My wife wants me to make a shoji screen but I would really call it a room divider as it will be about 8-9 feet in width. It will be made up of individual panels about 24" side. She wants it to have the area inside the frame of each panel covered in a fabric that won't let much light through. I'm trying to decide if the better way to stretch the fabric which must look nice on each side of the room divider would be over a solid piece of maybe
1/4" plywood or if it would be better to do it over a rectangular frame that is empty in the middle (imagine the frame being made up of 4 1" wide pieces. The best way I think would be a solid piece of plywood but we both worry about weight. This room divider will not be up all the time but will only be put up when the space it is dividing needs to be closed off for some temporary sleeping arrangements. I know the rectangular frame over which the fabric is stretched would be lighter but I wonder if it would be strong enough.I can't find anything that gives me a clue by using google. I'm guessing that one or more of you have made something similar. What would you advise?
TIA.
Dick Snyder