How to Divide a Room With Shoji

Organize the room into two separate parts. The idea is to create a room within a room, with clear delineation between the two spaces. Move furniture into distinct conversation areas if the room is used for entertaining. For a bedroom, you can portion off a sleeping area from a sitting or dressing area.

Measure the area of the room that you wish to divide. If you want to divide the entire width of the room, you will need more than one shoji screen. While sizes vary, most screens feature either three or four panels that are from 1 to 2 feet in width. The entire width of a shoji screen is generally around 6 to 8 feet. Measure your room's width and length and use this calculation to determine how many screens you will need.

Place painted or finished wood panels underneath the screens if you have thick carpeting to prevent the shoji screens from tipping over. The panels should be slightly wider than the depth of the screen. If you have wood floors or low-pile carpeting, you may omit this step.

Place your shoji screens, starting close to the wall where you want to divide the space. The shoji screen should not be flush with the wall, but should bend in towards the area you are dividing to create an intimate feel and to increase the feeling of demarcation.