Can't make room for altar. Please help!

[Lillady]

You do know you do not have to have your altar within your circle correct? When you cast a circle you can just do that in an open space so that way you can properly do the directions (North,South,East and West) See for example with my altar, I have blessed it and said a protection chant for it as it is in a corner of my room. When I cast a circle I do so in an open space in my bedroom floor. I hope this answered your question and helps you out. Blessed Be.

[AnaisStar]

I dont really cast cirlces any more unless its a certain type of magickal working.

But when I did, I had a small portable altar. So I had a more permanent wall that was against a wall, then I had a smaller one that was also against a wall.

When I wanted to I would move the smaller one out and into the middle of the room, place everything needed on it, then draw the circle around it.

Could that be option for you?

Its doesnt always have to be in the exact same spot all the time.

[Echo_of_shadows]

Your altar doesn't have to face any particular direction. I've read that some people move it based on the seasons. For example, putting it on the eastern side of the room in the spring, the southern side in the summer, the western side in the fall and the northern side in the winter. For that kind of thing, I recommend either a small altar or one with wheels. You can also move your altar around like that if you're working with one element specifically.
Another option is to have a small temporary altar to move about anywhere and everywhere. With this altar, place it where you want it and just put what you're going to need for a spell or ritual on it. A huge table with tons of ritual paraphernalia is pretty to look at, but it's quite impractical when you trip over it every time you walk in the room or when you have to call a moving company to move it to the middle of the floor for every sabbat.
I think that you can still work with your altar where it is. Try moving things around on it. I've had altars facing every direction , but I usually have my tools in their corresponding places such as my wand on the eastern side, my athame on the southern side, my chalice on the western side and various stones on the northern side. This is just one way you can have your altar arranged.
You could also try just laying things out on the floor while you work. It's nothing fancy, but it works. Just be careful if there's going to be small children or pets in the room with you. Don't forget to pick up when you're done, your feet will thank you.
Find what works for you and that may solve your problem.

[miachrhys]

The direction the altar sits is a personal choice. As others have mentioned, you can have your altar anywhere you want. The main thing is knowing which direction you are facing when you call the elements/quarters/watchtowers or whatever you do in your practice. Some teachers actually tell their students to call energies of the elements from the incorrect associated directions (water from north or air from the south, for instance) in an effort to help them feel the differences in the energies. It sounds like you're already picking up on that, so well done!

[-Dark-Moon-]

Inside a cupboard, or ontop of a big rock in the garden. I have one which is a piece of coral.

[random417]

When it comes down to it, your altar is just a table for holding your ritual stuff... I'm gonna guess that if your altar was facing south by accident, you may have been calling the elements thinking south was north and flipping them all around like that. That more than anything might be why it felt off. If that's the case, try not moving your altar, but putting the elements back in the "correct" places. That might help the feeling off, and let you not make physical changes to your altar. Hopefully that helps too

[SpiritTalker]

Make the whole room sacred space with the elemental symbols as decorations at the corners. Consider using a tray on the floor as work space and slide it under the bed when not in use.

You can use a sturdy box as gear storage and flip it over to serve as a temporary altar. If it fits under the bed ...

In natural magic it does matter which way you face and if you are aligned with geomagnetic force. The witch channels real energy. You’re like an antenna. The circle and the altar both mimic (copy) the Earth. They’re just different layers. If you don’t practice with nature’s energies then direction doesn’t matter but as you are feeling the forces enough to say things weren’t feeling right to you, then you need to honor those feelings.