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Hi all. I've been scheming about how to solve the problem of having the weirdest master bedroom I've ever seen. In this long and ample room, one end functions as a normal bedroom. At the other end is a vanity/sink area, next to a pocket door that leads to the toilet/shower room. I've come to terms with having the sink in my bedroom, but the really odd part of this room is that a big, honkin' jacuzzi tub sits right in the bedroom. But wait, there's more! It has mirrors on 2 sides and on the ceiling, a crystal chandelier, and a skylight above. I've had it hidden by curtains that hang from the ceiling, but I'm looking for something more permanent. I don't want to get rid of the tub because it's virtually new and really very nice to use now and then.
Here's a room that inspired me. The screen is made of cedar and Synskin - a fiberglass rice paper material:
Here's the pertinent section of the floorplan. There is a wall just above the tub that divides it from the shower room, and the vanity is just above and to the left of the entry door (I've been struggling to get this in post-able format - sorry it's a bit sketchy and not to scale)
So I was toying with the idea of building a wall of built-insthat faces the bed, using Hallurum pantries on capita legs. (This end of the house can go more modern, although I did just create a very traditional kitchen, as you may know.) About half of the wall would rest against another wall that surrounds the tub, but one of the pantries would be free-standing. The Ikeans tell me I can do that with the 24" deep cabinets. If I do this pantry wall, the partition would need to extend from the back corner of the pantry about 6-7 feet.
I want the partition to let some light through because of the skylight that will be behind it. The ceiling is sloped, and is about 90" at the lowest point. I'd use the shorter pantries and they wouldn't hit the ceiling. I'm thinking I'd need to go with the "intentionally open at the top" look, so it doesn't look like I'm trying to do a makeshift wall.
I'd liketo achieve something that looks a bit like the inspiration room without commissioning an expensive shoji screen, and my brother can help me by creating some sort of frame/structure where I can mount whatever it is I use. If I turn him loose on building that exact screen, it will get really expensive because he's a perfectionist. It doesn't have to be perfect, because the back side won't show except to the person bathing. It does have to be cheap!
Here are some wacky ideas I've had for a DIY solution:
1. buy 2 or 3 unfinished wood screen doors, remove the screens, stain them dark,and install the Synskin stuff that was used in the inspiration room
2. buy a wooden garage door that has windows along the top, and figure out a way to make it stand up straight
3. find 2 or 3 vintage french doors, treat the panes with some sort of rice paper film or wavy glass film, and figure out how to attach them to a frame of some sort.
Does anyone have thoughts on (a) whether those pantries would work well in this plan, (b) whether any of my ideas seem viable and (c) other ideas I should consider?
Kathy, the wall of pantries sounds really cool. As far as the partition goes, I think ideas 1 and 3 would probably work, but (around here, at least) wooden garage doors are pretty pricey.
Some other ideas:
A) I've seen in a fabric store (although this was a while back, when I was lookin for decorative screens for a previous apartment) unfinished wood room divider/screens designed for the customer to paint or stain themselves, then add their own fabric panels (or ricepaper). I'm not sure if this type of thing would be tall enough for your purposes, but it might be worth looking into.
B) What about hanging window frames from the ceiling (you could staple rice paper blinds to the Jacuzzi-facing side, or if you've got windows with glass in them, put the rice paper-esque. film over the glass), over a row of short bookcases.
Hmm... that's a really great inspiration photo. I'll keep thinking on it.
This is probably more than you wanted to spend, but I thought either of these doors would look great (without the handles, of course) as your room partition:
I think clicking on the link automatically brings up the oak doors, but they also have medium brown, which is what's pictured above. (At least, it's what's pictured above if I inserted the pictures correctly -- first time I've tried this!)
I used full height Billy bookcases with the upper extension as a fake wall. You could certainly use a sheet of plexi for the back of the extension unit to let light through, and use plexi for part of the back of the bookcase. That would give you some pretty display space and some storage. There are glass shelves available, and all kinds of lighting options. The solid doors are half the height of the bookcase, so they would enclose the lower portion for extra storage.
Billy comes in white, birch, black and oak finishes. The tall unit is 79 inches high, the height extension is almost 14 inches on top of that. Mine are about 2 inches below the ceiling.
I love the shoji screen idea! I think that, based on the pattern you chose for the lattice, you could make something that looks Asian inspired, or perhaps something different like a Craftsman look. I found this book on building your own shoji screens doing a Google search:
If you find the book and take a peek at it, maybe you or your brother (or somebody less perfectionistic!) could build the screens for you. I'm sure it would be less than ordering from the places I saw online ::shudder::
I think the Hallarum pantries or the Billy bookcases suggested by Eva would work beautifully. I think I like the idea of the bookcases better, if they will fit. You could use plexi behind the open sections as Eva suggested, or you could use Synskin to match the screens. If you matched the finish of the screens to the bookcases, the whole thing would look very "finished" and built in, in my opinion.
Hmmm, Jen's idea about window frames over bookcases also sounds interesting. Or maybe a combo of both ideas: shoji screens over bookcases? If you have room, you could use that as the "backdrop" for a pretty little sitting area at the entryway.
That's jsut my 2 cents, but I know someone will come up with something!
jen - I've looked at the fabric store screens and always wished they were taller and more substantial. I love your windows over short bookcases idea. It gave me the incentive to take a little trip today to the 2 big home demolition salvage stores in Seattle today, and it was quite interesting. I found a perfect, huge, 32-pane window for $45, and I was thrilled because it was stained wood finish on the side I could see. When I wrestled my way in to look at the back, though, it turned out to be painted. Nothing against shabby chic, but I don't relish the idea of stripping lead paint. Such a disappointment. I also found a few sets of unpainted wooden doors - 1 set with full glass and the other with glass panes on the top half. They would work with the rice paper film - thanks for that link. And thanks for the idea of the Hoppen doors - they aren't outrageously expensive, and they really are exactly the look I want. I'll have to see if I can match them to cabinets that would form the other side of the L.
eva - I've considered Billy a hundred times, and have always come back to worrying about what I would do to make them free-standing, since there's no wall to lean on. That's why I arrived at this idea of some sort of thin,framed divider.Did you attach yours to the ceiling? Does it feel secure? It would be really neat if I could use plexi as part of the back of the bookcase to let the light in, and backlight whatever I put on the shelves.
emmy - thanks for the link to the book. They also have an incredibly good price for rice paper - makes me want to make something else out of it! I'll think about building the screens, but I worry about taking up yet another hobby! Great idea about screens over bookcases - that might be less expensive than full screens, because lots of places sell smaller versions that wouldn't otherwise be suitable.
Kathy, mine are freestanding (although on a level wood floor, can't speak as to carpeted surface) and ganged together (used some of the extra ganging screw doohickeys that came with the kitchen cabs). They aren't going anywhere. You could probably attach them to the ceiling, because the top shelf of the height extender is 3/4 inch thick, but you would have to do it so it wouldn't be obtrusive, you'd need fairly long bolts (probably 4 inches) to get through the shelf, two inch gap and into the joist.
What's your floor made out of? I've seen some fabulous room dividers made up of picture frames joined together with hooks and eyebolts and hung from the ceiling, attached to the floor so they didn't swing around. You could certainly do rice paper in glass frames.
Eva - The floor is carpet, and I'd rather not rip it out, so I'm thinking bookshelves would need some kind of anchor at the top. I did notice Ikea has a room divider with a ceiling attachment system, but I really like it in a darker wood. It would work perfectly with the rice paper attached to the back of the shelves, though. They also have it in a 47" tall version if I wanted to put it on top of some birch base cabinets for more useful storage.
Cool idea re picture frames - I was looking at window frames all day today, but forgot to consider picture frames. As with any project, I want it done NOW, but this is definitely one that should percolate over time. I need to hit the thrift stores and look for picture frames!
a big, honkin' jacuzzi tub sits right in the bedroom. But wait, there's more! It has mirrors on 2 sides and on the ceiling
Hmmm, I'm tempted to say you could stop fighting it and just get a huge heart shaped bed
but seriously, I love the spa/zen liking feeling of your inspiration photo. What about using ikea's kvardrant (sp??) curtain rail system with panels like these, called anno amorf?
Oh yeah, with a red faux fur bedspread, right? I think the woman who sold me the house fancied herself as living quite the Vegas lifestyle. The house had pink and brocade in every single room!
I definitely have to check out kvadrant. They have a triple rail, which means I could do a by-pass system of panels. I like the anno amorf (does that mean "year of transforming love"?) but I am really curious to see if I could suspend something heavier from the rail - like a light wood frame + shoji screen material.
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look great (without the handles, of course) as your room partition:
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