Designing and organizing a one-room studio apartment or condo can be difficult. It is such an open space, and if you don’t have a vision, it will be a huge and overwhelming task. You will probably not have much floor space. This post will help you get your vision of your new home together and, hopefully, help you take the next steps to make your new apartment a well-organized home.
Jump to:
- Main Areas of a Studio Apartment
- How to Create an Organized Entryway in a Studio Apartment Condo?
- Create an Organized Living Room area in a Studio Apartment.
- How to Create an Organized Kitchen Loft Apartment
- Now, where to put the Bedroom in a Studio Apartment
- We must discuss organizing a small bathroom to maximize that space.
- Setting up a Home Office
- Storage Units, if Needed
First, let’s talk about placement. Several zones should be in a studio apartment.
Main Areas of a Studio Apartment
The entryway should have a drop zone. This area is usually right near the front door and should have places for items you bring in often, like a coat, bag, etc...
In the kitchen area, you will most likely have apartment-sized appliances, small cabinets, and a counter. This is usually provided in a small apartment in the U.S.; however, in some countries, it may not have all these things in the kitchen.
There is space in the living room area for a television, a sofa, and small tables. However, you may not have ample space for a dining room table, so the area in front of the couch may also have to be used as a dining area.
The next area usually found in a studio apartment is the bathroom. This area is usually a separate small room that can be closed off with a door. We will include this area but share with you some space-saving organizing products to use in this small space.
And where should you sleep? The last area you need in your studio apartment is a bedroom. You can sleep on the sofa if you want. But, if you don't want to open your bed each night, you will want a bedroom area. Below are some additional tips to consider before laying out your new home.
Optional Areas:
You may need a home office for your space or a storage unit to hold some of your things. Below, we talk about both of these areas.
Remember that all these organizing products need to be multipurpose. For example, a coffee table (Affiliate Link) can transform into a dining table and allow for storage space underneath. Keep this in mind when looking for items for your studio apartment.
Mark where the windows and other affixed items are in the room before determining where all these areas will reside. For example, if you want to create a wall, it may block the window, reducing the natural light in your space.
Let's move on and discuss the different areas and ways to maximize them for the best possible studio apartment ever!
How to Create an Organized Entryway in a Studio Apartment Condo?
Let’s talk about the entryway first. If possible, a drop zone should be created right near the front door. A useful console table (Affiliate Link) or wall-mounted items, like the ones below from Amazon (Affiliate Link) would work nicely in this area. (Affiliate)
Floating Cabinet Set of 2, 24" Rustic Wood
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Buy Now → (Affiliate Link)
Going vertical for storage is always the best to save on floor space in a tiny home. The dropzone area should be this way as well. Hooks work great for coats, bags, and hats (Affiliate Link). Shelves (Affiliate Link) can be used for placing items like keys, shoes (Affiliate Link), and mail.
Visit this other post about Foyer Organization Made Easy and ask yourself these questions to determine how to create your entryway drop zone.
For even more tips on the entryway, feel free to visit our What to Keep in Your Organized Entryway.
Now, let's visit the living room space.
Create an Organized Living Room area in a Studio Apartment.
Let’s talk about the living room area. This can be created with a sofa and a table. Dividing this area with the bedroom can be tricky. You can easily use IKEA cabinets to create a wall between the living room and the bedroom. Using earthquake straps attached to the backs of both cabinets works nicely to protect the cabinets from falling forward.
Tall bookshelves back to back give you a deep separation of the room and a lot of storage. Strapping them together to one side of the wall will make them more sturdy.
Add an area rug (Affiliate Link) to determine the living room area in your studio. A square or rectangle shape is best. Then, place the sofa, chairs, and coffee table on or along the rug (Affiliate Link) perimeter.
Below are some items I discussed above that I found on Amazon (Affiliate Link) (affiliate) for visual reference.
Bookcase with Adjustable Shelves
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Buy Now → (Affiliate Link)
Visit our post that talks about 11 Ways to Maximize Space in a Tiny Living Room.
Another area to organize is the kitchen. This area really depends on the landlord and what they give you in the loft.
How to Create an Organized Kitchen Loft Apartment
Open shelving (Affiliate Link) up the wall gives the illusion of more space in the kitchen area. Hanging pot racks (Amazon (Affiliate Link) Affiliate) or wall-mounting pot racks (Amazon (Affiliate Link) Affiliate) will keep your pots and pans in the area and make them easily accessible.
Use vertical space to maximize your storage in the room. If you have tall ceilings, add vertical storage with cabinet doors to create a makeshift pantry (Affiliate Link) to hold more items.
The items below are ones I found on Amazon (Affiliate Link)(affiliate) to help you maximize space.
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Armoire 74.2" Tall 4-Doors 4 Drawers
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Visit our post about 10 Clever Small Kitchen Organizing Tips for more ideas.
Now, where to put the Bedroom in a Studio Apartment
As I mentioned above, tall bookshelves or IKEA cabinets with doors back to back work nicely to divide a living room from a bedroom. I have seen people add room-darkening curtains to separate the bedroom area from a living room space. Wire curtain rods with clips work nicely if the room is not too wide.
If you do buy cabinets, you can use a pressure curtain rod attached to the cabinets and the wall to make a doorway that you can close off when you are sleeping.
This area could also have a rug (Affiliate Link) that defines the space. It must be pretty big if you want to cover the entire space under the bed (Affiliate Link).
Where do I store my clothes in a small studio apartment?
Ah, the dreaded question: where to store my clothes in a studio apartment? We can all relate. Clothing can be stored in a variety of places in a studio. Some studio apartments may have built-in storage, while others may have closet space. Most likely, there will not be enough space for all your clothing, even if you are a minimalist, sad to say.
Below, I listed some of the best advice for storing your clothing.
- Store clothes under-bed storage - Under the bed (Affiliate Link) is a great place for clothing, and you can purchase under-the-bed roll-out bins on wheels to help you organize your items.
- On bookshelves (Affiliate Link) - You store collapsable fabric bins (Affiliate Link) for clothing and place them on open bookshelves (Affiliate Link).
- Inside dressers - if you have room for a tall dresser, place items there for storage. The small items
- Behind the door - if there is a closet, utilize the back of the closet door for shoes (Affiliate Link) or other things by purchasing an over-the-door (Affiliate Link) organizer.
- Store clothing/shoes (Affiliate Link) inside an ottoman (Affiliate Link) or seat - Some furniture (Affiliate Link) pieces, like a sofa, ottoman, or seat, can have a storage space.
- Small closet shelving (Affiliate Link)—If your closet only has a rod, maximize your space by adding a shoe rack (Affiliate Link) to the floor and additional shelves (Affiliate Link) to the top. Extendable shelves (Affiliate Link) can be placed above the existing shelf to maximize the top part of your closet.
Below, you will find some products from Amazon (Affiliate Link) (affiliate) to get some inspiration for your bedroom area.
Over the Door Organizer Heavy Duty 55x14x6.7,
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Rolling Cart by Sterilite 3-Drawer Plastic
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Visit our post 12 Ways to Make Your Bedroom an Oasis for more tips on making it more relaxing.
We must discuss organizing a small bathroom to maximize that space.
The sink and toilet areas are usually prime spaces for storage. Find items that have doors and are tall for these areas. If you have a door, you can use an organizer behind the door to organize other things, plus hang towels to dry. See below some of the items I found on Amazon (Affiliate Link) (affiliate).
Over the Door Hanging Basket, 3-Tier Woven Cotton Wall-Mounted Storage Hanging Baskets
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Baskets with Built-in Handles, Medium Rectangular Wicker Basket
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Feel free to visit all our posts about bathroom organization tips here.
You can even use the bathroom door. Over-the-door organizers work wonders. Feel free to check out our post about over-the-door organizers.
Setting up a Home Office
If you need a home office just for bills or you need a place to work, this area needs to be factored into your small living space. Below are some tips to keep in mind.
- Ensure you have a wall or corner area for a home office space. This will make it easier to create a small area without blocking other spaces.
- Wall-mounted shelves (Affiliate Link) with a desk help keep your space organized and still have a place for an office.
- A portable filing cabinet (Affiliate Link) will keep your papers organized. And don't forget to get drawer dividers (Affiliate Link) to keep the insides of the drawers organized.
- Keep in mind the space under the desk. You should be able to create a place to store some smaller items in this area.
Wall Mount shelf and Writing Desk, Rustic Oak/White
Buy Now →(Affiliate Link)
Storage Units, if Needed
Some people have several things that they want to keep but just can't fit into this small apartment. So, storage units may be an option. They should be conveniently located in your new apartment and the size you need. Getting one that is too large costs a lot of money, and one that is too small may not be effectively organized. Visit my post about how to organize a storage unit for more tips.
Studio Apartment Organization: 21 Storage Tips & Tricks by Extra Space
How to Maximize Your Space in a Studio Apartment by The Spruce
Let's continue the conversation. What are your favorite studio apartment organization tips? Please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you.
Visit our other posts about tiny space organization!
Ronni Eisenberg says
I have to hand it to you, a studio is a tough place to to organize. You have great solutions here including the room dividers. You just have to get creative.
I love furniture that has multi use. I’ve seen some pieces that fold into each other that extend vertically as well as horizontally with chairs that flip back etc. It’s fascinating what can be done.
Linda Samuels says
What great suggestions for maximizing small spaces. The idea of having pieces work in multiple ways is practical and a space saver. Sometimes I think about how well we function in hotel rooms with barely any space, or the suite hotel situations that manage to include a bathroom, kitchen, living room and bedroom in one. They are very comfortable. And what always strikes me is how well I can manage with less. In a small space, that's important. Have only the essentials. Eliminate the excess, and your living environment won't feel cluttered.
Janet Schiesl says
I've worked in several studio apartments. What I find hard to manage with them is that they are usually one square space, so breaking up the space is difficult. Areas stick out, into other areas.
The best thing people can do when living in a studio is to not have too much stuff. Less is more in this situation. When you can see it all from anywhere in your home, you need to have only the necessary stuff.
Melanie says
Thank you for all your thoughtful suggestions! The bathroom has always been a challenging space to get right. I love the door hanging mirror cabinet
Seana Turner says
I really like that coffee table with the lifting top. I might tell my daughter about that one because they really need their furniture to meet multiple needs. One of the tough things is the rules many in studio rentals have about hanging things on the walls. It makes so much sense to, as you say, "go vertical," but many landlords make this difficult!
Janet Barclay says
I love your product suggestions - they not only show us what's out there but help us visualize possibilities.
Our apartment is quite spacious but the entryway is small. We've created a drop zone by using the end table next to the couch, which is to the left when you come in. It has a magazine pocket on the side where we keep the dog's leash, and I put a small basket on top for keys. It's working very well!
Sabrina Quairoli says
Thanks, Janet! The entryway organization is super important! No one wants to enter a cluttered area.