If you have a studio apartment, you may be struggling with how to make it appear larger. Perhaps you’re following some simple decor tips, such as avoiding dark colors and using plenty of lighting to make the apartment cheery and bright. But if you’re in a situation where you have too much furniture, there’s only so far that decor changes can take you. What you can do instead, however, is look for furniture that has more than one purpose — with multifunctionality.
This will help your studio apartment keep its “cozy” feel, but at the same time, will remove any sort of cluttered or cramped feeling. Read on to learn more about multifunctional furniture that works well in a studio.
Improvement in the Living Room Area
While it’s common for the living room and kitchen area to sort of meld together in a studio, it’s still apparent that it’s a distinct, separate area and should be treated as such. Keeping your space open may contribute to helping it look larger, but ensure there is a distinctiveness between spaces.
Use of Nesting Tables
Nesting tables are one of the best pieces of multifunctional furniture around. When you’re just relaxing on the couch, the other tables sit neatly under the other ones. If you need an extra table to spread out papers on for some workspace, you immediately have extra room. If you’re entertaining guests and you need an extra table, it’s right there. If you’d like to have an extra side table on the end of the sofa, you immediately have one. And when they’re not in use, you can store nesting tables easily and out of the way.
Storage Ottoman
A storage ottoman works well for any living room. It’s the perfect place to put your feet up at the end of a long day, but also acts as storage for things you may need close at hand. Maybe it’s an extra toy bin for when your nieces or nephews come over, or a place to stash cords, plugs and remotes. No matter what you store in there, it opens up some room where you were storing the items previously.
Coffee Tables With Storage
A coffee table with storage doesn’t necessarily have to include 10 slide-out drawers. It could be as simple as having a shelf underneath or having two sets of drawers. Maybe these drawers are where you can keep papers or notes you need nearby, extra batteries or other things you may keep in the living room. Bottom-shelf storage could always be for books or magazines.
Ideas for the Kitchen
If you’re cooking in a studio kitchen, by now you’re likely a whiz at making the best use of the space you have. However, there are a few ways to make even more space for yourself.
Drop-Leaf Table
If you have a small kitchen that is also your dining space, this is a must. Most of the time, you’ll only need the middle portion of the table, unless you’re having a feast. Again, when you’re entertaining or having friends over, with a drop-leaf table, changing table size is a cinch, and you can immediately seat much more than just one person. Also, keep comfortable, yet foldable chairs nearby for these occasions.
Use of Dividers
Depending on how your place is set up, you may want to think about dividing off space or you may not. You can experiment with movable partitions to see if this makes your place feel too cramped, or actually makes it feel larger. Sometimes sectioning off spaces can make a place feel bigger because it defines the space, or it can have the opposite effect.
Shelving and Counters
One place you likely run out of room often is in the pantry. If you are able to add a rolling cart to your space, do so. This will give you extra space not only for food, but for supplies and equipment as well. Also, look for dividers you can put in your cabinets that form makeshift shelving to provide even more shelving.
How to Make the Bedroom Feel Larger
Essentially, there are two types of studios — the wide, open space where the only separate door is the bathroom, and one-bedroom studios where you have a dedicated, private space. So, working with these is slightly different. If you do not have a private space, this is an area where you may want to consider using a divider..
Futon or Sleeper Sofa
If you want to make your bedroom feel much larger than it is, multipurpose beds are the best idea, such as futons or sleeper sofas. If you plan to use your bedroom for different things (such as a workout room or home office), you’ll likely want as much space as possible. Having a futon or sleeper sofa also allows you to relax in more than one room than just the living room. If you have a studio without a separate one, this might be a given because of space constraints.
Storage Bed
If you have the space, a storage bed is another wonderful idea since it gives you extra dresser space for clothing and other necessary items. Depending on the amount of storage, this can help limit the other pieces of furniture in your bedroom (such as a dresser), so if done correctly, this can save a wealth of space.
Using a Trunk Bench
If you don’t have enough closet space for both your winter and summer clothes and don’t have a storage unit, having a trunk at the end of your bed is not only a good idea for storage, but it provides seating as well. While this may add to the number of things on your floor, it will improve an extremely cluttered closet and will make it a breeze to switch clothes out when the seasons change.
Ideas for the Bathroom
As with your other spaces, bathroom space may be limited, so make the best of what you have. When it comes to your bathroom with no open floor space, begin to look to the walls.
Using Wall Space
If you’re able to, adding bathroom shelving may help if you simply don’t have room to place your items and you don’t have the benefit of a hall or bathroom pantry. If you have a little bit of floor space, you can use ladder storage shelving. Not only does this provide a great aesthetic but gives you plenty of places to store needed items. A small rolling cart is also ideal if you have the room.
Storage Stool
A storage stool may look a bit like a storage ottoman, but it’s expressly meant for sitting. You may want this in the hallway near the bathroom for towels and other items such as washcloths. Not only can it be used as a seat, but it could also certainly be used as a hamper, depending on where you’d like to place it.
Other Ideas for the Studio
Especially during the early days of the pandemic, many people had to become creative, especially when it came to creating their work-from-home spaces. As hybrid work situations and work-from-home situations continue to be quite common, so are ways to make that more comfortable, even when you don’t have a lot of room.
End Tables
Okay, so this isn’t just for work. It’s for morning coffee and evening snacks, too. But it’s very simple to also place your laptop on top of an end table and bring it across the sofa so that you can get a little work done in the middle of the day. These can rest comfortably at the end of the sofa or can spring into action when you need them.
Writing Desks
Clever workspaces also include versatile pieces of furniture. These small desks could function as a nightstand or small table but are also large enough to be used as a desk when you have an important job to finish right before bed or want to check email first thing in the morning.
Multipurpose Hutches
Hutches can be used for nearly anything in any room, and are king when it comes to multipurpose furniture. They can be kitchen storage when you don’t have adequate pantry room. Depending on their construct, they can be your entertainment center in the living room. They can also be part of your home office, particularly if you have to store files as well as peripherals, such as printers and scanners. Hutches can also be used in the bedroom area as clothes storage with a little DIY help, making them one of the most versatile pieces of furniture.
Whether you need one piece of furniture or your entire studio apartment outfitted from top to bottom, CORT Furniture Rental can help. We have move-in ready packages or we can help you design your studio piece by piece, particularly if you need help decluttering the decor and furniture and enlarging the space — we have design professionals on hand who can do just that.
