How to Hang Curtains to Divide a Room Without Making a Hole

Things You'll Need

Tension rods
Curtains
Bookcase
Rolling clothing rack

Get a tension rod like you'd use in the shower to hang your curtains.

Divider curtains allow you to split up a small room or studio to create some privacy or to create separate activity spaces. However, if you're renting a house or apartment, you may not be allowed to make holes in the walls. This doesn't mean that you can't hang curtains to split off one side of the room from the other, but rather you need to come up with alternative methods for hanging a curtain. Fortunately, simple solutions for this exist.

Closely Set Walls

Step 1

Buy a tension rod. Look for the longest rod you can find -- at least 10 feet. This will work for small rooms or hallways.

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Step 2

Select a curtain that matches your decorating style and is at least 10 feet wide and 8 to 10 feet long. Choose a curtain that requires no curtain hooks, but rather the type that you push onto the rod. Or buy curtains with long hanging straps and loop them over the rod.

Step 3

Put the curtain on the rod.

Step 4

Place the tension rod between your walls, making sure that it's high enough to not touch the floor.

Rod Extenders

Step 1

Position a bookcase so that the narrow end of it is against the wall. It should jut out into the room instead of its back being against the wall. Choose a bookcase that's wide. It'll function as a wall extender. So if the room you want to divide is 15 feet across, buy a 10-foot tension rod and a bookcase that's at least 5 or 6 feet wide.

Step 2

Place the curtain on the rod.

Step 3

Put up the tension rod, positioning it between the end of the bookcase and the wall.

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Floor-to-Ceiling Rods

Step 1

Install the floor-to-ceiling tension rods between the two spaces you want to divide. This apparatus has tension rods that you place between the ceiling and the floor plus rods in between that allow you to hang curtains on them.

Step 2

Get curtains that are long enough to stretch from the top rod to the floor and also wide enough to spread from one side of your divider to the other. Because these are built differently than the tension rod that you stretch between two walls, you can get a curtain set that's a little heavier in weight if your decorating style calls for it.

Step 3

Hang up the curtains.

Tip

If you use the bookcase to extend your wall, make sure that it's heavy enough to stand on its own. Place heavier objects on the bottom shelves to weigh the bookcase down. This will make it more solid, like a wall.

Use a rolling clothes rack when you're not concerned about being able to open and close the curtains, but rather when you need a temporary room divider for the times when guests come. Just hang your curtains on it and then roll it out of the way when you no longer need it.