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If you ever wanted to split your living room into small pockets where you had different experiences, these living room divider ideas can make it happen. Dividers are screens, panels, and fittings that divide one space into two or more temporarily or permanently.
There are various living room partition ideas for you to choose from, depending on your budget and style. Walk with us as we explore some of the best partition ideas in living room design.
Easy, Effective Room Divider Ideas To Differentiate Your Living Room
Some questions to ask yourself before you think about designing a living room divider:
- What space do you want to conceal? How large is the space?
- How often do you want the space to be divided?
- Do you want the divider to be opaque or are you open to slightly or completely open dividers?
- What interior design style do you currently have in your home?
- What’s your budget?
- Do you have any preferred materials you want as your dividers?
23 Living Room Divider & Partition Ideas
Here are 23 unique living room divider and partition ideas you can consider for your upcoming project:
1. Glass door partition with metal framing
This is a perfect example of a modern living room and dining room partition
This contemporary partition style works great for separating living and dining rooms, and to differentiate bedrooms, home offices, and living areas in studio apartments. To make sure the glass doesn’t break when exposed to vigorous movement, you can consider getting a metal framing to add strength.
To prevent the glass from getting overheated, you can also insert curtains to partially block sunlight.
2. Line up a bookshelf
A bookshelf is one of the most practical living room partition ideas
If you want a room separator without a bulky wall, you can get a lattice bookshelf that adds visual variety, offers ample open shelving space, and gives you room to store all your favorite decor items.
It gives you a chance to exhibit your most prestigious decor pieces, and books all while smartly delineating the living room. In studio apartments with small living spaces, some decorators suggest residents get a bunk bed attached to the bookcase.
| Artem Kropovinsky, founder and principal designer at Arsight says, “Think of a personalized bookshelf that acts as both dividing wall. To begin with, it serves as a natural dividing line in addition to providing adequate storage and display area. The design can range from very contemporary to rustic, depending on the look of the room.” |
3. Canopies with sheer curtains
Sheer curtains offer a soft and dreamy room divider solution
If you live in a small space with not much area to place dividers in the living room and bedroom, you can hang two horizontal rods from the ceiling, and install sheer curtains so they look like a majestic canopy over your bedroom.
Read also – How to Choose Curtains – Secret Guide by Interior Designers
4. Full-length curtains
Heavy, full-length curtains provide excellent privacy and separation
These are floor-to-ceiling curtains installed on heavy rods and are mostly heavy drapes that almost act as an impermeable layer to the space adjacent to the one they’re in. If you want complete privacy with no room for light to pass through, you can opt for full-length curtains. They add a royal, opulent look to the space they’re in. You can find tons of varieties in IKEA.
| Artem Kropovinsky, founder and principal designer at Arsight says, “Use an interesting folding screen with complex patterns. It can be a focal point in the room and at the same time provide adequate segregation. This choice is ideal for those who want a movable partition that serves the double purpose of being useful and an art piece.” |
5. Partial divider
Partial dividers create visual separation without closing off the space
Create visual differences between two closely connected living spaces with minimal effort with partial dividers. Some of the forms they can take are translucent, or frosted glass panels placed in the corners of a living room.
| Vivianne Chow, founder and principal decorator at Viv and Tim Home says, “If you don’t want to block out any natural light when choosing a living room divider, stick with dividers made from clear materials like frosted or fluted glass. This allows light to fill the space while still creating a visual divide. You can also consider dividers made out of wood with slats that allow light to pass through and add a sense of warmth and texture to the space.” |
6. Bead curtains
Bead curtains are a retro and fun divider for living room
Crystal beads woven together as a curtain are aesthetic to look at, tactile to feel, and make any place look opulent and put together. You can also get macrame curtains. They divide the space very well and this is an option commonly resorted to.
7. Rightly placed furniture
Strategic furniture placement is a clever room divider technique
If you have the right type of furniture and you can position them at the right intersections, you can seamlessly create designated areas, and spaces and make spots for conversation and interaction.
Say, you have an open floor plan and want to entertain guests in the evening. You can pull up a coffee table, throw in an area rug, with a sofa and a couple of chairs, and create a spot in the centre of a living room.
Or, you could place a lounge, a rug, and an ottoman near the fireplace and make for a nice reading nook. You can keep the sofa or the sectional in the middle of the studio apartment or the centre of the living room pointed at the TV, and create a drawing room right there.
Read also – How to Arrange Furniture in a Small Living Room: Space-enhancing Tips
8. Hanging room divider, safety PVC panel screen
A patterned hanging screen adds an artistic touch to your space
Beautiful, patterned dividers that can go as background, at the back of furniture, or used as decorative arches to spruce up the entryway of the living room or the room adjacent to it. You can use it in the bathroom to divide the dry and wet areas.
9. Rugs to create small defined spaces
Use a bold area rug to define different functional zones
The rugs you use in your space immediately become statement pieces and focal points. Especially if you use a busy rug with unconventional sizes, shapes, or forms, the area covered by the rug receives special attention and creates a visual difference in the living room.
Read also – 15 Modern Farmhouse Interior Design Ideas for 2024
10. Japanese 8-panel screen
This Japanese screen is a classic and elegant room divider
You can find it widely used in dorm rooms or studio apartments where two or more people share a room/house. The plum blossom pattern on frosted glass makes for an excellent divider for any place, especially between the living room and the dining area.
11. Hanging room divider atop a half wall
Combining a half wall with a screen is an effective living room partition design
Another popular way to show division in your living and dining room is by raising a half wall and installing a decorative divider atop it extending to the ceiling. It creates spatial variation and goes easy on the eyes.
12. Wooden frames
These wooden frames are excellent foldable living room partition design ideas
Wide-spaced wooden frames with intriguing patterns, and varying heights, are perfect room dividers that demarcate two spaces and give you privacy. You can hang potted plants in them. If you need to use the entire living room as one space, you can fold them up nicely.
13. Swings
An indoor swing is a unique and playful room divider
A beautiful way to differentiate between two spaces, swings are subtle yet can break the space into two or more areas. They don’t obstruct vision and allow light movement seamlessly.
You can opt for antique or vintage savings to make the swings the focal point of the room. You can take it to the next level by adding a backrest to the swing or ornate handles.
14. Steps
A change in floor level is a brilliant architectural divider
Steps are a contemporary living room partition that you can see in apartments and duplex houses alike. They create a division and elevate the look of the living room in many ways.
15. Wall planters on opaque dividers
A vertical garden is one of the freshest living room divider ideas
If you want a divider that completely obstructs your view of the adjacent room, you can get an opaque divider and place wall planters on it. You can also mount pegboards to bring in greenery. Get easy-to-maintain houseplants that don’t require much water or chemicals to grow.
| Artem Kropovinsky, founder and principal designer at Arsight says, “Using a vertical garden as room divider makes the space feel refreshing. It is not merely a partition but an art piece that continues to live. These are ideal when you want to give your urban interiors a natural touch and it can be customised according to different light situations.” |
16. Magazine racks
A stylish magazine rack can also serve as a subtle divider
In an open-concept living room or a studio apartment where there are fewer designated areas to store materials or perform designated functions, or fewer closet spaces, you need every little space you can get.
When you get a magazine rack, you get hidden storage space you can use efficiently. When placed strategically, the magazine rack can seemingly divide two spaces.
17. Collapsible room partition
A collapsible partition offers excellent flexibility for any space
These dividers spill over to the adjacent room and have good-quality hinges that can cover a large portion of the living room. If you want a divider to obscure your lounge and living room from the dining room, you can go for a collapsible partition.
18. Closely placed wooden slabs
A wooden slat wall provides texture and complete privacy
Another way to ensure 100% privacy is through closely placed wooden slabs that don’t allow any room, or air to pass. You can play around with unique textures, patterns, and colors to create a stunning backdrop for your living room.
19. Laser-cut wood/acrylic panel
Laser-cut panels are true statement pieces for any room
If you want to give a classy, contemporary look to the living room, you can choose a laser-cut wood or acrylic panel as a divider. They suit any style and give an exclusive look to the room.
20. Bar unit as room partition
A bar unit is a functional and stylish living room and dining room partition
One smart way to bring your home bar away from the kitchen and sandwich it between your living room and dining room is to use it as a space divider at the end of your living room and demarcate the division from your dining room.
Show your spatial intelligence by using every inch of the space wisely and place the bar table in such a way it grabs the attention but doesn’t hinder traffic.
21. Barn door/sliding doors
Sliding barn doors add a rustic and practical touch
Barn doors you can see in barndominiums and farmhouses sliding doors in the threshold between two spaces, to facilitate easier movement and easier concealment if required. Sliding doors not only apply to farm-style houses, you can readily apply them to any style you want.
They can be great dividers of space in the living room, to prevent guests from eyeing your bedroom or kitchen directly. In open-concept living rooms too, if the guests in the living room feel uncomfortable with the cooking odor and heat coming from the kitchen, the sliding doors can come in handy.
22. Different colored light fixtures
Different lighting can create zones without physical barriers
Two different colored lights, white and golden, or colored lights when hung in two spaces can entirely differentiate the spaces even without having any physical demarcations. If you want to crank up the dividers a notch in your living room, try having a warm light in the drawing room and a cool light near the space adjacent to the living room and see the magic happen.
| Mark Buskuhl, Founder & CEO of Ninebird Properties in Dallas, Texas, says, “Living room dividers come in a variety of styles and designs, so it’s important to choose one that fits with your overall decor. If you have a modern or minimalist living room, opt for a sleek and simple divider. For a more traditional or eclectic space, consider a divider with ornate details or unique materials. It’s also a good idea to consider the color and finish of the divider to make sure it complements your existing furniture and decor.” |
23. Use a clothing rack
A clothing rack is a chic and functional divider for living room
A freestanding clothing rack/coat rack in the living room comes in handy to separate spaces elegantly. In larger homes, the coat rack is a great place for guests to enter, hang up their coats comfortably, and then proceed to the living or dining room. In cramped spaces, the clothing rack differentiates the bedroom from the dressing area.
Alternatively, as a DIY room divider idea, you can hang a horizontal clothing rod from the ceiling, and hang your clothes with hangers. The length of the dresses divides the spaces into two.
Key Factors to Consider for Your Living Room Partition
Before selecting the perfect living room divider ideas for your space, consider these crucial factors that will impact both functionality and aesthetics. Each element plays an important role in creating a successful room division solution.
- Function vs. Aesthetics: Determine whether your living room partition needs to provide complete privacy or simply create visual distinction between spaces. Privacy-focused dividers require denser materials, while decorative dividers can be more open and artistic.
- Light and Airflow: Consider how your divider for living room will affect natural light distribution and air circulation. Solid partitions may create darker zones, while semi-transparent or open dividers maintain brightness while still defining separate areas effectively.
- Permanence: Decide between fixed living room partition design solutions that become architectural features or movable dividers that offer flexibility to reconfigure your space as needed. Permanent options provide stability while temporary ones allow for seasonal changes.
- Budget: Establish a clear budget range for your living room divider ideas, from cost-effective DIY solutions using repurposed materials to high-end custom installations with premium materials and professional craftsmanship. Various price points offer different design possibilities.
- Your Home’s Style: Ensure your living room and dining room partition harmonizes with your existing interior design aesthetic. Contemporary spaces benefit from sleek glass or metal dividers, while traditional rooms may need wooden elements or classic fabric screens.
How Can You Visualize The Perfect Divider For Your Space? With An Advanced Tool Like Foyr Neo.
When you conceptualize the living room divider and attempt to visualize which divider style would be best for you, you need a powerful visualization and design tool like Neo by your side. Here’s what you can do:
Step 1: Sign up for Foyr Neo’s 14-day trial.
Step 2: Go on to the Neo mood board and curate the divider you’d love to have.
Step 3: Create the floor plan of your living room on Neo.
Step 4: Choose from 60,000+ 3D decor materials and simply drag and drop them into the design.
Step 5: Get any material in any color, texture, shape, or pattern and truly customize your divider.
Step 6: View the design in 2D and 3D, from all possible angles and lighting conditions.
Step 7: Render your design in a few minutes and witness your own living room divider ideas in all their glory.
That’s all it takes! With 24/7 support and live chat, we’re here to help you if you ever get stuck anywhere. You can find tutorials on how to design on Neo all over the internet, so you’re never truly alone when you design using Neo.
What are you waiting for? Start curating your mood board, sign up for Foyr Neo’s 14-day free trial today!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the cheapest way to make a room divider?
The most budget-friendly living room divider ideas include repurposed materials like wooden pallets, suspended rope or macramé, tension rods with curtains, or strategically placed bookshelves. With Foyr Neo, you can visualize these affordable options in your space before committing, ensuring you achieve both aesthetic appeal and functionality without breaking the bank.
2. How to separate two rooms without making a wall?
Create a living room and dining room partition without construction using movable screens, curtains hung from ceiling tracks, open shelving units, or strategically placed furniture. Foyr Neo’s visualization tools let you experiment with different non-permanent dividers in your actual space dimensions, helping you find the perfect solution that maintains openness while defining separate zones.
3. What is the difference between a partition and a divider?
A partition typically refers to a more permanent, structural element that divides spaces completely, while a divider for a living room is often more flexible and decorative. Partitions usually extend from floor to ceiling, whereas dividers may be partial height or movable. Foyr Neo helps you experiment with both options, visualizing how each would impact your space’s flow, lighting, and functionality.
4. What is a foldable room divider called?
A foldable room divider is commonly called a screen or a folding screen. These living room partition design ideas typically consist of hinged panels that can be expanded or collapsed as needed. Some variations include Japanese shoji screens, decorative accordion dividers, or multi-panel privacy screens. Foyr Neo enables you to test various styles and configurations in your virtual room before making a purchase.
