No Wall, No Worries: 7 Room Divider Ideas 

You don’t need to know how to install drywall to split up a large room. With a little creativity, it’s easy to divide a room without a wall. Or, redefine a space that needs a wall using items you may already have around the house, like dressers and buffets. Depending on your needs, these room divider ideas from us at Pottery Barn can even help you achieve a small wall or a longer wall that covers several feet of floor space.

A Double-Duty Wall

Who says you have to keep a shelf against a wall? Instead, make yours into a wall by placing it where you need a dividing line. With a shelving unit, you can make a wall of greenery by filling it with leafy house plants. If your thumb is less than green, fill an open shelving unit with baskets and bins to create a semi-solid divider. Or, take two taller bookcases and put them back to back where you need to create a wall, and you’ll have a double-width barrier. 

A Draped Wall

Soften your space with a wall of drapery. If you have a large room that needs added boundaries, mount a curtain rod or a steel cable system to the ceiling. Add opaque drapery for privacy, or sheer for a hint of privacy while allowing light to filter through. For long rooms, the steel cable system gives you plenty of leeway to add enough drapery to close any gaps. 

A Repurposed Wall

Give your old media units, unused bureaus or storage cabinets new life by turning them into sturdy, functional walls. You don’t need to find a new space for that media unit now that you have a new media center for your flat screen. That old hutch can become a makeshift room partition for a home entryway that doesn’t have a vestibule. The same goes with a bureau painted to match your decor. Decide which way you want the furniture turned to access storage. Then, conceal the back of the piece with stapled fabric, chalkboard or magnetic paint, hanging wall baskets, blackboard paint or corkboard to turn your wall into a front-to-back organization system.

A Mirrored Wall

If you’re looking for a dramatic and elegant solution, take three or more lightweight floor mirrors and connect them with hinges. For safety, put the mirrors on a floor mirror stand and secure one side of the wall of mirrors to the perpendicular wall. Mount a steel cable wire system to your ceiling and attach its clips to the tops of the mirrors for stability. 

A Rolling Wall

One of the easiest hacks for making an indoor or outdoor room divider is taking lightweight louvered doors and putting each one on casters. Then, hinge the doors together and attach the doors to a mounting strip you’ve screwed to the perpendicular wall. Add a door handle on the last door so you can push and pull the wall open and closed when you need it. This idea works well in outdoor rooms or near your pool to partition off a shower or dressing room area.

A Lighted Wall

There’s so much you can do with twinkling lights and pre-lit branches to create a room divider. Though it’s a semi-private partition, a lighted divider is festive and dramatic. Wrap strings of lights around it or dazzle your drapery divider by hanging multiple 6' light strings from it. Another idea is to create three or more floor-to-ceiling wood frames hinged together. Staple or nail faux tree branches or tall, thick sticks of bamboo to create a screen in the open spaces of the frame, and then wrap branches in white lights. Another way to achieve this look is to make a long wooden base the length of a wall you’d like to create. Secure tall, thick tree branches or bamboo to the base, wrap it with lights and plug the lights in.

An Artistic Wall

Take an extra-large artist’s canvas and wrap it with beautiful fabric to match your decor. Hang it from the ceiling by a decorative chain on each side for stability. Make as many as you’d like to create a divider in the size you need. Use fabric adhesive to cover the front of the canvas, and staple the fabric stretched taut on the back frame for a seamless look. Do the same using canvases that are already printed with designs. Hide the back by stapling fabric across it to show on the other side.