Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Fine Living, Home, Design & Auto › Ideas for studio apartment / bedroom
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Ideas for studio apartment / bedroom

post #1 of 13
6/16/10 at 4:10am
Thread Starter 
So I'll be moving early next year, and am looking for ideas to do up my living space. Its approximately 300 square feet (rectangular, twice as long as it is wide), and I'm going to be using it as a bedroom as well as entertainment centre/study type area. Its the master bedroom in a house and has a separate walk-in wardrobe and bathroom, and I'll be sharing the common areas (kitchen, etc) with other people so basically I just need ideas on how to do up my own space. So far I have queen sized bed, lots of shelves and a large desk, small sofa with flatscreen tv, but am somewhat clueless on how to arrange them to give the best appearance of space. Am somewhat a fan of minimalist looks - clean, simple lines, minimal clutter. Somewhat related - what are good SF-approved interior decoration sites for inspiration?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 13
6/16/10 at 4:38am
You could maybe doodle up a floor plan in MS Paint for us. The existing materials and light sources are also important.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 13
6/16/10 at 5:17am
Don't buy anymore furniture. It's hard to help though if we don't even know what we're dealing with...
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 13
6/16/10 at 5:27am
Thread Starter 
Offhand I don't remember the light sources, but figure windows along the bottom and left edges (A and D). Smaller rooms on the right side are walk in wardrobe and bathroom (in descending order). Flooring is some sort of wood, probably parquet. Not gonna touch that. For various reasons, I will probably need to buy all-new everything. Bed, desk, sofa, etc.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 13
6/16/10 at 5:42am
I do not know your age, but I assume you're young. Stick with cheap IKEA type furniture for now. Would you consider a sofa bed? I pretty much have the space you have, and all I have is a desk, table, sofa bed, book shelf and coffee table. That's all I need for my current situation. I wouldn't even think of filling my one bed room apartment with quality furniture right now.

I guess it really depends if you're going to have a lot of people over, and want to impress them. Your call.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 13
6/16/10 at 6:16am
Where is the bathroom/wardrobe door? And which way is north?
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 13
6/16/10 at 10:09am
I second Ikea. And raise you target and craigslist. If you know what your looking for roughly, you can find some great items off that craigslist.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 13
6/16/10 at 11:24am
So .. guessing on the "twice as long as wide comment" .. you have approximately 12 feet wide by 24 feet long?

That 24 feet long is pretty sweet.

How big is your TV? Do you want to be able to watch TV in bed? I ask, because you could find a cheap and/or nice wall-divider (the type you see used to build cubicals 6x6ft) to essentially split this space into two rooms.

Put the bed in the very "bottom" end in the middle, put the wall divider near the base of the bed, with the couch on the other side of the wall divider. TV at the very "top" with the desk w/e it fits. Probably "top right" or "top left" corner.

Hit up IKEA for some cheap shelving, and maybe even the wall divider and w/e decore you feel like. I've seen this done with studio's of this shape. Really looks great, and gives the feel of a "one bedroom".

edit: If you end up doing this, I'd make sure to measure to assure you get the wall divider either totally "above" or "below" the closet. If the wall dividor ends up somewhere in the middle .. it'll look awkward.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 13
6/16/10 at 1:35pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the input so far guys. Undecided about watching TV in bed, but I guess it'd be a good idea to keep that option open. Am undecided about the room divider though. Some people I've talked to say absolutely not, it makes everything seem that much smaller. Yup am most likely going to get everything Ikea. Decent stuff at cheapass prices never hurt anybody.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 13
6/16/10 at 1:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aleksandr View Post
Thanks for the input so far guys. Undecided about watching TV in bed, but I guess it'd be a good idea to keep that option open.

Am undecided about the room divider though. Some people I've talked to say absolutely not, it makes everything seem that much smaller.

Yup am most likely going to get everything Ikea. Decent stuff at cheapass prices never hurt anybody.
But a 24 foot long room is pretty big. I'm not sure how I'd put a couch and a bed in that room without something looking lost. Maybe if the door in was in a different location you could make it work.

How big is your TV?

Depending on size, you might be able to:
1) Couch at the very "top"
2) Bed at the "bottom"
3) TV in the "middle-left" (opposite the closet), on a stand such that it was above the bottom of the bed.

Pretty much the same concept as before, but use the TV to seperate the space instead of the wall divider. You could even set up the TV such that you could watch TV from the couch or spin it to watch TV in bed.

I've never seen this done (TV might look a bit lost), but might be worth looking into.

If there is enough space along the wall "above" the door to fit the couch, you could:
1) Put the couch along that wall
2) TV in "top-left" corner
3) Bed in the "bottom".

Having the TV 20+ feet from the bed would make it pretty much unwatchable from the bed though.


Really .. What I'd do .. put the bed+couch+TV in the room and just start moving this around until it looks right. Then see where the desk fits in.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 13
6/16/10 at 2:04pm
There are numerous books, especially from Japan and northern Europe on small space living, efficient living, etc., that show very cool and well thought out studio living arrangements. I would find some of these.

Other than that I suggest that you will enjoy having 1) one really comfortable chair or recliner that feels good and looks cool to make a visual statement while being functional. I enjoy my tri-colored pony skin covered Le Corbusier chaise lounge. 2) a couch or futon 3) an cool looking lamp that really works. I like the Tolomeo. The right lamp makes a very cool statement and can be highly functional. 4) in tight spaces I think small stools or cubes are fun for casual, extra seating or end tables. Maybe something in leather or colorful wood materials?

5) If you can afford it get a cool rug. A classic persian rug is always nice or go with something from The Rug Company.

Good luck and post photos.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 13
6/16/10 at 2:04pm
^Might position the couch to work as a room divider. That would create two spaces without the visual block of a room divider, if trying to avoid closing off the space.

Apartmenttherapy.com has had a ton of articles lately on decorating small spaces. Might check that out for ideas.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 13
6/17/10 at 1:13am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by imschatz View Post
But a 24 foot long room is pretty big. I'm not sure how I'd put a couch and a bed in that room without something looking lost. Maybe if the door in was in a different location you could make it work.

How big is your TV?

Depending on size, you might be able to:
1) Couch at the very "top"
2) Bed at the "bottom"
3) TV in the "middle-left" (opposite the closet), on a stand such that it was above the bottom of the bed.

Pretty much the same concept as before, but use the TV to seperate the space instead of the wall divider. You could even set up the TV such that you could watch TV from the couch or spin it to watch TV in bed.
.


I'm liking this idea. Moving the door is, uh, out of the question though

Im' thinking - bed so that the headboard of the bed is against the wall opposite the bathroom, tv in the middle of the room on the opposite wall, on a sort of swivel stand so I can turn it so it faces the bed or couch where necessary. Desk + couch on the other end of the room. Not sure if there's enough space for that though.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Fine Living, Home, Design & Auto › Ideas for studio apartment / bedroom