How to Use Bookshelves to Divide a Room

Creating your own room divider allows you to not only rearrange your décor and create a new living area on a low budget, it’s also a way of making room for more storage and display space. Putting two bookcases back to back makes a movable divider that can be shifted to create larger or more intimate spaces with relative ease and turns your books--or any other knick knacks you may display--into readily accessible conversation pieces.

Things You'll Need

• 2 matching bookcases

Instructions

1. Select two matching bookcases that sit flush with the floor. They should be of a width that allows either four feet of walking room on either side of the cases (if you’ll place them in the center of the room) or six feet of walking room on one side of the bookcases (if you plan to place them against a long wall, perpendicular to said wall). The rest of the design choices--open or closed shelving, tall or short, type of wood, number of shelves--is purely up to your personal preference.

2. Place the bookshelves either in the middle of the room, parallel to one set of walls and perpendicular to the other or perpendicular to one long wall with the sides set flush to the wall. This effectively divides the room.

3. Drape an attractive runner or scarf across the top of the bookshelves, if you so desire, to dress them up.

4. Display not just books on the shelves but also knick knacks, flowers, plants, picture frames and other decorative items on the top shelf or interspersed with books on the lower shelves.

Tips & Warnings

• You can round out the look of your bookcase room divider by placing a small end table or chair against one end (if the bookcases are up against a wall) or both ends (if in the center of the room). Just make sure that there is plenty of walking space to move between the two spaces you have created.

References

• NY Times: Room to Improve
• HomeLife: Room Divider Ideas