How I Designed My Small Studio Apartment
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For about a year and a half, I have been anticipating this blog post… and I feel that I am finally at a point where I feel ready to share how I set up and designed my 500 square foot studio apartment in Chicago.
[ click images to enlarge and scroll through ]
This is the very first apartment that I have lived in by myself. I moved in Spring of 2018 and prior to this apartment, I have either always had roommates or lived with my parents.
The last place I lived in was my parents’ basement to save up some money and pay down my student loan debt. I originally planned on being there for at least two years, but after the first year I felt ready to get out of the suburbs and find a place of my own.
Initially, I wasn’t fond of the idea of a studio. I always imagined I would have to fit my bed right next to my kitchen and that I would be eating every meal in bed because there would be no room for a living/eating area. To be honest, there are many shoebox apartments but behind every great place is a great hunt… (most of the time. I got lucky and signed for mine with only two days of searching.)
A lot of people who I have spoken to have said that they would never be able to live in a studio for many different reasons, but the most popular one being that they would feel like they were living in a tiny college dorm room. I agree to a certain extent - a lot of it depends on what kind of floor plan you are working with. For example, if the layout of the space is only 150-200 square feet, your kitchen most likely takes up most of the space and you barely have enough room to put all of your basic furniture (bed, dresser, nightstand, desk, chair, sofa, coffee table, TV stand, eating area).
Here is the floorplan and layout of my 500 square foot studio apartment:
Entrance
The way my entrance is set up plays a huge part in why I am able to set up the rest of the apartment the way I can. As you walk in through the front door, you only see a large storage closet on the left hand side, a long hallway leading straight into the rest of the place, and another small walkway off to the right leading through two other closets and into the bathroom.
Having the front door out of sight from the main living area where I have my bed helps it feel more comfortable with less of that “dorm-room” feel.
Kitchen
As you walk down the hallway toward the main living space, the kitchen is the first space to appear on the left hand side. I am extremely lucky with how updated it is along with having a decent amount of counter space with a dishwasher.
Living Room
One thing that can make a studio apartment feel like a college dorm room is how the living space flows into the bedroom space. I decided to dedicate more room to the living area and turn it into a space where it could be comfortable to have a few friends over, eat meals as well as make it an area that I can also work in.
I separated my bedroom from the living area by creating a divider wall out of wooden crates from Home Depot and staining them. They store my books and hold other miscellaneous items while also defining each space.
The coffee table that my dad and I made together is also my “dining” area.
The little side table by the loveseat was made from a vintage suitcase I found on Ebay and some hairpin legs I bought from Etsy and screwed to the suitcase. The artwork above the loveseat are cloth prints I bought while I was in Thailand framed with these white frames from Amazon.
Another part of the living space is something I could have utilized as an eating nook, but I would rather have more comfortable seating. The industrial shelf is from World Market and the desk lamp is from Amazon. The side cube table is a chest that I found at Brown Elephant and fixed it up by painting the Norwegian Flag on it (you can watch that whole process here). I use this to store my liquor as well as have a side table for the armchair. This helps save more space by being multi-functional while taking up less space than a bar cart would.
This section of the living area is probably my favorite. I was able to fit a decent amount of stuff without it looking crowded or cluttered. Here I have my tv sitting on top of an old console table from my parents that I spiced up with marble contact paper and bull-ring pulls from Joanna Gains’ line. Right below the tv is a perfect area to store my record collection - a mixture of both me and my mom. To the right of the records is her turntable being supported by yet, another suitcase that my best friend picked up for me at Goodwill with a large floor length mirror I found at Home Goods to bring in more light and make the space feel bigger. Finally, all the way to the left are old storage drawers I found at Brown Elephant to store small miscellaneous items that are frequently used with a ZZ plant from the Sill perched on top in front of another long mirror.
Bedroom
The area of my bedroom is pretty much just my queen bed and an Ikea storage cabinet as a nightstand because that is really all the space I need. I spruced it up with some hanging plants to divide the bedroom and living area even more without blocking any light and added (yet another) round mirror from Target above my bed to add more light and space. This is the area that gets the most amount of sunlight so the majority of my plants live on the windowsill. The faux leather pillow case is from Amazon, the lamp is from World Market, and the Star Wars Fin print is by one of my favorite UK artists, Minnie Small (I don’t think she sells this print in her shop anymore, but everything she does is amazing!)
Office / Art Studio
This part of my apartment is definitely the area that is most cluttered. It is where I film and edit photos and videos, paint, and store the majority of my art and photography supplies. Even though it is a really tight space, I wanted to have my desk and easel near the window so I can work with natural sunlight. I used more Home Depot crates to store supplies with a slab of wood to create the surface. Most of my paints are in an old thrifted crate under my desk to hide the computer wires. I also made a 2x4 into a shelf to store my paintbrushes and keep them nicely displayed and out of the way when I am not painting.
Bathroom
My bathroom is tiny, but has more storage than most tiny Chicago apartment bathrooms do. To make it not feel any more cramped than it already is, I picked out a white shower curtain with a minimalist pattern.
For storage, I’m lucky to have some under the sink, so I utilize this for most of my toiletries which I try to keep at a minimum to avoid clutter. I also have a couple of secondary storage items to display some products and plants.
Closets + Other Storage
The closets are one of the top reasons that attracted me to this apartment and why I signed for it. I have a lot of stuff to store including my art, photography and travel equipment. In one closet, I am able to fit a tall skinny dresser, my printer, my paper storage filing cabinet, art and photography supplies, some coats and other miscellaneous items. The other two closets are used for my clothing storage.
in conclusion…
So, I hope that this post helps anyone thinking about moving into a studio, or even inspires them to take on the challenge. There is of course that stigma attached to “studio apartment” that make people think they’re not functional and they are tiny and dingy… but the biggest thing is to plan out what items are necessities for your day-to-day life, utilizing what storage you have in the best way you can and also sometimes sacrificing space from one area to make another one bigger - in my case it was my bedroom that got the shorter end of the stick. But if you haven’t guessed by now, I am completely in love with my place. :)