Divide and Conquer: 10 Room Dividers to Bring Order to Your Space

Open-plan homes are very popular. Fewer walls has many benefits, including more light, a sense of spaciousness, and a feeling of informality and ease. But walls have their pluses too, and if we can’t erect a permanent barrier, room dividers are useful additions. Beyond changing the flow of a room, room dividers can add privacy, storage space, and eye-catching design. These pre-made, custom, and DIY solutions are sure to solve your layout issues. Because when your home works for you, you feel like you’re flowing too.

Macrame, or the art of knotting, is making a comeback. This handcrafted room divider, designed by Rachel Denbow for A Beautiful Mess, is the perfect way to bring a little hippie chic into your bedroom or office. All you need is some cotton rope (700 feet of it), a wooden dowel, hook screws, and scissors. Oh yes, and these helpful illustrated instructions for learning the art of macrame. (Don’t have a crafty bone in your body? Check out Etsy seller Livalaya’s stunning macrame boho room dividers.)

RELATED: How to Make a Macrame Plant Hanger

Rooms are funny things. Within their four walls, you get all kinds of spatial configurations. So if your bedroom is lacking a closet, take heart! Ana White is here to help, with designs and instructions for a sleek, built-in room divider that doubles as a closet. The front of this divider looks just like a white wall but the back has shelves and hangers for clothes, shoes, and more. Hide your mess, fashionably.

RELATED: Buyer’s Guide: The Best Wardrobes

Transform a thrift-shop find into a luxe folding screen with a few easy-to-following directions from Confessions of a Serial DIYer. A wooden screen is functional, but may not be the prettiest option, especially for bedrooms and living spaces. So brighten it up with some pale blue paint and white stenciling. The result is as glamorous as any privacy screen you’ll see in the movies.

Get out your power tools and start crafting with our easy instructions for a truly stunning modern screen. This 6-foot-tall paravent design extends in a Z-shape to nearly 8 feet wide. And it folds easily when you want to store it, or restore your open-plan flow. Amazingly, you’ll just need a stack of plywood and some 1×2 lumber for a contemporary screen that will no doubt turn heads.

Wall dividers can double as organizers, like this Kallax shelving unit by IKEA. With 16 square cubby holes for storage and display, position your shelves flat against the wall as a bookcase. Or tilt vertically for a simple and effective room divider. Choose from white, high-gloss white, black-brown, and pale walnut finishes. (Looking for a similar room divider, but don’t have an IKEA nearby? Ebern Designs’ Lancashire geometric bookcase or PACHIRA’s bookshelf system might fit the bill.)

RELATED: Buyer’s Guide: The Best Room Dividers

Modular systems aren’t exclusive to shelving: Etsy seller MountainSnowArt fashions white PVC into custom wall-dividing systems, offering an airy partition anywhere you need a little division of space. Each kit comes with 12 decorative 15.7-inch panels, which can be hooked together in the configuration that works for you. If white isn’t your preference, these delicate and durable panels are easily paintable too.

Create a living wall in your living room with hanging room dividers that show off your houseplants. Etsy seller KNOTisfaction can customize a planter design that’s perfect for your space if you provide your room dimensions, preferred number of tiers and tassel length.

RELATED: How to Hang Houseplants From the Ceiling

On the hunt for a mobile room divider? Consider Symple Stuff’s simple yet effective Dorland room divider. While it won’t necessarily buffer sound, it will provide privacy and hide anything you’d prefer to keep out of sight (like wires, washing machines, and other unkept zones in your house). The caster wheels lock in place and unlock when you need to roll it elsewhere. Consider hanging your frame with an opaque curtain panel, or draping it with a favorite fabric for a boho look and feel. If you like the idea of curtain room dividers but seek one that’s more stationary, RoomDividersNow’s hanging room divider fits the bill perfectly.

Update a tired rice paper screen with Leanna’s artistic approach: The Pretty DIY Home blogger found this old screen at a garage sale. Like all great finds, she saw potential beyond its current form. After cleaning, sanding, and repainting it, Leanna created illustrated panels from enlarged photos, which she then transferred to craft paper. This decorative room divider adds a touch of whimsy and artistry to a home office or child’s room. Homeowners who want this look without the all the DIY can find similar items, such as Laurel Foundry Modern Farmhouse’s Earnhardt room divider, at online retailers such as Wayfair.

Combine the privacy a door gives you with the simplicity of a room divider, and what do you get? This DIY sliding barn door. Sarah at Pretty Providence shares a full tutorial, and promises the project will cost less than $250 to make and install. Her secret? Elmer’s ProBond Advanced glue, which is paintable, heavy duty, and won’t make a mess. Once finished, you’ll enjoy all the benefits of a real door, plus the versatility of open plan living when you want it. We’re sold: Sliding room dividers are the way to go!

RELATED: How to DIY a Space-Saving Sliding Door