Room dividers are fantastic ways to create rooms in large spaces when you need an extra wall. You can place them almost anywhere and allow them to create a space that is private and cozy. However, the issue that frustrates people, is room dividers often fall over and shift over time.
If you are more of a creative person, you can most likely find even more creative ways to anchor your divider or create a divider that is unlike any other. However, the question of whether to anchor it or not will always be a factor, no matter what kind of divider you choose to install.
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Anchoring Room Dividers
Your room divider will most likely need to be stabilized or anchored in some way to help prevent it from falling down or shifting across the floor. There are a few creative ways to stabilize dividers that don’t require you to put a hole in the wall, but sometimes using an anchor and nails is the only way.
Anchoring a room divider can solve almost every problem you have with it. You can anchor in ways such as:
- Using furniture to stabilize
- Hang the divider
- Use anchor brackets
- Attach it to a wall
While you don’t want the room dividers to look tacky, you also need to keep them in the place they belong. Usually, dividers have specific anchors that are made for their brand and these will always look the best, but if it is between no anchor and looking a bit odd, it’s best to use anything you can find.
Using Furniture To Stabilize
If your room divider isn’t incredibly heavy or wobbly, you can usually place furniture strategically around it to help stabilize it. The back of a bed or couch can help the divider stay in place or simply become more stable.
If you have the room, you can use a piece of furniture on each side to lock the divider into place and create a more legitimate wall. This will create a separate room without needing to damage the wall or ceiling in any way.
(Source: Do It Yourself)
Make It A Hanging Divider
Some dividers and made to attach to curtain rods you install across your ceiling, you can usually make most dividers into a hanging one, and adding extra connector rings can give you the stabilization you need.
Using a handing divider usually causes the side to never truly touch the wall so it doesn’t fully divide the room, you can attach a small anchor or nail one side into the wall so it is a permanent fixture on that side.
Hanging divers also allow you to push them to the side if you don’t need to use them at that moment. The curtain rod prived a way to slide the divider across the room until it folds up in itself. This can give you more entertaining space during the day and a separate sleeping area at night.
(Source: Home Guides, The Spruce)
Attach Divider To A Wall
No matter if you have a hanging divider or one that sits on the floor, you can attach it to the wall on one side. This will allow you to fold it in, or put it out without it coming away from the wall and creating a space.
You can either use anchors that are made for your specific divider, you simply attach it to the wall using 3m strips or a nail through the divider. If you have a hanging divider you can use string or yarm and feed it through the divider and attach it to a wooden dowel or the wall.
If you hang a wooden dowel from the ceiling, you can attach rings to it and feed the yarn through that as well as the divider. This can create a textured piece while also serving as an anchor.
Use Stabilizing Brackets
You can find stabilizing brackets in any hardware store that can be used for a huge list of items. Chances are, your divider with has specific brackets that they want you to use, but you might be able to find something similar for cheaper.
In all reality, the stabilizing brackets they want you to use are going to look the best with everything, but if you can find some similar in size and color, you should be just fine.
Do Room Dividers Fall Over?
Room dividers can fall over, and if not put upright, it can happen quite often. Any room dividers that sit on the floor without any anchors or wall attachments can fall over quite frequently if they are not secured or anchored properly.
However, if you were to have a hanging divider that is suspended from the ceiling, those are much less likely to fall as long as they are hung properly. They are already going to be anchored into the ceiling for safety, so if they fell it would most likely be due to an installation error.
The good news is, most room dividers are not heavy enough to harm anyone or damage anything in a room. If your divider is heavy enough to do damage when it falls, anchoring it should not be a question, it should be done without hesitation to prevent accidents from occuring.
Final Thoughts
Room Dividers can be great additions to any space if you want to add some dimension or separate some spaces. This would be great for an office space in an open floor plan, or a bedroom in a studio apartment.
No matter what you are using the room divider for, you want to ensure it is helpful and doesn’t move too much. Anchoring a divider is really the only way to ensure it doesn’t move or shift, but you can also use furniture to stabilize it if you need to.