Small Spaces by Christine Brun

It is human nature to want a place for everything and everything in its place. Yet how that is achieved changes from person to person.

Take tent camping for example: Some people carefully organize items inside the tent while others just toss their gear inside and take a hike.

Attaining organizational structure can be difficult when you live in a studio apartment with one little bathroom. Once the entry door is opened, everything is exposed to visitors and strangers alike. A person's entire existence is revealed to one and all: bedding, clothing, folded or wrinkled, and dirty dishes!

Therefore, it's no surprise that there is substantial interest in cataloging the ways to disguise various functions of a tiny home. In the photo, a sheer, white floor-to-ceiling curtain divides the entryway from the kitchen space of one-room domicile. It is a cost-effective solution that lends a substantial degree of grace and sophistication to the space. Several drapery walls might delineate different purposes in one space without involving traditional construction techniques.

For renters and first-time home buyers with limited funds, this idea offers a practical solution to privacy issues. And because there are no limits to potential fabric choices, there are no ends to the nuances available for fabric walls.

Decorative folding screens are another old-fashioned way to shield a portion of a studio apartment from prying eyes.

I first noticed screens as a little girl watching movies from the 1940s. I was mesmerized when a gorgeous movie star slipped behind a screen to shed her ball gown, drape it over the top of the screen and change into riding togs. Next, she would hastily join the handsome leading man as they rode out of town!

Boudoir screens were by definition delicate, frothy-looking and always extremely feminine. Once British and French adventurers starting bringing exotic pieces home from the Orient, Chinese and Japanese folding screens became wildly popular in European society.

Sailors and explorers brought back elegant lacquered screens and exquisitely painted silk panels depicting scenes from nature and life, sometimes accented with inlaid material.

So we know the concept of lightweight, collapsing, easily movable shields has been around for centuries. Modern versions range from the famed curvilinear Eames screens to folding mirrored panels. They can be found in styles ranging from Mission to the contemporary panels hanging from chains in hospital rooms.

The same minimal hardware used for hospital curtains can be attached to your home ceiling, allowing for a swiftly moving divider to respond to changing spatial needs.

There are more ways to divide of a room — some serving dual purposes. For instance, leather benches on today's market feature a sliding wood panel that moves side to side to conceal storage space. The bench may be used as a coffee table, but will also store belongings in plain sight. Kind of a cool trick!

Interior designer Troy Adams has branded his pattern of hiding functional elements from view as FushionDesign. He combines designs from throughout the world to concoct new ways to camouflage household workspaces such as cooktops and food prep areas. Sliding panels move to reveal the actual stove burners underneath a decorative top. In a challenging, 600-square-foot apartment, this enables the occupant to use the cook surface during the day as a home office worktop.

Christine Brun, ASID, is a San Diego-based interior designer and the author of "Small Space Living." Send questions and comments to her by e-mail at christinebrun@sbcglobal.net. To find out more about Christine Brun and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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