11 Room Dividers That Bring Form and Function to Your Space

These days, most don’t have the luxury of a formal dressing room, but incorporating a room divider as a boudoir screen in the corner of a bedroom can help create a similar atmosphere. Interior Designer Tara McCauley says, “The boudoir screen provides the perfect opportunity to indulge in a bit of fantasy—discarded silk garments draped over the edge, etc. (Perhaps an ostrich feather boa if I’m fully giving in to the main-character syndrome that a folding screen in the boudoir affords me.) It’s mirrored on the bedroom side, and it provides the perfect opportunity to carry on a conversation with someone—while maintaining a modicum of modesty—and then have that cinematic outfit reveal moment when you walk out from behind the screen.”

Wall accent

Room dividers range from plain and practical to statement-making and highly artful. Consider a lacquer screen by Art Deco designer Jean Dunand used as a centerpiece for the room, or a modern scalloped folding screen. 

Storage concealer 

We all have a lot of stuff, and sometimes elegant storage solutions can be hard to find, so why not just hide it? Using a screen to obscure laundry, electronics, or children’s toys is an easy way to store things while keeping your aesthetic intact.

Texture

Many homes used to have wallpaper that introduced fun patterns to a room, but for many renters this is inaccessible, and it might be too much of a commitment for homeowners. Folding screens can come in many different materials that could add an interesting textural element to a room. Playing around with rattan, lacquer, paneled wood, or even ceramics—like with this piece from REM Atelier—can add a lot of excitement.

Cloth room divider

When thinking of room dividers, the primary association is with folding screens. However, they can take other forms, such as curtains hung from the ceiling. These are great for creating a dramatic transition between spaces. Also, with curtains there is a plethora of materials to choose from, which gives the flexibility to choose something unexpected. For instance, Sabine Marcelis made use of these yellow vinyl curtains, which are typically used for meat lockers.

Breakup wall space