lazymountaingirl's Profile

*its*

I like the idea of hanging a track from the ceiling and having full length drapes. For something to give privacy and let in light, I would hang ceiling to floor arctic (white only) camo net. Cheap, and gives a soft almost lacy effect, but with a bit of an edge to suit the industrial space.

Having just downsized from a family 2-bedroom to a tiny one-bedroom (I know, not the same as a studio, but less than half the space I used to have), I'm amazed at the improvement in my quality of living it has made to not have worry every month about paying the rent - mine was nearly halved.

Sofa beds have an unfairly bad reputation. If you spend on a good sofa bed what you would spend on the difference of 1 or 2 months rent, you can find something super-comfortable and crucially, easy to pull out. Scandinavian-style "click-clack" designs are great for both. To safe the fuss of making up your bed every night, keep one king sized duvet to use instead of a bottom sheet (you can sew elastic onto the corners to hold it in place), another duvet to sleep under, and pillows. Invest in a wicker chest that can double as a coffee table, and simply roll or fold your bedding loosely every morning and keep it in the chest. It takes less than 3 minutes to make or unmake a sofabed using this system.

If you need to differentiate different areas of your living space, IKEA has a great range of shelves that double as room dividers, and can fit baskets or file-type boxes to keep your clutter hidden. You could calculate the difference of one or two month's rent you would spend on a bigger place, and use that to invest in an attractive storage system and some decorative accents to freshen up your current space.

Whenever I'm tempted to pine for bigger spaces, I think of having low rent as a positive financial asset and source of stability in the current unstable economy, rather than focusing on the lack of space. Anything extra I manage to save will only add to my ability to invest in my dream home in the future.