I too was thinking of folding screens. If you used 'throws' - perhaps doubled, or even small rugs, rather than commercially made sides on the screens - - it would add color and warmth to the area.

A small space enclosed with screens should 'trap' sound enough that clarity without echo is possible.

I have a small living room - perhaps 10 x 11 feet - but the other night when I hosted five musicians in it we all heard each other very clearly. Two of the more hearing-impaired said that for the first time they could hear all the words the others sang.