Why You Should Put a Trellis in Your Living Room, According to a Designer
A trellis is obviously useful in a yard for climbing vines, but this garden workhorse can do more than that (just look at how it can add hanging storage inside your home). This project from interior designer and illustrator Tatiana de Nicolay shows how you can turn an ordinary garden trellis into a gorgeous design statement. In Tatiana’s living room, trellises combine to create a partition that doesn’t have the heaviness of a full wall.
“I loved creating this trellis,” Tatiana told Apartment Therapy in the living room Before & After post about her project. There actually used to be a bona fide wall and doors behind the sofa, but Tatiana and her husband had it demoed out during an entire apartment reno in which they created a home library reading nook.
The nook still feels connected to the living room thanks to the trellis divider, which is smart for several reasons.
Why You Should Use a Trellis as a Room Divider
The best thing about using a trellis as a room divider is that it breaks up space without making things feel too choppy or too dark. One of Tatiana’s favorite things about this apartment was its windows, so she wanted to make sure to maximize natural light. (Hot tip: A trellis divider might also work well in a studio apartment where you want to create zones without blocking any windows.)
Second, the trellis still provides a way to incorporate color. It’s almost like painting an accent wall, just with holes in it. Tatiana chose a bold green, her favorite color.
Even if you don’t have the DIY savvy to add a custom-fit trellis with fancy arches, you could use a bona fide garden trellis as a divider, or hang one horizontally from your ceiling with heavy-duty wires or chain.
Paint the trellis your favorite color, and you’ve got a garden-inspired space on your hands much like Tatiana. (You can see her full apartment that feels like a palace garden here.)
Third, you can replicate the pattern of the trellis easily on pillows or rugs or curtains to make the whole place more cohesive. In Tatiana’s apartment, she let the trellis pattern inspire her kitchen backsplash and floors!