room divider

Alison’s office and the kitchen are on the top floor of the building. The two spaces are divided by a metal-and-glass sliding door.Tropical-themed wallpaper sets the tone for the room. Alison chose it because it reminds her of the Beverly Hills Hotel, which she fell in love with on a trip to Southern California when she was just a little girl. Matca Studio architects tried to preserve the original functions of the apartment’s rooms as much as possible. Alison’s office, which the previous owners had used as a dining room, is one of the spaces that was reinvented. The pink chair is from a flea market. The stall’s owner explained that it had been the teacher’s chair at a school. Alison restored and repainted it.Wallpaper: La Havane, Nobilis; coffee table: Chele, Atipico

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This pulled-back shot shows how the slatted wall separates the dining and kitchen space visually from the aqua front door. Behind it, you can just see the outline of the staircase leading to the next level.

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1. Create an entryway. Lots of homebuyers prefer an open floor plan, but it’s not ideal, for privacy reasons, to have the whole house visible from the front door. A slatted wall can create privacy, safety, and a sense of surprise. Giving guests a peek (through the slats) of rooms beyond the entry will intrigue them and make them want to explore further. But the barrier will also cause visitors to think twice about passing these thresholds into your personal space, therefore helping to create privacy.

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3. Replace your banister. Using a wooden slat wall is a great way to camouflage stairs or, conversely, to show them off. Using thin slats with wider spacing, as seen in this photo, creates an interesting focal point and also increases safety. Older row homes often have a skylight above the stairs, and using a slat wall instead of a solid wall allows more light to flow from the skylight into the lower rooms. The designer of this home in Rome used open stair risers along with airy blond wood slats for a Scandinavian-modern look.

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4. Divide a large room. Whether you have an overwhelmingly large great room, or you live in a one-room apartment, slat walls can separate spaces and help define areas. In this home in Barcelona, Spain, a wooden screen separates the dining space from the kitchen, while allowing the chef to still see and hear guests. The screen also adds an interesting texture to both spaces, giving the home a Zen-bohemian vibe.

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