Guest bedroom conversion ideas needed

[msr107]

I need ideas! I have a seldom used living room that I would like to use as a guest bedroom. It is enclosed on three sides and opens onto the foyer. I'm planning on new furniture such as a sofa bed and 2 upholstered chairs. The problem is that I would like to give my guests some privacy and the area that opens onto the foyer is pretty wide (16 feet) with high (14') ceilings. I thought of a room divider or screen but it would not be big enough (at least the ones I've seen ready made). My dh is a handyman (woodwork mostly) and would make something for me but I don't know what. Any ideas would be appreciated!
Mari

[rainequilts]

I've seen room dividers made from old doors. Maybe you could find a treasure during a trip to the salvage yard.

[msr107]

Hello Rainequilts,

Thanks for the suggestion. I really hadn't thought of using doors but I guess something like that would work. Our living room is kind of formal and I hope to keep the same feel when we redecorate.

Mari

[rainequilts]

Hi Mari,

Would large shutters work, or bi-fold doors? The bi-fold doors can be either louvered or half raised panel/half louvered.

[msr107]

Hi Rainequilts,

I do like the idea of the bifold shutters. We've seen some of these doors at Home Depot and my only hesitation is that I don't want it to look too much like a closet door ( ). We're still looking...
Thanks for your input! Mari

[preacherswife]

What about pocket doors? The kind that slide into the wall out the way?

[navywife]

I was watching one of the craft shows a while back and they showed how to make a screen out of old shutters. They used "Piano hinges"(they were almost the entire length of the shutters) to hold the shutters together. One of my friends took it a step farther and removed the slats and replaced it with either glass or plexiglass that she painted to look like stained glass. They were very decorative and could be folded out of the way when not in use.

[mrsbosse]

Another suggestion, if you don't want doors, since it's such a large opening, would be drapes.

Have you ever seen Christoper Lowell on the Discovery channel?
He loves to use drapes in doorways. The could be pulled back to each side and then closed when you have a guest visiting.

[msr107]

Hi All,
Great ideas! I thought about the fabric panels on each side of the opening (I love many of Christopher Lowell's ideas!) but in our house it would look too "frou-frou" lol and our style is more country formal. I'm not crazy about it for us... We've pretty much decided to go with the bifold shutters or something along these lines. Thanks & I appreciate everyone's suggestions-

Mari

[jen143]

You could get a wooden dowel and have your hubby mount it like a curtain rod and hang draperies on it. When it's used as a guest room, close the draperies, and when it's not, you can tie back the drapes and it will frame the door way and separate the room without closing it off. Just a thought.