TG, Birmingham
Space and privacy are the bane of any studio design. My first home was a studio. At first it feels liberating, but very soon practical issues of privacy rear their ugly head. Though furniture naturally divides the space, an upright screen helps to delineate the room clearly.
Look at partitioning off the sleeping area by creating floaty walls by hanging extravagant amounts of lightweight muslin or voile from tension wire. Materials are available from most haberdashers, and you can either sew with metal eyelets, or use crocodile clips from Ikea (0845 355 1141, www.ikea.co.uk). For a sturdy look that also doubles up as a storage unit, try Habitat (0845 601 0740, www.habitat.net), which has a selection of modular shelves that range from retro to chrome-plated wire constructions and more open grid wooden shelving on casters in beech and walnut veneers. Prices start from £229 for Manto in birch. Designer Tom Dixon (www.tomdixon.net) has an extendable screen system, which comes in a kit form with nine coloured polyester slats available in blue, lime and grey. It measures 1.8m high and costs £225 per metre.
Depending on your taste, you could even go for a screen modelled on the traditional Japanese panelled wall, available in freestanding and fixed form, from Draks (01869 232 989, www.draksonline.co.uk). The self-standing version folds back in a concertina style. The fixed version has panels on a sliding track, thereby creating a room divider. The framework is available in aluminium or wood, with different inserts made from opaque acrylic and sandblasted glass. Each piece is custom-made and prices start from £427 for a wood frame and opaque acrylic inserts.
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Andrea Maflin is an interior designer based in London