Design for Studio Apartments

Designing a studio apartment is tricky. You must find the middle ground between dividing the space into different rooms and making the space feel too small. With the right design plan, you will have a cozy studio apartment, with defined spaces and plenty of privacy. Mesh functionality with style for a homey studio apartment. Does this Spark an idea?

Furniture

Scale down your furniture. You may love the large, fluffy couches and king-size bed, but if your home is small, the big furniture becomes overbearing. Choose sleek and short-backed couches or chairs so the furniture saves floor space, as well as visual space. A couch with a hideaway bed allows your living room space to double as a guest room. Glass dining room tables and coffee tables don't take up as much visual space, leaving the room feeling more airy. Gravitate toward furniture that doubles as storage to hide the clutter. Arrange the furniture as if you have walls, with a sitting area, bedroom and dining/kitchen area defined by the gathering of furniture.

Dividers

For privacy, you may want something visually dividing the space between your bedroom and the rest of the apartment. Since building a wall and installing a door is not an option, create a separation with tall shelves and curtains. Position a series of shelves where you would imagine your bedroom wall should go. Shelves give you storage and a space for a cozy sitting area on one side, while allowing additional space for artwork and mirrors on the other side. Install a curtain rod or track from the ceiling so you can leave the curtains open and airy during the day, but close off the space for privacy. Use tall houseplants, floor lamps and furniture arrangements to visually divide your kitchen and living room, creating the look of different spaces, while still allowing you to see through to the whole apartment.

Lighting

Since space is limited in your studio apartment, your design strategy needs plenty of lighting. Pull back your curtains and allow as much natural lighting in as possible. In addition to overhead lighting, use lamps to make the room look larger. Put rope lights above your shelves for a ceiling glow, as well as under your kitchen cabinets, illuminating your cooking area. The more you light your studio apartment, the larger it will feel, so place lights evenly throughout, leaving no corner dark.

Color

Create cohesion through the studio apartment with a color scheme. Pops of the same color draw the eye through the space. Design a separation between the areas by using different colors or hues of the same colors. Paint an accent wall with a dramatic color for your bedroom. Hang different, but stylistically similar, artwork over your living and dining areas.

Storage

Storage is the key to designing a studio apartment. Coffee tables, benches, shelves, trunks and under-the-bed drawers allow you to tuck away all the extras you have to keep, but don't want on display. Take advantage of your vertical space, with floating shelves, hooks for your coats and purses and a wall-mounted television stand.