Living in the USA brings with it another dimension – the largeness of things, mainly homes. Sometimes, we need visual partition to divide the rooms into the various functions they serve. A house I once lived in had a huge dining room just right of the main entrance. The bright, sunny room, although beautiful, needed a divider for the visitors to know where to look and where to go. With young kids and dogs, the portable wooden screen available in most home stores was out of question, for I did not have the courage to risk the thing falling on top of my babies – human or fur. I had neither the time nor the inclination to add a fixture to the walls.

Around the same time, I was decluttering massively, and came across several old sarees that could not be draped anymore, for fabric was worn out. These sarees were precious to me, for they contained the memories of my great-grandmother. A lightbulb went on over my head.

I retrieved the moving boxes, and after several hours of measuring and careful marking, as well as several occasions of irritability and frustration, I finally managed to get what I wanted – a light weight but sturdy, beautiful (even if I do say so myself), room divider, which added to the charm of the entrance, as well as provided a visual break between the foyer and the formal dining room. Several people who visited me fell in love with it, and asked where I got it from. Most people would be surprised when I would reply that I had made it all myself. A few months later, two of my friends asked me if I would make room dividers for them too. One of them wanted it for their home-office, so I fashioned a softboard and covered it with batik-print cotton fabric bought from hobby stores, so as to provide functional value to the aesthetic.

Pro tip: Cover the frame with foam before draping the fabric over it to add safety of individuals, as well as visual softness to the piece itself.