Wall Coverings

Room dividers do so much more than just divide rooms, and they are used in more places than just abodes and apartments.  Contemporary dividers serve various purposes for many people.  Cubicles in corporate office space are divided by systems of sound proof dividers so that many people can concentrate in 1 room without distracting one another.  Musicians and their technical assistants use acoustic dividers to create an area where the technical professionals can work and communicate without shouting above the noise of the concert or rehearsal.  Curtain dividers, too, are not just to hang in your bedroom doorway. Hospitals use systems of curtain dividers to offer privacy to patients in the emergency room or who are staying in semi-private rooms. Of course, both of these stylish separators have their own worthy places in the residence as well.

Any musician or sound techniciansound technician or musician will tell you that cloth absorbs sound.  A room surrounded by cement walls, a high ceiling, and linoleum floors gives sound waves every chance to travel around.  That is how you get a thin, tinny sound with a lot of echo and reverberation.  As a result, recording studios have carpeting on the floors and sound absorbing material on the walls and ceiling.  Room partitions made with similar materials are used to filter noise so the technical staff can work and talk to one another.  The idea is that if the material absorbs sound waves, it reduces the amount of noise that moves through the contemporary partition.  The idea is correct.

These dividers serve the same basic function on the floor of an office “bullpen,” which is the slang term for a large room full of cubicles, separated only by sound proof room dividers, only six or 7 feet tall.  The technology is sound because while staffers can hear one another, the sound is muffled and is not at a level that would keep everyone else from being able to work effectively, even when everyone in the room is on the telephone.

At home, an soundproof divider is ideal if there a musician in the house or if there is a group of fifth grade boys playing video games or girls laughing over a movie and a pizza pie.  The sound is absorbed by the screen, and Mom can still hear herself think.  In addition, the musician in this example can rehearse more effectively because the reverberations and feedback are absorbed also, and he can hear a cleaner version of his own sound.

Curtain dividers have been found to be the most efficient manner to provide privacy for their patients.  The curtain slides along a track suspended from the ceiling and a chain is hemmed into the bottom of the curtain to reduce unwanted movement and to encourage the chain to hang straight down.  Similar drapes can be found on industrial floors, often made of vinyl or a pliable plastic, with a transparent plastic window around the top half so people can see in and out of the sequestered area. 

At home, curtain separators give a room a breezy feel, and there are interminable options of fabric designs, colors, and textures.  Curtain separators may also be made of beads, which sparkle, and may even make a picture when they hang straight.