A studio apartment doesn’t have to be limiting. You can do a lot with a small amount of space. The right interior design can make a studio apartment feel open, welcoming, and twice the size it really is. Conversely, a poorly thought out design can make your living space feel cramped and claustrophobic.
So how can you best take advantage of the space in your studio apartment? Take a look at these four ideas that can help you design a comfortable living space for yourself.
1. Separate living areas
Dividing up your apartment can make it feel less like a studio, and more like a big apartment with multiple rooms. In order to separate your apartment out into different living areas, you first have to define the functional purpose of each space.
Start by surveying the apartment as it is and try to figure out what purpose each section of the room serves. Figuring out how to break up your studio apartment is made easier when you consider your own interests and determine which spaces you’ll spend the most time in.
Do you spend a lot of time watching TV or reading a book in the living room? Then allot more room to that section by sacrificing space in your bedroom. Do you like to cook? Then focus on your kitchen and look for comfortable dining tables where you can sit down and enjoy the meals you cook.
With a studio apartment, you’re working with a limited amount of space, so you’ll always be making compromises. Decide what parts of the space are important to you and give those sections priority over lesser ones.
2. Create a partition
A partition is a tool that will help you effectively break up your apartment, and create more intimate, private spaces. Employing partitions is a great way to create defined and functional areas.
There are many things that can act as partitions in your studio apartment: curtains, bookcases, folding room dividers— even a piece of furniture such as a sofa can act as a partition. Hanging up a curtain to create a private bedroom or isolated kitchen can add some real texture in your apartment—in addition to providing you with a more private, closed off space.
3. Keep the colors simple
When you’re working with a small space like a studio apartment, you don’t want to go overboard with the color scheme. Too much color can make the apartment feel crowded and busy.
Instead, design your apartment with a simple color scheme in mind. Pick two to three colors and incorporate those into your design plans. Ideally, the color that dominates your apartment will be a more neutral shade (white can open your room up, making it feel larger than it is).
Does this mean you can’t tie any fun, offbeat colors into the room? Of course you can, it’s your room! But it’s a good practice to use bold colors as accents rather than using them as the cornerstone of your color scheme.
4. Be smart with your furniture
The pieces you furnish your space with play a large role in defining it. That’s why you should be very thoughtful when it comes to the kind of furniture you invest in for your studio apartment.
In a small space, it’s always handy to have furniture that serves multiple functions. Look for a bed frame that offers storage underneath, such as pull-out drawers, or a TV stand with big, deep cabinets.
You’ll also want to consider the size of the furniture you’re putting in your apartment. Even though it seems counterintuitive, don’t shy away from large pieces of furniture. A couple of large pieces can actually make your apartment feel more spacious.
On the other hand, scattering a lot of small pieces throughout your space has the potential to make it feel cluttered and cramped. However, whichever size furniture you choose, try and make sure it doesn’t take up much vertical space, so that you actually increase the visual height of the room.
Studio apartments come in all different shapes and sizes. Some provide an open, spacious 800 square feet for you to utilize, while others are little more than a room, maybe 200 square feet in total. They have different floor plans, different ceiling heights, different window placements.
So, how you design your apartment ultimately depends on how the space can best be maximized. Before you start decorating, remember to define your spaces, figure out which parts of the apartment are most important to you, and draw up a plan.