comment this story
Comment
The benefits of a studio apartment: All your stuff is close by, there’s less square footage to dust and vacuum, and you have less furniture to buy. The downside: you’re in one room. All. The. Weather.
This is especially true since the pandemic began, when working from home became more common. Those who have called a studio home in the last two and a half years know that sleeping, eating, working and hanging out in the same room can take a mental toll. But thanks to inflation and a rising cost of living (as of June, rent growth was 14.1% year over year, according to Apartment List’s National Rent Report), a studio is the affordable option. more viable for many people who live alone.
So what can studio dwellers do to make it feel less like their lives are confined to a small room?
You can “create separate sitting, sleeping, and working areas, each with a different purpose, so you can move around the space throughout the day, depending on what you’re doing,” says interior designer Shannon Claire. in the district. “You don’t work from your bed and you sleep in your bed and you have absolutely no space between your work life and your home life.”
Here are some tips from Claire and others on how to create different zones within your studio.
Be intentional. Think about how you structure your studio, says Denise Bayron, a knitwear designer who lives in a 280-square-foot, one-bedroom fixture housing unit in Oakland, California. In which area will she spend most of her time? The living room, the bedroom, the office? Dedicate the area with the best views and most natural light for that purpose. “My work space is where I am 70 percent of the day,” says Bayron, who runs her business from her home. She put her desk against the largest window in the space, which receives natural light facing east and is surrounded by houseplants.
Create a lobby. Even if your studio doesn’t have a dedicated entrance area, it’s important to create one, Claire says, because it gives you a moment to pause and take a breather before entering your home. “If you don’t have this, I think it’s very easy to walk into your apartment and throw your coat on the couch and leave your mail on the dining room table,” she says. “It also really closes in on those walls, because it makes your whole studio feel like it’s the entrance, as opposed to the post-entrance moment.”
Claire recommends setting up a small table along the wall by the front door for keys and mail. If she doesn’t have floor space for that, hang key hooks, a small wall shelf, a mail basket, or even a mirror near the entryway.
Carpets and lighting are your friends. Claire is a fan of placing lamps in a space, especially a study. (“Never, ever rely on ceiling lighting in any design, no matter the size of the room,” she says.) For example, place a floor lamp next to your sofa, place a table lamp on your media console below the TV, set up a table or floor lamp next to your bed, or hang a plug-in pendant light above your dining table. . Keep them on while you’re in those areas and turn them off when you’re not. Turning on the lights in each section will help you feel like you’re in a separate room.
Rugs also help to visually divide a space. Claire recommends placing one under your couch and one under your bed to define separate areas and add texture.
Complement wisely. You can also use props and other decorative items to trick their eyes into seeing different “rooms.” Art or a gallery wall can help designate zones, says Chelsey Brown of City Chic Decor in New York. For example, she hangs one art collection above her bed and another above her television. Or use Command Strips and Velcro to hang wall molding to divide a space. Peel and stick wallpaper is another option. (Pro tip: Renters can also easily apply and remove real wallpaper using liquid starch instead of glue, says Brown.)
Use your furniture. People tend to push their sofa against one wall and put their TV on the opposite wall, says Brown. She recommends placing her sofa in the middle of her study, to create a designated living room. She will then place a console table or narrow sideboard behind the sofa. This will visually separate the living room, and you can place two stools under the console and use them as a desk or dining area.
Another good option is a canopy bed, says Brown, which will create a visual barrier between the sleeping area and the rest of the space.
Reuse the closet. There is nothing worse than feeling like you have no separation between your time during and after work. If you have a small closet, consider turning it into an office, says Claire. She empties it out, then adds a small desk and chair. You can remove the door for easy access or leave it on and close it when the workday is done.
Designate a private area. One danger of receiving guests in a studio: guests sitting on your bed.
“You want to control the flow of the room and how people enter your space,” says Bayron, who placed her bed in a corner of her study and placed a hip-height dresser next to it to create a sleeping nook. They won’t cut off your line of sight or block natural light. He placed several houseplants on top of the sideboard to create the illusion of privacy. The dresser has glides, so he can easily remove it to make his bed or vacuum underneath.
Divide and conquer. If you want to create a strict designation between zones, consider using dividers. Brown says that traditional triple room dividers or shelves that are open on both sides, like the Ikea Kallax unit, could work. Open shelving has an added advantage: it lets in light. However, if you go this route, be sure to keep your shelves tidy, he says, because a clutter will make the space seem smaller.
Sheer curtains are another option. They will separate your space while making your ceilings appear higher and let in natural light. Brown recommends drilling a slide rail into the ceiling or hanging curtains from Command Hooks. (But make sure they hit the ground, she says, otherwise the space can look unfinished.)
If you’re willing to put in the money and effort (and the owner will allow it), Brown suggests building a false wall with closet doors. Drill a sliding grille into the ceiling and install lightweight cabinet doors that can slide back and forth. Consider something with frosted panels that won’t block out natural light.
Mimi Montgomery is a writer and editor at DC
Source: www.washingtonpost.com