Make Your Own Fabric Room Divider

Making your own fabric room divider is straightforward, and it doesn’t require a lot of materials. You can find what you need free or cheap, or you may already have some supplies on hand. No prior do-it-yourself building experience is needed for this project. Here are some guidelines for how you can make one in a few hours or less:

Materials for Making a Fabric Room Divider

A fabric room divider consists of wood panels and fabric, as well as hinges to fold the divider as needed. You can build three, four or six panels. The materials you’ll need are:

• Pre-cut maple or pine wood that match the height and width you want for the divider
• Fabric
• Butt hinges
• Nails
• Wood stain or paint to finish the panels you build

You can also convert an old room divider that you find at a thrift store or yard sale in to a fabric room divider, so that you don’t have to build one from scratch.

Tools You’ll Need

There are specific tools that you’ll need to finish this project. Some of these you can ask your landlord or property manager to lend to you, because it’s not worth buying for just this project. These include:

• Staple gun
• Hot glue gun
• Sander

You’ll need a saw if you want to cut your own wood pieces, and that can be difficult to obtain or accomplish in many apartment settings. It’s better to have it cut for you at a lumber store or a home improvement center.

Fabric Selection

The choice of fabric plays a role in how often you’ll need to take it down and wash it, and how well it can endure heat and humidity in your apartment. Heavy duty fabric works best. Stay away from fabric that will easily rip, such as sheer, silk or linen. Try to select textures and colors that match your apartment decor, because room dividers do become a focal point in the room.

Setup

Creating a fabric room divider is as simple as it looks. Stretch the fabric over the panels and staple them using a staple gun. If you really want to be creative, use two different types of fabric. One fabric can be a color and style that matches the decor of the area it faces, and the other can be a completely different design and fabric choice to match the area it faces. An easier project would be to keep the same fabric on both sides.

Once the fabric is stapled on to the wood, attach the panels with hinges. Look at how your door hangs on the wall to see how to install a hinge, or check websites on how to install hinges. You can substitute liquid nails for regular nails, but there’s a risk of it getting messy, and you may ruin the fabric. Regular nails work best for attaching the panels to make a room divider.

Before you order a fabric room divider, which may cost over $100, consider making your own for considerably less. You’ll enjoy it more than a store bought one.