Woman Is Quoted $2K to Put Up a Flex Wall in N.Y.C. Apartment, So She Uses Plastic Building Blocks Instead (Exclusive)

Key Points:

• Alliyah Barre created a third bedroom in her NYC apartment using oversized plastic building blocks called EverBlocks after traditional flex walls were impractical due to building restrictions and high costs.
• The DIY bedroom, including a door, cost her about $1,600 total—significantly less than the nearly $2,000 quote for a conventional flex wall—and provided more privacy despite limited soundproofing.
• Building the wall required careful planning and trial and error, with Barre enlisting friends and family for help, and supplementing soundproofing with panels and IKEA wardrobes.
• Barre lived with the plastic block bedroom for a year before moving back to Canada, after which she dismantled the structure and passed the blocks on to someone else in need of space solutions.
• The project brought Barre personal satisfaction and a sense of creativity, turning a space challenge into a unique and playful solution emblematic of NYC living.