Room divider

A room divider is a screen or piece of furnit ure placed in a way t hat divides a room int o separat e
areas.[1][2] Room dividers are used by int erior designers and archit ect s as means t o divide space
int o separat e dist inct areas.

Casa Loma, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Room-divider/screen, (Ethnographic Museum, Belgrade)

A room divider for a conference hall.

There are a number of different t ypes of room dividers such as cubicle part it ions, pipe and drape
screens, shoji screens, and walls. Room dividers can be made from many mat erials, including
wood, fabric, plexiglass, framed cot t on canvas, pleat ed fabric or mirrors. Plant s, shelves or
railings might also be used as dividers. Port able room dividers have folded wall panels support ed
on wheels.
Types

In general, room dividers are used in one of t hese ways:

To divide rooms, creat ing a more efficient use of t he space wit hin t he room.

As decorat ors and/or accent pieces t o add charact er t o room space.

To hide areas of different usage or privacy prot ect ion

To decorat e rooms for bet t er home design effect

Room dividers differ in nat ure being eit her:

Permanent as in using wine shelves in rest aurant s

Built in as in sliding part it ions in offices

Port able or t emporary as for example in convent ion cent ers

Fixed room dividers and hanging room dividers

They may complet ely obscure as in floor t o ceiling dividers, or may allow sight t hrough as for
example when plant pot s are used t o divide areas

Uses

Houses, and ot her residences, use a room divider t o divide t he space more effect ively or as a
decorat ing focus point . There are many uses for a room divider including: dividing t he room,
adding privacy t o any space, hiding clut t er and increasing st orage and accent s t o t he room. Ot her
uses include adding color, redirect ing foot t raffic, creat ing a foyer, adding a desk front modest y
screen, creat ing coziness, or adding a decorat ive background.

Most commonly used in t he residence is a small room divider, somet imes called a folding shoji
screen. Shoji screens are usually t ri-fold walls. A shoji screen may also be used t o sect ion off
part of a bedroom or family room as an office.[3] Plant s,[4] bookshelves,[5] railings,[6] fireplaces,[7]
light fixt ures, and drapes have all been used t o effect ively creat e dist inct spaces in individuals
apart ment s and homes.

In schools or religious facilit ies, room dividers primarily are used t o creat e t emporary classrooms
for educat ion in large open rooms.[8][9] Since t he rooms were designed originally t o be open for
ot her purposes, t he most common t ype of room divider is a port able room divider on cast ers
which can easily be moved from place t o place. Aft er class, t he room divider is rolled back int o
it s st orage area for fut ure use.

Hot els and rest aurant s use t wo different t ypes of room dividers. Commonly, you will see floor-
t o-ceiling room dividers[10] in banquet halls and meet ing spaces. These fixed dividers can be used
t o divide a banquet room int o smaller facilit ies. In areas where room dividers need more flexibilit y,
hot els and rest aurant s might use port able part it ions similar t o t hose used in schools.

In offices, room dividers are t ypically more permanent in nat ure and at t ached direct ly t o t he floor.
These office cubicles room dividers allow t aking a large office space and breaking it int o quiet er
and more focused subdivided offices.[11]

Convent ion cent ers, by t heir very nat ure, are large facilit ies wit h wide open int ernal spaces.
Consequent ly, t hey oft en need t o be broken down int o smaller areas. The most common room
divider used in convent ion cent er is pipe and drape.[12] The convent ion cent er set s up frames
made of plast ic, met al, or wire t ubing. Fabric mat erial is t hen hung over t he frame t o creat e back
drops and hide ot her unsight ly places in addit ion t o creat ing mult iple subdivided rooms.

History

The folding room screens were found in China in t he 7t h cent ury where t hey were mainly used by
royalt y. They were very heavy and ornat e, and were not moved around. In t he 8t h cent ury, t he
Japanese began using light er, more port able room dividers for t ea ceremonies, religious event s
and out door processions. European t ravelers developed t heir own version of Asian screen
dividers using wood, leat her, silk, mirrors and decoupage. Folding room dividers are now used in
dwellings, hospit als, schools, rest aurant s, corporat e offices and convent ion cent ers.

See also

Folding screen

Notes

1. "Divider" (http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/divider) . Collins Dictionary.

Retrieved 2012-05-12.

2. "Divider" (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/room+divider) . The Free Dictionary By Farlex.

Retrieved 2012-05-12.
 3. Berner, Jeff: "The Joy of Working from Home", page 27. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1994.

4. Chiara, Joseph De, Panero, Julius, Zelnik, Martin: "Time-saver Standards for Interior Design
and Space Planning", page 1353. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2001.

5. Petrowski, Elaine Martin: "Design Ideas for Home Storage", page 92. Creative Homeowner,
2006.

6. Jefferis, Alan, Madsen, David A.: "Architectural Drafting and Design", page 479. Thomson
Delmar Learning, 2004.

7. Stickels, Karen, Walker, Jessie: "Design Ideas for Fireplaces", page 132. Creative
Homeowner, 2007.

8. Marilyn Pierce Dornbush, Sheryl K. Pruitt: "Teaching the Tiger", page 110. Hope Press, 1995.

9. Williams, Peter W.: "Houses of God", page 121. University of Illinois Press, 2000.

10. Pile, John, F.: "Interior Design", Page 417. H.N. Abrams, 1995.

11. Meel, Juriaan van: "The European Office", Page 81. 010 Publishers, 2000.

12. Hoyle, Leonard H., Dorf, David C., Jones, Thomas J. A.: "Managing Conventions and Group
Business", page 28. Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Motel Association, 1989.

References

Schmidt , Philip; Jessie Walker (2004). Decorating with Architectural Details. pp. 166–168.

Elliot t , Lynn; Lisa Lent (2007). The Smart Approach to Window Decor. p. 103.

Ambrose, James E.; Jeffrey E. Ollswang (1995). Simplified Design for Building Sound Countrol.
p. 80.

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