The balcony on this Airbnb wraps around my entire apartment here. Glass doors open onto it from the living room and bedroom, another door from the kitchen, plus a few sets of windows. My laundry rack sits at the back end by the kitchen door. Nearby, a couple of chairs and an end table sit in a little nook where a ginger cat likes to curl up. In another little nook outside my bedroom doors, there’s a daybed with a mangy old cushion where a smoky grey cat hides underneath. Alongside the daybed, there’s a table with a couple of chairs. Turn the corner to the sun-facing, street-facing part of the balcony, and there’s the bistro set where I spend most of my morning hours. On this side are two glass doors from my living room, which stay wide open while I’m here.
I believed it to be my private balcony, although it has more space—and more nooks—than one person needs. But when the new guest in a neighbouring unit invited herself into the space last week, I began to wonder whether I’d misunderstood the arrangement. When she walked past my glass bedroom doors as I was about to change clothes, I began to wonder if I should rethink the way I was using the space. Is my balcony private or not?
But let’s not talk about that now. Let’s get back to talking about the beauty of shared spaces.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Itinerant Cat Lady to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.