Walls on wheels, please

July 4, 2007 10:57 AM

Where can I find big partitions/doors/walls that I've seen used in lofts? I'm looking for those with heavy-duty wheels (?) that run along tracks. I want to be able to partition my messy office from the living area, but have the flexibility to roll the wall/door out of the way.
posted by Smalltown Girl to home & garden (10 answers total)

something like this?
posted by waxboy at 11:27 AM on July 4, 2007

Something like these?
posted by essexjan at 11:27 AM on July 4, 2007

Waxboy and Essexjan -- you both hit it on the head. Either product would solve my problem. Thanks!
posted by Smalltown Girl at 11:39 AM on July 4, 2007

If the above two solutions turn out to be too expensive, IKEA has some cute fabric panel curtains which slide on tracks affixed to your ceiling. They won't do anything for soundproofing but will do fine for partitioning off visual clutter.
posted by jamaro at 11:56 AM on July 4, 2007

Check out dwell magazine's web site. They regularly advertise the kind of thing you're looking for. Check out raydoor, modernus, and slidingdoorco. There's another, more industrial company, but I can't think of it off the top of my head.
posted by B-squared at 1:58 PM on July 4, 2007

Pocket Doors may be what you are looking for. They were used a lot in the older homes in New Orleans. I am rebuilding my home from Katrina and am using this doors instead of a normal swing door. They are great for dividing a room in half. I am using frosted glass panels in mine to allow the light to filter through, yet give privicy.
posted by JujuB at 8:48 PM on July 4, 2007

"gives privacy"
posted by JujuB at 8:49 PM on July 4, 2007

This is a topic that is often covered on Ikea Hacker. I've followed the posts with some interest (as we live in an open loft), and have come to a couple conclusions:

1. it's hard to do well.
2. it's hard to do cheap.

the nicest one that was put together cost in the neighborhood of a grand -- cheaper, certainly, than a 'real' sliding door solution, but still not inexpensive.

You might also search for the terms 'sliding door' and 'divider' on the ikea hacker website, as there's a number of other projects of varying competency.

I really like the solution proposed by jamaro above with fabric panels, although the 10 feet length isn't long enough for our 14-16 foot ceilings, unfortunately.
posted by fishfucker at 9:51 AM on July 5, 2007

fishfucker, the nice thing about the IKEA hardware is you can clamp any fabric into it, thus a trip to a fabric store, scissors, and some Stitchwitchery will net you the correct length panel for your ceiling height.

Gah, I feel like such an IKEA shill...I should shop there less. It's those damn meatballs that sucker me in every week.
posted by jamaro at 10:08 AM on July 5, 2007

hmm. that'd work very well then, particularly if I can get some heavy weight stuff at a discount fabric store.
posted by fishfucker at 5:45 PM on July 5, 2007