How to Furnish and Decorate a Studio Apartment

Tips for Studio Apartment Layouts and Designs

Furnishing a studio apartment presents several design challenges. When you start adding seating, tables and decor, it’s difficult to avoid overcrowding in limited spaces. However, tiny apartments have massive potential if you divide the room into specific areas and opt for space-saving furniture in each zone. By arranging small-scale pieces in clever ways, you can create a chic and roomy studio setup.

Overview
This post will provide some helpful tips on:

Studio Apartment Decorating Ideas: How Do I Set Up a Studio Apartment?

It takes a lot of planning and ingenuity to fit all the necessary household furnishings into a typical 500 sq ft studio apartment layout. To create a comfortable open-plan space, establish different zones in the apartment for daily activities. By designating specific areas for work, play, meals and sleep, you can make small spaces feel more open and livable.

How Do You Split a Studio Apartment?

To create a sense of space and flow in your studio apartment’s interior design, section off the areas that will serve as different rooms. Create a quick sketch of the layout and divvy up your floor plan to include the following spaces.

  • Living Room: Often a home’s central hub, the living room is where you’ll spend most of your leisure time. Family room areas tend to be the largest section of the apartment, so it’s a perfect spot for entertaining guests as well. Setting up this area near a window provides easier access to fresh air and natural light, too.
  • Dining Room: Some people may decide to enjoy meals in the living room to save on floor space. However, if you want to have a dedicated dining area as part of your studio apartment design, position it close to your kitchenette. This setup allows for smoother transitions when cooking and serving food since you’ll only have to take a few steps between the oven and the dinner table.
  • Bedroom: To keep the city lights and outside noises from waking you during the night, establish your studio apartment bedroom in a windowless area. If possible, arrange your bed, nightstands and dresser between the closet and bathroom to give the layout a more functional flow.
  • Bonus Area: Once you have these three major zones in place, you may discover that you have a few extra nooks and crannies to work with. An empty corner makes an excellent home office, vanity space or open-concept closet. You can also turn it into a tiny music room, reading nook, crafting corner, exercise area or a general free space for enjoying your favorite hobbies.
Designating each corner of your studio apartment for a specific purpose is an easy way to divvy up the layout.
Designating each corner of your studio apartment for a specific purpose is an easy way to divvy up the layout.

Room Dividers for Studio Apartments

Once you’ve determined where to arrange various zones of your studio apartment, you’ll need to carve them out and keep them separated. Wall off each section with a curtain, an openwork bookcase or a folding screen along the borders. To maintain the open floor plan, strategically position a sofa or a long console table to define each space. You can also use area rugs to spotlight individual areas.

Open-back room dividers let you access books and decor from either side.
Open-back room dividers let you access books and decor from either side.

Studio Apartment Furniture: Styles and Sizes for Small Spaces

Your apartment furniture should provide maximum comfort while taking up minimal floor space. Starting with the essential pieces and arranging them so that each zone is cozy yet uncluttered is the key to designing the perfect layout. Check out these tips on how to choose and set up your studio apartment furniture.

Studio Apartment Couches

Select tiny couches and small living room sofa sets that offer ample seating despite their compact design. Tuck a small sectional into a corner to keep the center of the space clear. For a traditional living room look, choose a tiny 2pc living room set or create your own combo using a small couch and matching loveseat. Armless accent chairs and sleek chaises are great space-savers as well.

Despite their modest size, a tiny sectional can seat 3 or 4 people.
Despite their modest size, a tiny sectional can seat 3 or 4 people.

Small Apartment Tables

When adding small accent tables to your seating arrangement, choose pieces that make the most of your limited space. Arrange a narrow console table behind the sofa to hold houseplants, table lamps and remotes. Select a sofa table with shelves and drawers for even more storage and display space. As for your small coffee tables and end tables, choose round or nesting models to add depth to the area.

Save floor space by stacking nesting tables against the wall when they're not in use.
Save floor space by stacking nesting tables against the wall when they're not in use.

A drop-leaf folding table, small dining room set or 3pc pub set table is the perfect option for a narrow dinette space. Tall bar height tables are a smart choice for tiny areas since they have a sleek and slim silhouette. Whichever type of small dining table you choose, pairing it with versatile armless side chairs that fit neatly beneath the tabletop help keep footpaths clear.

Place your dining set along a wall to keep the floor plan open.
Place your dining set along a wall to keep the floor plan open.