Hey there,
I’m Sarah, and I live in a tiny ass studio apartment (with another human and a dog). Crazy, I know. What’s even more crazy was that I did this by choice. I’ve spent most of my life living in apartments and all kinds of different spaces. As a travel nurse, I moved every three months. I quickly got used to only keeping the small amount of stuff that was worth moving. It really made me appreciate only having the essentials and living in a small space.
When I decided to move into an apartment closer to work earlier this year, I only looked at studios. A and I don’t need or want a lot of space. We like not having to clean or decorate several spaces. Plus, it doesn’t really get more “open concept” then having your whole apartment in one room. I love living in a studio apartment. That being said, it does come with it’s own set of challenges.
This was my first time living in a studio, and I learned some things along the way about furnishing and decorating the space. So, whether you’re living in a tiny space because it makes economic sense in a crazy high cost of living area, or you just don’t want or need the extra room, here are some tips and tricks to help ensure that you can live comfortably and stress free in your tiny living space!
Tip 1: Plan, Plan, Plan
Give Yourself Plenty of Time
One thing I don’t recommend when moving into a studio apartment is assuming that the furniture you already have will work. The space is SMALL and you may have to make some accommodations. If you have the leeway to do so, I highly recommend giving yourself time to shop around after you’ve signed your lease and really have ownership of your space. You may be surprised at how challenging it can be to make certain pieces work. Furnishing a studio apartment can be a lot like playing Tetris..
Measure ALL the Things
The first thing you want to do is measure your space. I don’t mean taking the floor plan that the apartment complex gave you to Ikea and hoping for the best, I mean measure EVERYTHING. You obviously want to have the basics – length and width of walls, ceiling height, window width and height, countertop height, etc. However, in a space like this you also have to think about how you want to lay it out, and then measure those spaces. In a studio apartment, your bed and your living space are in the same room. How do you want that to work? Will your living area be beside your bed? Facing it? Do you want to put the TV in a space where you can see it from both areas? Will you have a nook to set up a small office or work area? When you start pole fitness classes and then by a pole on a whim to practice at home, where will that fit? (Yes, this is a real thing that happened. I have a pole in my tiny ass apartment).
All of these things are important to consider before buying furniture for your space. When I started out, I was looking at furniture that was way too big for my living space because I didn’t realize how tight it would actually be when I got it all in there. That brings me to my next tip..
Tape it Off
Once you’ve measured, shopped around, and you think you know what you want to buy, come back to your apartment and tape it off with masking tape. Put a big rectangle where your bed will be. Make sure the bedside tables you pick will fit beside the bed. Tape off the space your couch will take up. If your TV stand or entertainment center will be on the floor (rather than a shelf or mounting your TV), tape that off too. If you can mark off the areas where furniture will take up space, you’ll be able to get an idea of how much room you’ll have left to move around once everything is in. It makes it way easier to visualize, and may help you to finalize how you want everything to be laid out. This was a game changer for me.
Tip 2: Buy Furniture and Decor With Built In Storage
Living in a studio or tiny space can certainly present storage challenges. I highly recommend slimming down your stuff to only what you really need and use regularly, but even after you’ve done that, you’ll need somewhere to put what’s left over. You won’t have the option to tuck it away in a closet in the other room, so you have to think about maximizing your storage space.
Hide Things Under the Bed
Ikea has tons of beds that come with built in storage, either in the form of drawers, or the option to lift the entire bed and store things underneath. I went with the drawer option for my bed. This is a great place to store big bulky things like towels, linens, blankets, etc. It can also be useful for storing shoes or out of season clothing that you don’t need to get to very often. One thing that can be annoying about the drawer option is that if you have a nightstand that sits on your floor, you may have to move it to open the drawers. Just something to think about when weighing your options.
Storage in Every Space
I also highly recommend getting a TV stand/entertainment center with storage drawers. I like drawers better than shelving here because it gives you the option to tuck things out of site rather than feeling like everything has to be on display. There are several good options that have both drawers and shelving, so if you want some space to play around with decorating that may be a good option.
There are also couches and ottomans that have storage space under the cushions. Sadly, my couch doesn’t have this feature, but I sure wish it did. This is a great space for random odds and ends, or things like DVDs, video game controllers, board games, etc.
Tip 3: Opt for Things That Hang
The more things you put on the ground in your studio apartment, the more cramped it’s going to feel. When you’re looking for decor, or even extra storage options, look for things you can hang on the walls. They won’t take up as much space, they won’t make your space feel cramped, and they can offer some great storage solutions.
Hanging Storage Space
For functionality, I love having a key hanger by the door. It’s an easy spot to hang all of our keys, the dog’s leash, etc. so they’re all out of the way and not creating clutter. I also have a little hanging basket for all of Luna’s stuff – it stores her harness, poop bags, treats, toys, etc. and it’s so small and out of the way that it’s barely even noticeable.
Hanging Furnishings
I also opted for a floating shelf as my nightstand rather than the traditional bedside table. This has its pros and cons. It doesn’t offer me any extra storage with drawers or cabinets, but it does keep the area beside my bed open and allows me to easily open the drawers under the bed. It’s small, but it’s the perfect size to hold my watch charger, phone, sleep mask (night shift life) and before bed glass of wine (; A has a normal nightstand, and he does just fine with it because he doesn’t keep anything that he uses frequently in the drawer that it blocks.
Hanging Decor
When it comes to decor, I prefer to avoid bulky items and go for hanging pictures and decor. I put a few of my art projects on display that I made from this fun crafting bar here in Denver called Upstairs Circus, and I have some cute little signs and photos around as well. Things like this are a great way to brighten up the space without taking up a lot of room.
Tip 4: Get Creative!
Living in a small space will teach you some really creative ways to store things. The choices you’ll make will become more about what fits where rather than how it all looks, because you don’t want to leave any space unused. Thinking outside the box will help you to make the most of your space. Our kitchen was the space where we really took advantage of this. Here are few examples:
Think Outside the Box
We store our plates and bowls in drawers instead of cabinets. They fit in the cabinets just fine, but there was a lot of awkward, unused space around the dishes. We decided to use the taller cabinet space to store bigger things, and tuck the dishes away in the drawers. Life hack – this is also really nice if you’re short like me because you don’t have to stand on your counter every time you want a bowl of cereal.
Use Counter Space
We store our silverware in super cute little containers out on the counter. I have no idea why I’ve never done this before, but I will probably always do it this way now. I love it. There’s really no need to have the silverware all sorted out taking up an entire drawer. My brain is functional enough to look at a container of mixed silverware and know that I need to pick up a spoon. It’s tucked out of the way but easily accessible, and holy hell it’s so much less of a pain in the ass to put silverware away when you empty the dishwasher.
What Can Go On Display?
We also display things that we didn’t before, like coffee cups. I really like coffee and I really like silly mugs. I have a lot of them. Before now, they’ve always lived in the cabinet, but since we’ve become much more conscious of how we’re using our space, they now sit out. They’re out of the way but easy to grab, and they’re kindof fun to look at!
These things have allowed us to free up some space in the kitchen and use it as extra storage. We definitely keep some things in the kitchen that you wouldn’t normally find in there, but it totally works for us!
So there you have it, my tips and tricks for moving into a studio apartment. Are you living in a studio or tiny space? I’d love to hear your experiences and life hacks in the comments!
