Are you looking for suggestions on good brands/designs of removable room dividers, or alternatives to those, or what?

kudzu9 Sorry that I wasn't clear. I need suggestions on what I can use to divide the space, something removable but that still allows some privacy for the room.

Thanks. Sorry to ask another question, but do you need only visual privacy, or do you need sound privacy, too? And do you need it to go all the way to the ceiling, or can it stop a bit short of that?

kudzu9 No, please ask away. My preference is both visual and sound privacy in case it one day becomes a bedroom, but minimum I'd like is visual privacy. It can also stop short of the 8ft ceiling.

Well, part of the answer depends on how much you are willing to spend, and how handy you are at building things. If you need to hire someone, a cabinetmaker or even a competent handyman would be able to create simple, removable dividers out of panels held in place by spring-loaded poles (these poles sit on the floor and have a spring mechanism at the top that bears against the ceiling). You could attach painted plywood panels to them or even stretch a heavy fabric between them). Here is an example of a pair of these poles being used to hold bookshelves, but you could simply dispense with the shelves and just buy the poles (scroll through the gallery as there are two pole designs and only one is freestanding):

ISS poles

Shopping - ISS compression poles

(I've used these poles in my daughter's condo for one of those bookcases and the poles hold really tight, but can be put in place and removed easily with no damage to the floor or ceiling.)

You could Google for tall room dividers. I found this web site which has tall dividers as well as shoji screens. (With a little work, you could use the shoji door kits with compression poles to stabilize them):

Tall dividers

You could buy some tall bookcases and stabilize them by screwing one side to the wall (and maybe stretch fabric across the back if it looked unfinished):

Ikea bookcase

Or you could just look for inspiration here:

Pinterist - Room dividers

JDS I've seen demountable partitions in commercial applications but never residential. Good idea!

Your biggest problem may be electrical. You need an electrician familiar with the special rules in New York for wiring in demountable partitions. What are the ceiling and floor finishes?

The ceiling is concrete (I believe 12" between each apartment) and will be painted. The floor will be hardwood.

neighbors are using all sorts of creative ideas to separate rooms

bookshelves (which won't work behind the stove)

sliding glass doors with curtains

French doors/sliders

same space, view from inside

another french door/slider combo

So...what are you leaning toward?

I'm waiting on responses to inquiries for demountable glass walls. It's a small job so I'm not sure if any of the companies will even call me back. A slider will work on one side but I need a fixed solution between the kitchen island and office.

So far two companies said they cannot help, project too small and they don't think demountable walls is the best solution for the space. Got a quote from a CA vendor for sliding glass doors approx $5,000 but that does not include installation.

Do you have any DIY skills, or are you going to have to have pay someone for installation, regardless of what you decide to do?

No, not a DIY type.

That makes it a more expensive proposition...which is why using a system with spring loaded poles, as I suggested above, would be more economical as there is no need for power tools, constructing anything, or being especially handy. If you have zero skills, having someone do something like is shown in the video below will be much faster and cheaper than having a professional do a custom installation: Shelf install

Admittedly, I have DIY skills, but it took me only 4 hours to install a complex pole system in my daughter's condo a couple of years ago.

I like this system, although I like their closet system more than their wall dividers. Thanks for the link.