A folding screen is useful for dividing space, but it can do so much more.
“It really is a great way to bring in scale, texture, artistry or a decorative moment,†said Thom Filicia, the New York-based interior designer.
Screens, he noted, are essentially pop-up architecture.
Mr. Filicia uses them to separate various seating areas in one big space, or to soften the corners of a room. He uses them to hide ugly heating and air-conditioning equipment, and to frame or emphasize furniture, mirrors and art. And he has used them to create privacy in glass-walled apartments.
While room dividers were once de rigueur in professionally designed interiors, they are a little less common today. But Mr. Filicia thinks they’re due for a pandemic-driven comeback.
“Now that everyone’s doing home offices, I think screens are really going to go through a renaissance,†he said, because they’re an ideal way to create some physical separation between work and leisure. “Our personal spaces are becoming more multifunctional.â€
Betty Room Divider Screen
Upholstered screen with panels of different sizes
$640 at ABC Carpet & Home: 646-602-3101 or abchome.com
Blink Screen
Steel screen with mirrored panels by Yabu Pushelberg
$2,200 at Stellar Works: 646-606-3760 or stellarworks.com
Roma Room Divider Screen
Iron screen with woven banana-leaf panels
$349 at Urban Outfitters: 800-282-2200 or urbanoutfitters.com
Anaise Cane Room Divider Screen
Black-stained wood-and-cane screen with arched panels
$549 at Crate & Barrel: 800-967-6696 or crateandbarrel.com
Venier Screen
Leather-and-metal screen by Sebastian Herkner
About $7,700 at 1stdibs: 1stdibs.com
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