How to divide a long, narrow room?

Question

Desperately trying to come up with an INEXPENSIVE way to divide the room without just buying room dividers or building a half wall. Any clever ideas?? The room is long and narrow and currently is a living room/kitchenette. Thanks for any ideas!

Answer 1

It depends on how solid and how private you want it to be.

You can always hang a curtain rod from the ceiling and then use any drape or curtain that you like. You can do straight panels for more of a wall effect. You can actually make fabric into a wall by affixing both the top to the ceiling and the bottom to the floor. Ikea has lots of fabric that can be used for this purpose.

Some people make a big sail-like triangle and affix the top long portion to the ceiling and the bottom point to the wall instead.

You can also do panels (vinyl, metal, etc.) that you link together and hang from the ceiling like these:

http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODw270&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&parentId=WE-SH1WALART&retainNav=true&cmsrc=WE-SH1WALART

You can also use a row of tall plants or, if you want to do something unusual, get a bunch of heavy pots and put in a bunch of bamboo poles. Here is an idea. Bamboo (thinner stakes) are available at the big box home stores.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1501&f=10566

Answer 2

You can divide the room by just arranging the furniture into two seating areas.

Other options to divide the space:
- use a different floor treatment in each area (how about a rug to define the living room?)
- use a different wall color in each section
- perhaps you can use something you already own for a partial room divider (a short bookcase, a large plant?)

Answer 3

Use your existing furniture. Place the couch where you'd place a divider, and put a pretty sofa table behind it. Arrange the rest of your living room accordingly. That will create the illusion of two rooms, while still maintaining the open feel.

Answer 4

How about a tall bookcase? check yard sales and Salvation Army stores. If it has a solid back, it will definitely break up the space and can be painted any color, even one to match your walls which would make the space seem larger.
You also might be able to hang a floor length curtain, permanently closed on hooks or on a rod hung from the ceiling and then you could open it if you wanted to use the larger space, like for entertaining.

Answer 5

If you float your furniture in the center of your room instead of around the walls you have a lot of option to arrange your furniture. Place you furniture at angles, not parallel to the walls so it has more interest. Think about making the arrangement conversational.

Answer 6

Make different work areas in alternating places. Actually it doesn't cost much to put up some drywall and divide a room... especially if it is small anyway.

Answer 7

If you don't want to use a sofa, island, or other furniture you can erect pillars on each side of the room. That will give definition to the two desired areas as well as an architectural feature. You can buy them any Home Depot, Lowe's or other such home improvement store.

Happy Decorating!! ;)

Answer 8

Make a giant spiderweb out of kite string.

Indoor plants, like a tall Difenbaccia, would do a good job too.

Nice mobiles can be made very inexpensively.

Answer 9

try some columns, planters, mexican curios hanging, or bamboo from chinese people, or a wall, or shelves, or cabinets, or bookshelves, or real rocks stack together, or a large antique post , or a fish tank large enough to divide the area., get 5 to 6 dead people in line to separate rooms, or .....................i don't know

Answer 10

Textiles or hanging fabrics
Tall indoor plants
Bookcase
Beads
Sculpture
Flags
Maps