ADVICE

Reader's question: 

"In my apartment, the bedroom door opens into the living room. The door is in the middle of the wall and on the left, there is a credenza and on the right a TV stand. I am thinking of placing something like a panel in front of the door or building a freestanding drywall room divider. What do you think?" 

Our answer:

In general, we think that you should opt for an elegant and light solution, with some degree of transparency instead of placing a solid obstacle, like a drywall, in front of the door. For example, with a perforated vertical panel you'll manage to both camouflage the door and to add an attractive and artistic element into the living room. 

Look at the two solutions below:

• 1st example: A perforated panel suspended from the ceiling 

You can hang from the ceiling two stainless steel tubes and then fix on those tubes a slim perforated panel, made from wood veneer or metal. In front of the door, you should keep an empty space of 1 meter width. This hanging screen will be a design element that successfully camouflage the door. 

• 2nd example: A floor-to-ceiling room divider 

You can opt for a floor-to-ceiling panel that will function as a room divider. However the surface it is not necessary to be solid but rather with random holes on it, holes of different shapes and sizes (circle holes, square holes, etc). The panel can be wood, mdf, gypsum board, metal, acrylic, etc painted with vivid colors. The large holes on the surfaces are usually created with laser cutting machines.