Give your one-room apartment a new lease of life!

Lily Cichanowicz Lily Cichanowicz
LOFT DISEÑADO POR JUDITH FARRAN by HOME DECO ( centro de Barcelona), Home Deco Decoración Home Deco Decoración Salones industriales
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With real estate prices rising uniformly across the board, space itself is quite an expensive commodity to come by. In lieu of an unnecessarily large abode, many are opting to put their precious funds towards location and interior décor instead. Still, downsizing can feel a bit scary. No one wants to feel that they’re sacrificing their quality of life or that things will be unbearably cramped in a one-room apartment. 

We at homify believe that most spaces can accommodate the needs of their owners if only they apply right space saving techniques. You can easily turn you tiny one-room into a chic studio apartment or luxurious loft once you take the time to strategize. If you need a bit of inspiration to get started, you’ve come to the right place. That’s because today we will be exploring the best ways to go about designing a one-room apartment. Let’s begin!

Establish a partition

If you’re particularly concerned about keeping your sleep space private, or if you want to help eliminate the background noise while you sleep, investing in a more formal partition is always an option. For privacy, a simple curtain will do. Plus, the curtain allows you to draw it during the day to maintain a more spacious feel in the studio apartment while you’re awake. 

In order to create more distinction between the different areas of the apartment, there are plenty of beautiful screens and dividers available in shops and on the web to match the style you’re going for in the one-room apartment. If noise is your primary concern, however, we advise you to go with a bed setup like this one. The doors span from the very top of the ceiling to the edge of the bed platform, thus allowing a more total barrier from noises occurring outside.

Divide one room into three parts: relax, eat, sleep

The next thing you need to consider are the needs that the apartment must satisfy for you. Aside from a separate bathroom, three of the most basic purposes our living spaces serve are eating, sleeping, and relaxing. Therefore, you’ll have the most success in organising your apartment around these three things. 

While eating and sleeping are a bit more obvious, the relaxation category varies from person to person. For some, a cosy reading corner will do, while others might want to allot space for practicing yoga. This is a good time to reflect on what is most important for you and to prioritise those things in your layout. Because the one-room apartment doesn’t allow for much excess, you’ll have to narrow it down to those things that matter most. In reality, just about anyone could benefit from this exercise, no matter the size of their living quarters.

Design from the light source

Now that you have a good sense of how to prioritise your one-room apartment, it’s time to discuss how best to configure it. We recommend orienting the room around the primary light source. Hopefully you have access to a window that provides plenty of natural light as we can see in this example. If not, it’s okay to arrange the furnishings around a light fixture. 

Consider opting for a light fixture that is hung from the ceiling to better maximise floor space. Ideally, you’ll want the eating and relaxation areas to be fully illuminated. There are also ways to enhance the effects of light in your studio apartment. Try sticking to a lighter colour on the walls, and add a mirror or two. Both of these strategies help to reflect light and better distribute it throughout the room.

Locate your bed first

homify Dormitorios modernos

As for the actual process of furnishing, it’s best to figure out where to put the bed first. This is because the bed must be positioned for proper sleep. Additionally, the bed is likely to be the largest piece of furniture in the studio apartment. Try to situate it away from a noisy street or raucous hallway to minimise noise pollution if you can. 

When looking for a new bed to fit the space, it is wise to find out that allows for under the bed storage. Another option that is effective in helping you to maximise space is to choose a daybed instead. Finally, keep in mind that arranging a bookshelf or wardrobe at the foot of the bed can work nicely as a partition.

Next, locate your table & sofa

homify Comedores eclécticos

Now that we’ve gotten the whole bed situation sorted, let’s move onto matters of tables and sofas. Starting with the table, it’s obviously best to choose something on the small side. One idea that works effectively in small spaces is to attach a small bar to the wall near the kitchen and arrange a stool or two in front of it. Another trick is to choose a round table rather than a rectangular one. This works because you’re able to fit the same number of chairs beneath a round table with a smaller surface area. 

As for the sofa, something that is fitted to the wall will help you to free up valuable floor space. A petit corner sofa like the one we can see in this studio apartment by Maszroom is ideal. Other alternatives include daybeds or custom fitted sofas.

Place a carpet for a cosier one-room

It can be easy to get so caught up in figuring out how to effectively fit everything into the studio that you forget to make the space feel like home. While it is particularly important to be shrewd when it comes to choosing the ornaments and decorations you’d like to include in a constrained space, these things play an important role as sources of comfort and pride. One of the best ways to keep the excess décor to a minimum is to thoughtfully choose aesthetically pleasing versions of necessities or to add decoration in ways that don’t take up much extra space. An example of the latter is to add a rug for increased cosiness and cohesion. Of course, you can always do double duty with a soft rug that also comes in a pretty pattern.

For more advise on making the most of your small apartment, check out this guide to spacious living in a small apartment.

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