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by Al Hoff In our dreams, we rattle around in glorious palatial mansions, from library to guest quarters to cribbage room, using a different bathroom every day for a week just because we can. In reality, many folks are co-habitating in small, multi-purpose living quarters. But everyone still needs their own little hideaway — "a personal space bubble," they called it in the '70s — and despite the camaraderie of group living, it is in these times that a personal space bubble matters most. It's easy to create a little privacy in shared living space. One caveat: The following suggestions pertain only to visual privacy — privacy of the aural variety comes with major home improvement — but even visual privacy lets you enjoy a trashy novel, a change of underwear, a kiss of the horizontal variety — whatever soundless indulgence you favor. To split a double room (e.g. a dining room and living room "separated" by a wide archway) into two distinct rooms, install a curtain rod between them (or a poor-man's quickie curtain rod — a strong piece of rope tied to big eye hooks at either end.) If you have a little more to spend (or if the archway is particularly wide) splash out on a nice wooden dowel or decorative curtain rod. Now hang curtains. (A plus: curtains can be moved aside if openness is desired at a later point.) Lucky souls may find ready-to-go curtains (check flea markets, thrift stores, yard sales) with rings or an open-ended hem. More industrious types might round up cool fabric (sheets, lightweight bedspreads, raw yardage) and sew the folded over open-ended hem themselves. (Slide the curtain rod through the open-ended hem.) In a pinch, use a stapler. Doorways without doors can also be blocked off in this fashion — a long shade, a tall bookcase, or two bookcases back-to-back will work, too. Make sure there's another exit first! If your living and dining areas share the same room, any item that has two nice sides and isn't too bulky makes an excellent room divider. Position a bookshelf with its side against the wall to separate space. An open deep shelf is handy — you can shelve books on both sides! Even a single-sided shelf can be used. Disguise the flat backside with paint or thumbtacked fabric, hang pictures or even cover it with cheap cork board to make a giant bulletin board. By the way, when using tall bookshelves as room dividers, take care that they are stable! Push them ever so slightly. If there's any sway, don't risk injuries or lawsuits. You may be able to reinforce them with a large desk or chest of drawers against the back side. Even boards-and-blocks bookshelves can split a room. Make shelves less commune-looking by painting the boards and/or cinder blocks. Bricks, large books, or glass blocks (more expensive than cinder but really cool) can also be used in place of cinder blocks. Cinder blocks, bricks, and glass blocks are available at any good-sized hardware store or lumber yard, although they sometimes turn up in the trash! Boards should be strong, about a foot wide and supported every lateral 4-5 feet. (Fig. 1) A shared bedroom is easier to split, as beds are lower. Half a dozen cheap bushy ferns make a hedge barrier between two futons. A nice chunk of foam rubber is a low wall that doubles as a seat and won't hurt anybody if it tumbles over. (Check the Yellow Pages under "foam rubber.") For taller barriers, place furniture in between beds — for example, two chest of drawers, side-to-side, but facing opposite directions. Decorate the flat back of the chest of drawers with a $3 map of the world and learn something. In a bedroom, it is often the desk that begs privacy, or a special reading chair, a dressing area, a TV, or a shrine... If you don't want to split the room in two, create a nook by arranging big furniture at angles coming out of a corner. (Fig. 2) Ta da! A private area with a small entry that can even be closed off with a curtain. Nooking also eliminates that curious shared-room view dilemma, where you inevitably sit in your half, staring across at your roomie's decorations. I executed my first major nook in a shared bedroom and solved three problems: privacy, book storage, and incompatible sleeping schedules. I stashed my bed in a corner behind two side-by-side cheap metal storage shelves. Books were shelved on both sides so that, rather than eyeball one another, my roommate and I could gaze upon a wall of books — a vista both us bibliophiles found deeply comforting. I mounted a clip-on light halfway up my side of the book-wall, enabling me to read late into the night without irritating my early-to-bed roomie. The high dense shelves then kept annoying sunlight from disturbing my all-morning slumber. Folding screens are versatile moveable "walls," ideal for nooking and splitting. Screens can be re-configured to suit changing space needs and even folded flat and stashed away. Inexpensive wicker and rattan screens are readily available, and if they're boring they can be easily painted. If you're into knick knacks, use bent paper clips, Christmas tree ornament hooks, or small bits of wire to hang plastic flowers, weird sunglasses, little paper drink umbrellas, etc. Knock yourself out. If you're not into wicker, wooden folding screens are not that hard to build. Use standard 1" by 12" boards, about 5 feet long. (You can use particle board or plywood cut into panels, but real wood will hold the hinges better.) Screw hinges (cheaper hinges fold one way; splurge to get double folding hinges) into the sides of the boards at one foot from the top and one foot from the bottom. You can use a drill, but a screwdriver works as well (it just takes longer). The reward is in the decoration — from plain old paint or wood stainer to elaborate collages of postcards, first-novel rejection letters, and photos of friends, enemies, and superstars. Above all, don't be embarrassed to claim a little privacy — it's good for you. Your best guide to effective re-arranging is your brain. Study your particular shared space carefully. Assess your needs against its limitations. Hopefully, you'll have the full creative cooperation of your roommates. Lacking that, build your walls high! Al "Girl Reporter" Hoff is the editor and publisher of Thrift SCORE!, the preeminent thrifting zine in the world. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in a house full of amazing junk, and is one of Tripod's esteemed Handy Girls. © 1997 Tripod, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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