How I Transformed Our Foyer with a Thrift Store Room Divider

May I have your “undivided attention please 😉? This has got to be one of my most favorite “thrifty decorating moves” ever! I scored a wood and iron room divider about a year ago from our local thrift store, and couldn’t settle on a place to put it until one day I took a risk. My husband said, “It will get in the way there 😆.” I said, “Let’s just try it.” Join me below for the details on “How I Transformed Our Foyer with a Thrift Store Room Divider” and please don’t stop there, because I am not only sharing our new sectional sofa, and area rug, but my talented blog friends are joining me with their thrifty transformations, too…

How I Transformed Our Foyer with a Thrift Store Room Divider

When I saw this wood and iron “swirly” thrift store divider at the thrift store, I quickly ran over to it because it looked so darn cute in the window. To be totally transparent, I can’t remember how much I paid, but it wasn’t crazy because I think I would remember that 😆. Either way, I am so in love with it, and didn’t have to do anything to it except dust it. Oh, I know it’s not trending right now, and I know it’s a bit dated, but I love how that wood tone adds comforting charm to my mix of home decor.

So, for months I had the divider behind our old sofa (stay tuned the new sofa is coming up at the end of this post). The folded three panels looked cute in our window in February 2025, by breaking up the very white window wall/blinds.

So, after we updated our sofa to a larger sectional (see sofa at end of post) I had to find a new home for the divider. Not only does she look cute, but the divider now has functionality, too. Before I explain the function, here’s a few photos to show you how I am using it in our foyer as a “show stopper”. I bet you didn’t expect this…

Our foyer is a “grande” 18′ ceiling foyer, and I love it, but it literally and figuratively felt cold to me being so open and plain. I thought about a round table, but it seemed way too formal…so here we are. The divider not only creates a functional spot for us to take off/put on our boots (note the bench on the other side?), but it creates a little privacy when I open the door. Rosie, our redheaded rescue kitty, seems to approve, what do you think? When I asked my husband a few days later, his exact words were, “It grew on me.” 😆

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A Few More of My Thrift Store Finds…

Before I get to the new sofa, I wanted to show you how pretty my thrift store green velvet rattan chairs look in the same vicinity as the thrift store divider. I removed their back cushions because the rattan shows so beautifully. The other chair is just around the corner. As you can see, I added a furry round pillow and the modern battery operated brushed brass sconce to give off some modern vibes up against the vintage items..

To the right of of the divider as you walk in our home is a “sitting lounge” that I decorated with the old sofa, and thrift store mirrors. This is a great place for family to have privacy while using their phone, or really for any private matter that the entire family doesn’t need to know about 😆. I found the “chevron” yellow afghan at the thrift store as well….oh and the pedestal table was found on marketplace. If you look super close you’ll notice the thrift store colored vase from last months episode, and even the marbles & amber ashtray are from the… you guessed it…the thrift store.

Introducing Our New Sectional Sofa

Well, I think it’s finally time to show you our new sofa and area rug, yippee! I must admit that we took a huge risk on this sectional sofa 😵‍💫. You see…we had to pick the fabric from over a hundred choices in the store without seeing what the sofa would look like with it. Talk about scary…we also had to make sure the sectional would fit in this rather large space appropriately. After we got home from making the purchase, I realized our choice was going to clash with our kitchen counter tops that are adjacent to the family room. That was a close call, luckily we were able to change it before they began building the sofa, so if you plan on updating yours, always consider the elements close by so they don’t clash. I must say, I think we nailed it. We are absolutely in love with the gray velvety sectional, and even cat hair hasn’t been an issue like we thought it would. If interested in more details on this beautiful piece, just leave me a message on Facebook, or in the comments below. I will be happy to share more…

New Vintage Style Area Rug & Sheer Black Curtains

Before I go, I must tell you about the area rug and the black sheer curtains that are bringing everything together in our new home. I found the large area rug on Amazon and I cannot get over the price for such high quality. I wasn’t expecting it to be so soft. I love it so much you may have noticed in the photos above that I put one in the foyer, and I got a runner for our kitchen which is a life changer because it didn’t even need rug “stickies” to keep it in place. I totally recommend these rugs, and they come in many colors.

The curtain idea took me a while to arrive at which was surprising. Once we got them up, I was like why didn’t I do that sooner? What threw me off was the large windows with windows on top of each window. When we moved in the former owner had the curtains go to the top window and they were “faux” so they didn’t actually move. I was turned off by that, and wanted to set these six windows free. Well, I guess you could say I trapped them again 😆. The sunset is so gorgeous through these windows which is one of the biggest reasons we bought the house. I will share a before photo below, but first here is what they look like from our dining nook…

I must say I love the idea of taking the curtains only up half way and focusing on the shapes of the windows with the panels surrounding each frame individually. If interested in my black sheer curtains, here are my sources:

BLACK SHEER CURTAINS

BLACK & CLEAR GLASS CURTAIN ROD

CURTAIN CLIP WRINGS (for easy gliding)

Before you go, there’s 9 more THRIFTY MAKEOVERS from my very sweet and talented friends ⬇️

Shop at Blu  Metal Outdoor Side Table Upcycle

Exquisitely Unremarkable DIY Decal Pitcher Makeover

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia Easy Decorative Moss Balls for Spring

Redhead Can Decorate How I Transformed Our Foyer with a Thrift Store Room Divider

Sadie Seasongoods Geometric Abstract Art from a Collage Frame

Our Southern Home Piano Bench Makeover with New Color and Fabric

My Repurposed Life  Can This Become a Lamp?

Funky Junk Interiors Rustic TV Stand Dresser Makeover with Easy Wood Strip Drawers

Our Crafty Mom DIY Rope Vase Pottery Barn Dupe

Songbird Vintage Tool Decor Idea