Hi AT,
I need a divider for my small studio space and love DWR's Cubits shelving, and was wondering if you had any suggestions for something with similar translucent quality? Ikea has their Expedit shelves, but the wood makes it look very heavy and would make the room feel even smaller...help!
Thanks,
saintmims
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Hi saintmims,
You didn't say whether storage was a requirement or whether dividing the room without creating a heavy barricade-like feeling is your most important concern. If you need both storage and translucency, Cubits is probably your best bet, because as far as we can tell, it's a unique product. But if you'll settle for a room divider that lets light pass through we can suggest a couple of other good options, one a cheap DIY, the other one fairly pricey, though possibly still cheaper than a wall of Cubits.
The pricey option is Stephanie Forsythe & Todd MacAllen's expanding paper softwall, which can curve around your bed to separate it from the living area. Softwall accordians down into something so small you can store it in your closet when it's not in use.
The cheaper option is to hang a scrim-like curtain using either hospital track (attached to the ceiling) or tension wire and turnbuckles attached to the walls. Maxwelll did a very detailed how-to on the tension wire trick, complete with slideshow, in 2004. You can read it here ("How to hang curtain across any space").
Anyone else?
I completely empathize with this challenge - but wonder if a translucent storage room divider is really the right bet for you? I find that the storage part adds so much visual noise to the room, not a great effect given your desire not to make the space seem smaller.
I'd go for a soft curtain, as lisa suggests, to separate the bed from the living space visually, but still keeping things light and airy, and install shelving in your entryway (or the hall on the way to the bath) instead to solve the storage problem. That way you also take up less of a footprint in the living area for the same square footage of storage!
How about one of those cube bookshelves without a back? That is obviously see through. Often comes on casters.
I believe what you want (for your small space) is impossible. Even if you did buy the Cubit system to use as a divider, as soon as you filled it up, it would seem a thick a mass as a regular bookshelf divider. Instead, stick to finding a translucent or light divider.
Look into greenhouse panels. They're cheap, light, architectural and rigid.
Check here: http://www.farmwholesale.com/panels.php3
There are a million things you could do with it. If you want a floating divider, hang it from wires. If you want a more solid feel, mount it to the back of low console.
Personally, I think it's very contemporary and clean. It gives you the look of the Cubits without the cost. To add more interest, look into applied vinyls or aluminum framing.
Another option is the STOLMEN system at IKEA. You could use a low unit for storage and stretching a translucent fabric for privacy. However, I think it may be a bit "overexposed". Greenhouse panels are still unique and unusual.
Good luck.
Tien has a point. Unless you plan to fill your cubit with translucent items, its going to feel as solid as a regular shelving system by the time you stock it. The stolmen idea is a good one. There is no reason you couldn't use lower storage units and intall a piece of custom cut translucent plexi above them to act as a screen. 1stdibs.com had some translucent room dividers - just put translucent lucite into the search on the site and you should find them. They seem like they might the right idea in terms of a room divider and its a ready made solution. They are a little expensive ($450 per divider) but you could probably mount them on some low storage so that you had a bit of storage at the base and the rest of the unit was a screen.
Tien - I was just helping a friend brainstorm cheap dividers. Greenhouse panels is an interesting idea. I'd like to see how it works in a room. Do you have or can you point me to any pictures?
mi.jo,
Here's a gallery somewhere that used multiwall sheets for various applications.
Any how, I've seen applications where it was used as interior glazing instead of the glass. It turned out beautifully and was more affordable (Lexan isn't the only one that produces a multiwall double panel).
http://www.polygal.com/HTMLs/article_list2.aspx?C2009=736&BSP=650&BSS3=736
Since it got cut off, just go to www.polygal.com and go to the gallery.
There's a new site for semi-translucent fabric art. You can even have the image printed with a mirrored style so ithe image shows on both sides but a small amount of light still penetrates through to give it a glowing quality. For more glow--put an up light beneath the hanging and you will have a softly lit piece of art that also divides your space. Good luck! http://www.anandasoup.com/store
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