Article by Trudy Allen | 2-3 min read
For many people renting or buying their first home, the most affordable option is a studio apartment. A Studio Apartment isn’t always a small living space but it does usually mean that the kitchen, living area and bedroom share one space.
You can either embrace that way of living or use some of our tips for marking out and defining separate areas as ‘rooms’.
Ways To Divide Areas In A Studio Apartment.
You can create specific areas in a small space, by getting creative with ‘walls’.
A tall open-back bookshelf, such as IKEA’s KALLAX or VITTSJÖ units or a glass panelled screen, can divide an area without blocking out the natural light.
Photo credit by Housebeautiful.com
A neutral colored curtain, suspended from a pole, can separate the bedroom from the living area and also double up as a screen for movie watching.
Or you can use plants to create the illusion of a natural wall and bring much needed color and nature in to the space. Squareinchhome.com offers some great ideas for this.
Photo credits by Squareinchhome.com
Defining A Living Area
Use large rugs on floors in each area, as a way of defining its separate purpose. Small rugs make an area look smaller, if you want to create a cosy feel.
Corner sofas can maximize the use of small spaces and create the illusion of a border to a living area. A lift top storage coffee table or Ottoman, offers extra storage options. An Arc Lamp located behind a sofa, can also frame the area whilst providing localized lighting.
If your kitchen and living area share one space, invest in a tall, narrow table as a breakfast bar/dining table, which also provides additional counter space when cooking or working.
Defining A Bedroom Area
Ideally you should locate your bedroom area at the back of the Apartment, so guests don’t walk through your most personal space when they visit. If you don’t have the space for a defined bedroom area install a Wall Bed or a good quality sofa or trundle bed.
Consider building a half wall just tall enough to hide your bed behind or, if you’re renting have a temporary one made from plywood. You could also drop a light bamboo screen from the ceiling to act as the rest of the ‘wall’.
Maximize space with drawers underneath your bed, floating wall or corner shelves above the bed and wall sconce lights. A storage headboard is another space and storage solution. Check our next blog about space saving tips and solutions like a shelved headboard. (Designing Small Spaces)
If you do own your apartment, and it has high ceilings you could consider building a loft bed platform, or mezzanine floor, above one of the other living areas.
Check out more Studio Apartment tips by Hadley Mendelsohn, Design Editor for House Beautiful.
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