Love It/Hate It: Room Divider Curtains

A privacy curtain turns this area into its own room.

The new color palette combines a medley of hues, including mustard, mint, rusty orange, and lavender. The bathroom floor, tiled with oversized flowers, is paired with a plaid shower curtain. The client encouraged the firm to stretch here: “I think we originally had something with a bit less color, but she was always pushing us,” says Merrill. “It was so fun.”

Graham Hill, a sustainability advocate whose TED talks have delved into the benefits of living small, put his own lessons into practice at his 350-square-foot apartment, which he shares with his partner and two dogs. Quick transitions, like drawing the FilzFelt curtain, convert the living space into a bedroom.

A chain curtain from Cascade Coil separates the kitchen without interrupting sightlines or sunlight. “When you light the outside brighter than the inside at night, it becomes more opaque,” says Mark. Bulthaup cabinetry joins appliances by Gaggenau and Miele.

Taking inspiration from train cabins, the guest bed lifts to reveal a bathtub. Garlick made the mechanism using sailboat hardware. The velvet curtain is by Restoration Hardware and the tile is from Stone Tile.

In the living room: the theatrical heavy curtain is made of Grazia and co Feel acoustic drapery. The furnishings are also by Grazia and co and include the HARVEY curved arm sofa, HARVEY armchair and IVY coffee table.

A curtain slides across for privacy.

AbleNook is a Florida-based prefabricated, flat-pack home kit made from aircraft-grade aluminum framing and structural insulated panels (SIPs). Although it started out as an architecture school project, it was later patented through the University of South Florida and makes for an affordable ADU starting at $75,000. Use it as a main residence, eco-friendly second home, or Airbnb. They’re also designed to be potential disaster relief, as they’re ready for just about any terrain or weather conditions, including Florida’s hurricane winds. It’s also expandable to accommodate a range of sizes.

Original acrylic screens, which close off the kitchen and line the floor-to-ceiling windows, are a signature design element. “We took almost museum-quality care of them,” says Lee.

In an effort to maximize space, the architects skipped bulky walls, instead utilizing curtains on curved tracks that allow the residents to manipulate the interiors on a whim.