Creating Privacy in Your Flex Apartment or Studio – Uloop News

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If you ask anyone who has had experience living in a rented space, they will often say that no rental unit is perfect, and they are right. While the location of the apartment may be great, the rent may be out of their budget. They may love the floor plan, but they absolutely hate the surrounding area of the complex. Every rental unit will come with its own advantages and disadvantages. What works for one person may not work for another. For some, flex apartments or studios are the perfect solutions for a budget-friendly unit in a crowded city. For others, it is a privacy nightmare they may not be willing to settle on.

If you find yourself facing the latter dilemma, keep reading for tips on how to create privacy in your flex apartment or studio.

Photo: Pexels

What exactly is a flex apartment or studio?

If you are currently on the hunt for a rental unit, you may see some listings described as a flex studio or apartment. These types of apartments are also commonly referred to as convertible apartments as they can be converted to apartments with multiple bedrooms. This type of apartment is typically a large studio apartment that has a sleeping area separate from the main room. In big cities where space is limited and demand is high, flex apartments are more common. If you are hunting for a rental unit in a city like Chicago or New York City, you may find yourself looking at flex apartments or studios.

When looking at listings for rental units, one listing may say something like Opportunity for flex two-bedroom. This would mean that the flex two-bedroom is actually a one-bedroom apartment that has the ability to be converted into a two-bedroom apartment. Likewise, if a rental unit is advertised as a flex three-bedroom, it is a two-bedroom apartment that has the ability to be converted into a three-bedroom apartment.

For college students or younger professionals, this type of floor plan could be a great idea as it could be more budget-friendly than typical floor plans. What you previously considered to be an expensive one-bedroom apartment could actually be a flex two-bedroom apartment that is more affordable when you factor in an additional roommate. However, that also means that you will be facing the issue of compromised privacy as there is often not a clear division of personal space.

Divide up space with temporary walls

In a more traditional rental unit, you can find the comfort of privacy in your personal bedroom, with walls and a door you have the ability to open and close as you please. With a flex apartment or studio, this unfortunately will not be the case. However, you can solve this use by adding a temporary wall to your space to divide and give each roommate some privacy. Just like any addition you would make to a rental unit, be sure you are asking your landlord permission to install a temporary wall. In some cases, you may need a city permit in addition to permission from your landlord.

Installing a temporary wall into your living room can add another bedroom into your flex apartment or studio.

Temporary wallsdo not require any nails or holes drilled into the floor or ceiling. Instead, they are kept up by pressure. Metal tracks are laid along the floor and ceiling, studs are fixed to the tracks, and then pre-painted sheetrock is installed, thus creating the temporary wall.

Understanding the importance of following code

While you may not see the problem with bypassing the typical practice of going to your landlord with possible additions to your rental unit or even taking your landlords approval as the only approval you need, that isnt the case. There are codes and policies to follow for a reason. So even if you think you are ready to install a temporary wall with your landlords approval, you must make sure you are keeping up with your local laws.

In New York City, for example, flex apartments and studios were common practice. With a high demand for housing, adding in a temporary wall to fit in more tenants was a simple and quick solution. In 2005, two firefighters were killed in a fire in the Bronx.

Photo: Pexels

An investigation into the devastation fire found that illegally divided rooms were a large part of the blame for the fatalities. The illegally divided rooms had not been approved or known to the city, and had confused the firefighters and prevented them from escaping the building.

The buildings former and current owners and two tenants were charged with manslaughter. The tragedy led to many landlords putting a halt to installing temporary walls to flex apartments or studios, but many still follow the practice.

According to City Realty, installing a temporary wall means you must hire a licensed engineer or architect to draw up a plan, install the wall, and make sure the wall is in compliance with the law. If the temporary wall is being installed to create an extra bedroom, it needs to fit the legal definition of a bedroom in New York City. This means that the room must be at least 80 square feet and have at least one window. After the bedroom is created, you must also need a living room typically one that is at least 150 square feet. This new room must not interfere with your ventilation or sprinkler system in any way.

Infographic by Kaitlin Hurtado via Canva.com

Types of temporary walls to install

Pressurized walls are walls that not permanently fixed to walls and the floor. These walls should not interfere with ventilation and sprinkler systems, or block exit routes. These types of temporary walls are popular for creating privacy in flex apartments or studios as they are renter-friendly.

They are the types of temporary walls that look the most like a real wall.

As mentioned previously, these could require a city permit as they technically involved changing the layout of the apartment, even if the wall is temporary and not a permanent addition. For this reason, some landlords do not allow pressurized walls. These walls can also be out of some renters budgets as they can cost anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars.

Dont fret over lost privacy, there are still more temporary wall options for flex apartments or studios.

Partial walls are walls that typically stop about a foot from the ceiling so that there is air space between rooms. These walls do not require any tools or screws to install. They also dont have a door but have an opening instead. Because these walls leave room between the top of the wall and the ceiling and lack doors, landlords that do not allow pressurized walls may allow partial walls instead.

Partial walls offer the privacy of a wall but offer less privacy when it comes to noise as they are still open to the entire space. If you are bothered by the lack of a door, the opening may be covered with a curtain.

Similar to partial walls, there are also bookshelf walls. Bookshelf walls are much like how they sound freestanding bookshelves that double as a wall. These walls can be convenient for renters as they also offer storage for books and other belongings in a space that may lack storage already, and also be more decorative than a plain wall would be. On the plus side, loading the shelves with books is another great way to add sound insulation.

Do-It-Yourself privacy options

Perhaps the above options sound like a little too much work for a rental unit you are eventually going to move out of anyway, or maybe they may be well out of your price range. There are still options for those seeking out budget-friendly privacy additions to their flex apartment or studio.

If you are already lacking storage space in your flex apartment or studio, add some privacy in the form of shelving units. This option can be as complex or budget-friendly as you want/need them to be. Longer and taller shelves may be more pricey but can offer more privacy and storage space that you are desperately seeking in your flex apartment or studio.

Adding a curtain can also be a great, budget-friendly way to add privacy to your flex apartment or studio without putting in too much effort. Rather than installing a curtain rod with screws, a more renter-friendly option is installing a tension rod to hang curtains throughout your space. Tension rods simply fit between walls/entryways as long as there is tension holding it up, they will maintain their position and hold curtains up.

Similar to curtains, panel room dividers can add quick means of privacy to your flex apartment or studio. These room dividers come in a variety of lengths as well as designs, making the amount of privacy and decor easy to control. If you simply want a closed-off space between beds or changing areas in an open room, adding a room divider is inexpensive and easy.

These options tend to be more budget-friendly, quick solutions to adding privacy to flex apartments or studios. They also have the ability to be removed as you please, so if you are moving to another flex apartment or studio in the future, you can take your privacy with you to your next space.

Do be wary that while these options do add some visible privacy, they may not be adding privacy when it comes to sound as the apartment/studio is still left open.

Responsibility of removal

Similar to any other changes you make to a rental unit, you may find yourself responsible for removing the temporary wall when it is time to move out. This all depends on the terms of your lease. Most leases contain a clause where tenants must leave the unity in the same conditions they originally rented in, from walls painted to temporary walls.

If you dont remove any temporary wall you installed during your lease, you could lose your security deposit or be facing additional charges after moveout. On the flip side, your landlord may see the addition of a temporary wall as a benefit to the rental unit and be okay with keeping it installed. The key is keeping your landlord informed and stay in communication.

Things to consider when renting a flex apartment or studio

Whether you are adding a temporary wall or a simple room divider, its important to remember these arent exact replicas of real walls. This is extremely important to consider if you are someone (or your roommate is someone) that deeply values personal space and privacy. A temporary wall may give the illusion of privacy, but it will not offer the soundproofing that real walls may offer you. This can be anything from hearing whatever your roommate is watching all day to the conversations they are holding with friends and family word-for-word. For some, this lack of soundproofing may be the thing that makes them not want to live in a flex apartment or studio.

Or, this lack of soundproofing may lead to adjusting how you use the space you are living in. You may not be the go-to apartment for your friends hangouts. While your roommate may have been fine with you having a larger group of friends over in your past living situation, living in the flex apartment or studio may make them feel like they have nowhere to go on their own when you have friends over. Those late nights of blasting music or binging on Netflix may be over, or at least may be limited to your headphones as you need to be even more conscious of the noise you are producing while living in a flex apartment or studio with roommates.

At the end of the day, flex apartments or studios arent for everybody. With all things considered, the lack of secured privacy may be a deal-breaker. However, if you are willing to make compromises, flex apartments or studios can be the perfect next step for your next living space.

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Creating Privacy in Your Flex Apartment or Studio - Uloop News