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As far as storage goes, coat closets are about as uninteresting as it gets. But when designers Kele Dobrinski and Christina Valencia of Colossus Mfg. were rethinking the entryway in Dobrinski’s parents’ Scottsdale, Arizona, home, they decided to give the overlooked space some love and turn it into a playful statement. And what’s more fun than a beaded curtain?
When it comes to these shimmering dividers, people typically fall on one side of the divide or the other. You either love them because you believe Britney Spears’s Oops!…I Did It Again album cover embodies everything that was great about the early 2000s or they make you think of getting tangled up in tacky restaurant bathrooms and cliché teen bedrooms. We were on the fence, too, until we realized how versatile they are.
Dobrinski and Valencia installed their Urban Outfitters curtain in place of an old door that swung in the wrong direction. “The closet actually gets used now,” says Valencia. A breezy partition, whether strung together with bits of bamboo or droplets of colorful crystals, creates a sense of privacy without blocking a ton of light. It lets you enter and exit rooms effortlessly (no knob turning involved). It can even double as art if you want to hang one on a blank wall. These five are a step in the right direction.
The Triple Dot
For Valencia and Dobrinski, elevating the front hall closet wasn’t just a matter of mounting this shapely screen over the door frame. They made the other side worth a peek too by painting the interior walls white and adding vintage coat hooks.
The Big Wave
This serpentine design by British brand Oliver Bonas is alluring as is. Just imagine how it moves when you walk through it.
The Beachy Beauty
This vintage mid-century style (likely made in the 1960s or ’70s, according to Chairish) still has all of its original beads and hardware, not to mention charm. Hang it in between the kitchen and dining room, and suddenly breakfast, lunch, and dinner will feel like a vacation.
The Perfect Picture
Turn a humdrum doorway into the best view in the house by suspending this sunset scene.
The Ombré Drape
Measuring 6-by-6-feet, there are a lot of beads that went into this 78-string curtain (which explains why the makers called it their most ambitious ready-made piece to date). Your next room divider isn’t a folding screen or a bulky shelf—it’s a crafty shade made of the stuff you used to make friendship bracelets with.
See more stories like this: ’70s Style Is Alive and Well in Urban Outfitters’s Newest Collection 11 Room Divider Ideas That Are Perfect for Small Spaces Our 4 Favorite Under-the-Radar Trends in Chairish’s Fall Report