decoupage.
13/19In this inviting London terrace house designed by Laura Stephens, a privacy screen has been used to neatly conceal the back wall of the kitchen. This has created a pantry area with the utilitarian feel of an old-fashioned grocer. The screen – which has very useful additional shelves on the pantry side – is made from the same reeded glass and wood as the over-counter cupboards in the main area of the kitchen.
Jean-Marc Wullschleger14/19French designer Grégoire de Lafforest came up with the ingenious idea of building a series of small cabins inside his large loft space in Paris. He says he wanted to give the feel of ‘a cluster of cabins gathered in the woods’. In the main living space, he has used a standard kit greenhouse to house the simple Ikea kitchen units. This creates a sense of structure while retaining the light and airy nature of the loft.
Mirta Rojo15/19In this once dark Madrid apartment, interior design and architecture studio Casa Josephine reworked the layout according to the direction of natural light coming in from the windows. This half-glazed box is painted white on the outside, so it blends with the sitting room, while shades of red have been used inside the kitchen to create a warm atmosphere. A run of cupboards under the large, glazed hatch provides useful storage. casajosephine.com/en
Simon Upton16/19Rose Uniacke has used a rather theatrical red velvet curtain to create a subtle sense of separation between the dining area and kitchen island in this London flat. A curtain track might be a more obvious solution, but her choice of a slender iron pole completes the look more elegantly. This is possible thanks to the use of passing rings, which are designed to move unhindered through the brackets that support the pole.
Tom Mannion17/19Designed by Franco Albini, the ‘Veliero’ bookcase from Cassina stands between the dining and sitting areas in this flat designed by Waldo Works. At 266cm high, this piece has enough scale to visually divide the space, but the wire and glass structure gives it a fluid, almost weightless feel.
18/19The bedroom of this villa on Menorca designed by Anna Standish has a door, but the designer chose to add a divider. This stops the bed feeling too exposed from the doorway and helps to give the run of wardrobes the feel of a distinct dressing area. The screen is made from glazed ceramic bricks, which suits the Mediterranean and modernist feel of the project.
Montse Garriga,Montse Garriga Grau19/19Some open-plan interiors can work well with only the slightest intervention to delineate spaces. This is an opportunity to eschew stud walling or joinery and source something unique. For this former office space, interior designer Isabel López-Quesada found a pair of reclaimed 1940s decorative metal panels to use as subtle room dividers. Their delicacy contrasts with the otherwise nononsense architecture.
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