You can change the folder owner to the system and set permissions to none for no read/write access. You have to wait a little while for the Finder to timeout the password but when it does, you can't change the permissions again without the password. If someone tries to view or change the folder, they will get an error about not having suffient access privileges.
It's not as fool-proof as encryption but it's ok for quick protection.
Comments
What you can do, however, and what I do for sensitive work material, is make an ecrypted disk image in Disk Utility, then move the files there.
When you open the disk image, it'll ask you for your password, and mount the image. Works essentially the same way.
It's not as fool-proof as encryption but it's ok for quick protection.
I was wondering if there was a way to place a password (or encrypt) a specific folder within my Home folder?
Yes, if you zip it with Stuffit and set an encryption key.