WHAT’S better than a one-bedroom apartment? A two-bedroom apartment, of course. But for the lives of some studio dwellers, they will never give up their “one room fits all” for anything bigger.
Style-wise, a studio apartment forces the homeowner to make gratifying, often startling juxtapositions in the small space. Where else can one find a kitchen right next to the bed? Or home office equipment incorporated with the living room?
The studio, also known as the studio flat or bachelor apartment, is a small apartment which combines living room, bedroom and kitchen in a single room. Studio apartments are generally for single occupancy as these spaces typically have no room to spare. If there’s one thing that gets a bad rap in interior design, it’s the studio apartment.
Often a rental with very little in the way of space, studios must do it all in that limited space. While that is a tall order, it isn’t impossible. There are many examples of studios that have evolved into a room suitable for sleeping, living, working and entertaining. That said, getting creative with space proves that size isn’t everything.
The hardest thing about setting up a studio apartment is figuring out the most effective layout. With so little available space, every decision influences others and makes a huge impact.
Some studios make use of custom-made or pre-fab “pods” where a loft bed and the underlying bunk defines the space. Inside and out, the pod contains shelving. Inside, there’s a home office and closet. Outside, the “pod” holds the media center, with the bed above. The rest of the space is arranged with storage flanking each side of the room, a sofa in the middle, and a couple of chairs for guests.
Other studios create divisions using curtains to separate private from the more public area. Lightweight chairs can be moved around and between divisions to create instant settees. Meanwhile, the entire space is kept uncluttered by choosing just a few furnishings like a bed, dresser, side tables and a set of other fixtures.
Another variant in layout design can put a sleeper sofa in the center of the room. The sofa folds out into a bed. Behind that, a dining table and bookshelves create a small study that, in turn, may be used for dining and entertaining.
Of course, other twists to the same story exist. A studio may also have the bed as the central hangout spot. During the day, it can double as a sofa with two armchairs facing it, creating a conversation area. A small dining space can separate the bed-and-living room from the kitchen. Vertical storage pieces can be positioned to flank either end of the room. The symmetry and order of the arrangement can be anchored with the use of playful prints and colors.
But of all the examples we’ve encountered, perhaps nothing can beat one particular studio located in the Soho neighborhood of New York City, where living space is both expensive and limited. Here, a studio apartment has been gutted and remodeled with convertible walls and furniture that transform it into six different living spaces. “I wanted it all,” says project proponent Graham Hill in his TED talk from a while back. “Home office, sit-down dinner for 10, room for guests, and all my kite surfing gear.”
Indeed his studio design incorporates walls that unlock and flip open to reveal his many pursuits. Michael Hession ties it all up in a neat little paragraph in tech web site Gizmodo.com: “It is the project of Graham Hill, entrepreneur and treehugger.com founder, to come up with an ideal New York apartment—one with a small footprint, both physically and environmentally, and one that offers just as much beauty and functionality as a pad multiple times its size…. When you walk in, you encounter what is, at first glance, a small studio apartment. Within that cube are actually eight functional spaces. The living room and office become the bedroom with a tug of a bookshelf. Open one of the closets and you’ll find 10 stackable chairs that go around a telescopic dining table for large dinner parties. An entire guest room with bunk-beds and a closet is revealed behind a wall that slides out on tracks. And of course, a well-equipped kitchen and bathroom await.”
In a studio, compact efficiency and effectiveness is all.
Samito Jalbuena | the.beast@zoho.com
Image credits: Furnishings by IKEA