14 Clever Ways to Partition a Room Without Blocking out Light
When you want just the right amount of space and light, get creative with glass, slats, beads, exposed framing and more
Room dividers can help direct foot traffic, define spaces, create a sense of privacy and hide unsightly areas. But while solid room dividers, such as folding screens, can create privacy and hide unsightly objects, they can also block out light and make a smaller space feel confining. If you want to divide a room without losing light and depth, consider these 14 ideas.
2. Horizontal timber slats
A screen of horizontal slats provides a clever place for hanging the flat-screen TV while gently masking the closet in this bedroom in Seattle, USA.
A screen of horizontal slats provides a clever place for hanging the flat-screen TV while gently masking the closet in this bedroom in Seattle, USA.
3. Glass partition
This elegant house in Brooklyn, USA, features a large master bathroom with an adjacent living area. The glass and black-steel partition separates the two areas physically but not visually. Its industrial-grid pattern provides a stylish juxtaposition to the room’s traditional design.
Browse more transitional living rooms
This elegant house in Brooklyn, USA, features a large master bathroom with an adjacent living area. The glass and black-steel partition separates the two areas physically but not visually. Its industrial-grid pattern provides a stylish juxtaposition to the room’s traditional design.
Browse more transitional living rooms
4. Perforated partition
A perforated wall separates the bedroom from the living area in this small Moscow apartment in Russia. Spots of sunlight break through, filling the windowless living area with diffused light.
A perforated wall separates the bedroom from the living area in this small Moscow apartment in Russia. Spots of sunlight break through, filling the windowless living area with diffused light.
5. Tree trunks
Five tree trunks placed vertically from the floor to the ceiling provide a visual divider between the hallway and the living area in this home in Nuremberg, Germany.
Read how a New Zealand bungalow used shelving as a room divider
Five tree trunks placed vertically from the floor to the ceiling provide a visual divider between the hallway and the living area in this home in Nuremberg, Germany.
Read how a New Zealand bungalow used shelving as a room divider
6. Art installation
The room divider in this New York City apartment is an art installation by a Cuban artist, says designer Eddie Lee. The piece is made from phone books with holes cut in the middle, allowing them to be attached by floor-to-ceiling metal rods.
The room divider in this New York City apartment is an art installation by a Cuban artist, says designer Eddie Lee. The piece is made from phone books with holes cut in the middle, allowing them to be attached by floor-to-ceiling metal rods.
7. Glass wine cellar
For dedicated oenophiles, there may not be a better way to divide a room than with a wine cellar. This Las Vegas, USA, home features floor-to-ceiling wine storage that uses glass to separate the dining area from the living room.
For dedicated oenophiles, there may not be a better way to divide a room than with a wine cellar. This Las Vegas, USA, home features floor-to-ceiling wine storage that uses glass to separate the dining area from the living room.
8. Pillars
Though they’re often there to make a house structurally sound, a row of pillars (structural or cosmetic) can also create separation between spaces. In this Nuremberg home in Germany, a row of five square pillars – and a change in levels – separates the living and dining areas.
Though they’re often there to make a house structurally sound, a row of pillars (structural or cosmetic) can also create separation between spaces. In this Nuremberg home in Germany, a row of five square pillars – and a change in levels – separates the living and dining areas.
9. Gauzy curtains
Curtains aren’t just for windows. A curtain can also be a good way to close-off one space from another. Here, sheer curtains separate two areas in this home in New York, USA, while letting light filter through.
Curtains aren’t just for windows. A curtain can also be a good way to close-off one space from another. Here, sheer curtains separate two areas in this home in New York, USA, while letting light filter through.
10. Window frames
If curtains aren’t necessarily for windows, then it stands to reason that windows don’t always need walls. The designer of this industrial loft in Atlanta, USA, used an array of individual windows to separate the dining area from the living room.
10 Reasons to Use Room Dividers in Your Open-Plan Space
If curtains aren’t necessarily for windows, then it stands to reason that windows don’t always need walls. The designer of this industrial loft in Atlanta, USA, used an array of individual windows to separate the dining area from the living room.
10 Reasons to Use Room Dividers in Your Open-Plan Space
11. Glass block bricks
Glass blocks are a staple in many mid-century homes, but they’re most commonly used in windows as an alternative to panes. However, glass blocks can also make a great room divider that filters light and creates separation and privacy, which is the case in this home in London, UK.
Glass blocks are a staple in many mid-century homes, but they’re most commonly used in windows as an alternative to panes. However, glass blocks can also make a great room divider that filters light and creates separation and privacy, which is the case in this home in London, UK.
12. Metal beads
Strings of beads hung from the ceiling might conjure up a groovy ’70s vibe, but as this New York City loft shows, a metal-bead curtain makes for a chic room divider.
Strings of beads hung from the ceiling might conjure up a groovy ’70s vibe, but as this New York City loft shows, a metal-bead curtain makes for a chic room divider.
13. Decorative partitions
A patterned wood divider adds a sense of privacy with a bit of old-school glamour to a large room. This master bedroom in Toronto, Canada, features an Art Deco-inspired partition that separates the bedroom from the ensuite.
A patterned wood divider adds a sense of privacy with a bit of old-school glamour to a large room. This master bedroom in Toronto, Canada, features an Art Deco-inspired partition that separates the bedroom from the ensuite.
14. Door frame and studs
If you’re ever having a hard time deciding between knocking down a wall or keeping it, this apartment in Germany might inspire you to find a happy middle ground. By leaving the original door frame and studs standing and removing the plasterboard, the designer created a sense of separation without losing any light.
Tell us
Have you seen or used an unusual material to divide a space without blocking-out light? Tell us in the Comments, like this story and save the images. Join the conversation.
More
Curious about how you could divide a room without sacrificing light? Connect with a local interior designer for some ideas
If you’re ever having a hard time deciding between knocking down a wall or keeping it, this apartment in Germany might inspire you to find a happy middle ground. By leaving the original door frame and studs standing and removing the plasterboard, the designer created a sense of separation without losing any light.
Tell us
Have you seen or used an unusual material to divide a space without blocking-out light? Tell us in the Comments, like this story and save the images. Join the conversation.
More
Curious about how you could divide a room without sacrificing light? Connect with a local interior designer for some ideas
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Floor-to-ceiling vertical timber slats separate this living room from the home gym in this home in New York, USA. The evenly spaced slats let sunlight from the gym’s windows wash into the living room, echoing the vertical pattern in the adjacent blinds.