Partition Design for Living Room and Hall: Types, Sizes and Prices (2026)

The best partition design for a living room separates two uses, usually sitting and dining or the entrance and the hall, while still letting light and air through. Pick from six types: wooden slats, a CNC jaali, framed glass, open shelving, a half-height unit with storage, or sliding panels. Published 2026 rates put most of them between about ₹200 and ₹1,200 per sq ft, before fixing and GST.

Below: each type, its common uses in Indian homes, sizes and fixing, and a price table. Most images are from homes by MOA members.

About the numbers below: prices are a market range drawn from published 2026 figures by Greenply, Spacewood, NoBroker Interiors, InfraLens, Construction Estimator India and IndiaMART seller listings, all read on 21 Oct 2026. They are not quotes. Each source says something different about what is included, so we note it beside each figure; GST at 18% is extra unless stated. Glass thickness comes from dormakaba's patch fitting specification and a State Bank of India interior tender. Sizes marked "our guidance" are common practice, not a standard.

Partition design for living room: six types at a glance

Six plan and elevation drawings, each of a partition 2,000 mm wide in a room with a 2,700 mm ceiling, all to one scale: 1, a row of wooden battens running floor to slab; 2, a CNC jaali panel of 12 or 18 mm MDF in a frame, cut with a pattern of circles; 3, a framed glass partition with one clear and one reeded panel, 10 to 12 mm toughened; 4, an open shelving unit about 300 to 350 mm deep and 2,400 mm high with a gap to the ceiling; 5, a half-height storage cabinet about 900 mm high and 400 mm deep with an optional glass or jaali screen above; 6, four sliding or folding panels hung from a top track, stacking to one side. — Six partition types in plan and elevation, drawn to one scale. Glass thickness from dormakaba and an SBI tender; MDF sheet sizes from Spacewood; sizes marked * are our guidance. Diagram: MOA

Type	Best for	Published rate
Wooden slats or fluted battens	Living and dining split, warm modern rooms	₹350 to ₹600 per sq ft for laminated plywood, plus labour
CNC jaali (MDF, wood, metal)	Indian-style screens, foyers, pooja corners	₹200 to ₹350 (MDF) up to ₹1,500+ (solid wood) per sq ft
Glass in a frame	Small halls that need every bit of light	About ₹214 to ₹296 per sq ft for frameless 10 to 12 mm, installed
Open shelving or display	Books, plants and brass between two zones	Priced as carpentry, like the wooden row
Half-height with storage	Entrances that need a shoe rack or crockery unit	Priced as carpentry, like the wooden row
Sliding or folding panels	Small flats where a room changes use	₹350 to ₹2,550 per sq ft in seller listings

Wooden partition design: slats and fluted battens

Vertical battens are the most common modern living room partition. They read as one surface from an angle and open up when you look straight through, so the room keeps its light. Close gaps hide the dining table; wide gaps only suggest a boundary.

Close view of a floor-to-ceiling screen of square wooden battens held in a dark metal frame with horizontal rails, warm sunlight falling through the gaps onto the wood, with two wooden stools, a pale grey side table, a palm frond and a pebble floor in front — A batten screen in a steel frame: the gap between slats decides how much you see through it. Image: Việt Anh Nguyễn on Pexels, Pexels License

Greenply puts a basic plywood partition with a laminate finish at ₹350 to ₹600 per sq ft including material, and veneer or jaali detailing from about ₹800 per sq ft, with metro labour adding ₹100 to ₹200 per sq ft. It suggests 12 mm or 18 mm plywood for living room partitions, and BWR or BWP grade near a kitchen.

Jaali partition design: CNC MDF, wood and metal

A jaali is a sheet cut through with a pattern, now usually by CNC router or laser. It filters the view more than battens and casts patterned shadows, which makes it the favourite for foyers and mandirs.

Design render of a long living and dining hall: on the right, beside the staircase, a full-height partition in a wooden frame with a frosted panel carrying a floral vine cut-out pattern, and a column of open wooden shelves holding potted plants; the dining table, a bar counter with stools and a TV wall are further along — Design render: a framed panel with a floral cut-out pattern over frosted glass, and a column of planter shelves, separate the living area from the staircase while the dining room stays open, Private Residente 1, Cochin. Image: THOMAS+ASSOCIATES on MOA

The material decides both the price and where it can go. Spacewood's 2026 jali guide gives these indicative rates for cutting and basic finishing:

MDF: ₹200 to ₹350 per sq ft before lamination or paint. Indoors only; it swells if it gets wet. Common in 6, 12 and 18 mm sheets.
HDHMR: ₹300 to ₹500. Tougher than MDF against moisture and borers.
PVC and WPC: ₹250 to ₹450. Waterproof, so it suits a jaali near a kitchen or balcony.
Acrylic: ₹350 to ₹700. Good for backlit panels, but scratches.
Solid wood: ₹700 to ₹1,500 and up. Needs sealing against moisture and termites.
Metal with powder coat: ₹500 to ₹1,200 and up. The slimmest and strongest option.

NoBroker Interiors (June 2026) prices living room CNC partitions by design rather than material: ₹150 to ₹260 per sq ft for a simple linear MDF pattern, ₹200 to ₹400 for a floral jaali, ₹300 to ₹600 for a metal panel. It lists wall fixing at ₹30 to ₹60 per sq ft, LED strips at ₹60 to ₹120 per running foot and paint or lacquer at ₹18 to ₹40 per sq ft on top.

Glass partition design: clear, frosted, fluted and reeded

Glass suits a small hall or one lit from one side only. Clear glass keeps the view; frosted, fluted or reeded glass blurs it but passes the light.

Design render of full-height partitions of vertically reeded glass in thin black metal frames, one with a framed glass door and a black lever handle, set against grey textured walls with light oak wainscot and black track lights on the ceiling — Design render: reeded (fluted) glass in slim black frames blurs the view but keeps the light, pantry of the ADR Law Office, South Delhi. The same detail works between a living room and a study. Image: Rippotai Architecture on MOA

For thickness, go by the hardware. dormakaba's EA patch fittings are made for 8, 10 and 12 mm toughened glass, with door leaves up to 100 kg and 1,100 mm wide in a glass assembly. A State Bank of India interior tender specifies 12 mm clear toughened glass with patch fittings for full-height partitions, panels of 1,200 to 2,000 mm by 2,400 to 2,700 mm, and edges ground and polished. Each pane is templated on site, then cut, drilled and toughened, so measure carefully.

For price, InfraLens gives a frameless, patch-fitted partition of 10 to 12 mm toughened glass at ₹2,299 to ₹3,183 per sq m in Delhi, which is about ₹214 to ₹296 per sq ft, including labour, fittings, U-channel and the contractor's margin; Mumbai is slightly higher at ₹2,370 to ₹3,330 per sq m. GST is not mentioned. Black metal frames and reeded glass add to that. The ADR Law Office by Rippotai Architecture shows the framed reeded look.

Partition design with storage, display or plants

An open shelf is a partition that earns its floor space: books, plants and brass, seen from both sides.

Design render of a home entrance hall with polished grey marble flooring, a ring chandelier under a wood-finish ceiling panel, a gold console table and mirror-cut wall on the left, and on the right a tall walnut-framed open shelf with glass behind it, filled with potted plants, standing beside an open-riser staircase — Design render: an open planter shelf in a walnut frame screens the staircase from the entrance hall, THE GHAR, Jalandhar. Image: 6N6 ARCHITECTS on MOA

Keep shelves about 300 to 350 mm deep (our guidance), back them with glass if you want a cleaner look from the far side, and tie any tall unit to the wall or slab. In THE GHAR by 6N6 ARCHITECTS in Jalandhar, a walnut-framed planter shelf screens the staircase from the entrance hall.

A half-height partition does the same with closed storage. A cabinet about 900 mm high and 400 mm deep (our guidance) can be a shoe rack facing the door, or a crockery unit facing the dining table, with glass, jaali or nothing above. A partition with a TV unit puts the screen on one face and shelving on the other; our upcoming TV unit design post covers heights.

Sliding or folding partitions

Where one room has to be two at different times, sliding or folding panels hang from a top track and stack away. Seller listings on IndiaMART range from ₹350 per sq ft for PVC and ₹820 per sq ft for 10 mm glass to ₹850 for an aluminium sliding-folding system and ₹1,850 to ₹2,550 per sq ft for acoustic movable walls. Our small apartment trends post shows how one sliding partition turns a living room and second bedroom into one large room by day.

Partition design for living room and dining hall, foyer and pooja

Living and dining

Keep the partition shorter than the room so the kitchen-to-table path stays open, and see-through so the dining area shares the daylight.

Entrance foyer screen

In flats where the main door opens straight into the hall, a screen of about 600 to 1,200 mm (our guidance) beside the door gives the sofa some privacy and makes room for a shoe cabinet behind it.

Design render of an apartment foyer: on the right a freestanding screen of tall frosted glass fins with rounded ends, each held in a slim brass frame between floor and ceiling, with shelving visible behind; ahead a staircase behind clear glass sliding doors, a planter of tropical plants, grey marble flooring and a low fluted console on the left — Design render: frosted glass fins in brass frames screen a foyer from the room beyond while light still passes, Luxury Duplex Apartment, Mumbai. Image: ArchiPod Design Studios on MOA

In this Mumbai duplex by ArchiPod Design Studios, tall frosted glass fins in brass frames separate the foyer from the room beyond without blocking the light.

Pooja separation

Where the mandir sits in the living room, a jaali screen or folding panel marks it off without building a room.

Design render of a mandir set in an arched opening in a white wall: a brass Ganesha idol on a walnut cabinet, a white back wall with brass inlay lines and a Sanskrit shloka in brass letters, and two pairs of folding screens with a dense cane-weave jaali pattern in walnut frames, folded open to each side — Design render: folding jaali screens close off a mandir alcove without a full door, 3BHK Apartment, Mumbai. Image: ArchiPod Design Studios on MOA

This 3BHK in Mumbai by ArchiPod Design Studios uses folding screens in an arched opening. For door types, sizes and prices, see our separate guide to pooja room door designs, and for layouts, pooja room design for apartments.

Study nook

A desk behind an open shelf or reeded glass gives the hall a work corner without a door.

If you also want the vastu view on where seating, the TV and the entrance go, it is in our living room vastu guide.

Partition design for small living room

Choose light-passing types: glass, widely spaced battens or a jaali with large openings. A solid partition halves a small hall.
Stop short: a partition two-thirds of the room's width, or one that stops 300 mm or more below the ceiling, keeps the room reading as one (our guidance).
Make it work twice: a half-height shoe cabinet or a shelf is a partition and storage in one.
Slide rather than swing: sliding or folding panels need no swing space.

Our living room trends post has more on making one room do several jobs.

Sizes and fixing: floor to ceiling or freestanding

Three section drawings through a room with an RCC slab at 3,000 mm and a false ceiling at 2,700 mm. A: a full-height wood or jaali partition whose frame passes through the false ceiling and is anchored to the slab and the floor, with the gypsum ceiling finished against it. B: a 10 or 12 mm toughened glass panel held in a top channel or patch fitting at the slab and a channel set into the floor. C: a 900 mm high storage unit screwed to the floor, and a 2,400 mm open shelf tied back to the wall near its top. — Where each type is fixed. A partition should not hang from gypsum alone; heavy fixings go to the slab. Notes marked * are our guidance. Diagram: MOA

A floor-to-ceiling partition must be fixed to something solid at both ends. A gypsum false ceiling is not that. Asian Paints Beautiful Homes advises fixing fan rods and swing hooks to the slab before the false ceiling is built, and adding plywood or MDF backing above the gypsum for heavier lights, because gypsum is "not as sturdy as a slab". Treat a partition the same way: take its frame through to the slab and finish the ceiling against it (our guidance). If the false ceiling already exists, have the carpenter open it and fix to the slab, or choose a freestanding type.

Freestanding and half-height units need no ceiling fixing, but screw the base to the floor and tie any tall shelf to the wall or slab so it cannot tip (our guidance).

Partition wall design price

If you mean a solid wall rather than a screen, a gypsum drywall partition is the usual choice in flats. Construction Estimator India puts a residential drywall partition at ₹220 to ₹320 per sq ft in Delhi NCR and ₹240 to ₹340 in Mumbai, including board, metal framing, labour and putty and paint, excluding 18% GST.

Partition	Published rate (per sq ft)	What it covers
Plywood with laminate	₹350 to ₹600, plus ₹100 to ₹200 labour	Material; labour in a metro (Greenply)
Plywood with veneer or jaali detail	From ₹800	Greenply
MDF CNC jaali	₹200 to ₹350	Cutting and basic finish, before paint (Spacewood)
Solid wood jaali	₹700 to ₹1,500+	Spacewood
Metal jaali, powder-coated	₹500 to ₹1,200+	Spacewood
Toughened glass, 10 to 12 mm, frameless	About ₹214 to ₹296	Installed with fittings, Delhi (InfraLens)
Sliding or folding systems	₹350 to ₹2,550	Seller list prices (IndiaMART)
Gypsum drywall wall	₹220 to ₹320	Installed and painted, Delhi NCR, before GST

As an illustration of the arithmetic only: the partition in our diagram, 2,000 by 2,700 mm, is about 58 sq ft. In MDF jaali at ₹200 to ₹350 per sq ft that is about ₹11,600 to ₹20,300 before paint, fixing and GST. Ask every quote to state material, thickness, finish, fixing and GST.

For the partition in the context of a whole fit-out, see our room-by-room interior cost guide, and MOA's free home cost calculator for a whole-home figure.

FAQ

What is the cost of a partition in a living room?

Published 2026 rates run from about ₹200 per sq ft for an MDF jaali to ₹600 per sq ft for laminated plywood, about ₹214 to ₹296 for installed frameless glass, and over ₹1,000 for solid wood or metal jaali. Add fixing, finish and 18% GST.

Which partition is best for a small living room?

One that passes light: clear or reeded glass, widely spaced battens or an open jaali. Sliding panels suit rooms that change use.

What is the price of a glass partition per sq ft?

InfraLens gives about ₹214 to ₹296 per sq ft in Delhi for 10 to 12 mm frameless toughened glass, installed with fittings. Framed, fluted and reeded glass cost more.

Can a partition be fixed to a false ceiling?

Not to the gypsum alone. Fix the frame to the RCC slab, ideally before the false ceiling goes up, or choose a freestanding or half-height type.

Planning a partition with the rest of your living room? Find an interior designer on MOA, and filter the directory by your city.

Sources

Greenply: Wooden Partition Designs That Create Privacy Without Making Rooms Feel Smaller (11 Aug 2026) (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Spacewood: CNC Jali Design Ideas for Every Room: Patterns, Materials and a Price Guide (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
NoBroker Interiors: 10 Living Room CNC Partition Design Ideas for Indian Homes in 2026 (Ar. Reetu Christina John, 3 June 2026) (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
dormakaba India: EA Patch Fittings, technical details (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
State Bank of India: Price bid for the interior furnishing work of SBI branch at Maloudh, items 4 to 7 (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
InfraLens: Rate Analysis of Toughened Glass Partition (frameless, patch-fitted) (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
IndiaMART: Folding Partitions listings (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Construction Estimator India: Drywall Cost Per Square Foot in India 2026 (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints Beautiful Homes: Do's and Don'ts For Your False Ceiling (Jyotsna Bhagat, 4 Apr 2017) (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
MOA: project pages by ArchiPod Design Studios, THOMAS+ASSOCIATES, 6N6 ARCHITECTS and Rippotai Architecture (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Pexels: Modern Interior with Wooden Slat Divider, by Việt Anh Nguyễn, Pexels License (accessed 21 Oct 2026)