I’m about to move into my FIRST big girl apartment and I couldn’t be more excited- the apartment is kooky and charming and teeny tiny with almost no right angles. How do I fit a bed? A couch? Storage?? And, more importantly, WHERE?? (Of note: the photo of the living room is of a different unit with the same layout, in my apt the radiator is next to the closet door in front of the window)
Ahhh this is so fun! Congrats on your first apartment 😊 My first BK apartment had a similar whacky layout and it was definitely a puzzle furnishing it. So the first thing I'm noticing is that the room with the kitchen (that is called "bedroom" in the floor plan) is much larger than the actual bedroom to the side. How do you envision using your space? Do you want to host and have friends over or do you imagine this really YOUR spot to wind down and relax? One decision I made quickly when I moved into my teensy BK apartment was that I was going to make the larger "bedroom" my living room because it was really important to me that I could entertain. I would think about the flow of the space and how you would use it in an ideal world, and then work backwards with the furniture and all of that stuff
Oh! I loved my first apartment and this one is great! congratulations!
yes definitely planning on using that as the living space! I’d love to be able to have a few people over, but probably most of my time will be spent hanging out with just one or two people on a couch!
You seem to have tall ceilings so I'd go vertical as much as possible with storage and get a folding ladder you can easily tuck away.How tall are your ceilings? In your bedroom I'd either install a murphy bed if you can afford it or choose a captain's bed that has storage underneath. I would choose multiuse furniture that has built in storage such as a loveseat that has storage under the cushions or furniture that tucks away such as wall mounted kitchen table that you can fold away or the Ikea Norden table that has 3 drawers and seats 4 but folds down to 12 1/4" x 31 1/2." Even if you don't want to buy from IKEA I recommend visiting one of their showrooms if there's one close enough for creative ideas for maximizing storage. Another very versatile storage solution is a storage ottoman. If it's sturdy enough, it can serve as extra guest seating as well. I've seen some that offer specialized storage such as serving as file box.
Congratulations on your first apartment, @ariel2945!
First off, read @DanielaAraya's post above. She makes a lot of excellent points about the usage of the space.
Now, my suggestions (I wouldn't call them advice, since I'm not an authority on anything), in no particular order:
a) Measure, measure, measure. When in doubt, measure again. In any space, measurements are key —even more so in such a tiny space with such quirky angles.
b) Curvy furniture. Think rolled arms, curvy legs, rounded or sinuous backs. It will soften the angular nature of the rooms. Also a round or oval rug.
c) Don't be afraid of floating your furniture. If the sofa or the bed you want won't fit against any of those wonky walls, float it and design the room around it.
d) Don't get any preconceived notions about what should go where stop you.
If you don't want a sofa, don't have a sofa. If you don't want a dinner set, don't have a dinner set. Conform the space to your needs, not anyone else's.
If the king bed of your dreams won't fit in that minuscule bedroom, put it in the living room and use the bedroom as your living room. It's YOUR apartment, after all. (See @DanielaAraya's above post.)
e) Last, but not least: have fun while furnishing and decorating your space!
Hi @ariel2945 - this is such an unique apartment. It's high up with views and lots of light, but it is super awkward, particularly as it seems very hard to get a full size bed into the bedroom very easily.
I can't see the bedroom very well, but I would look at going two directions: 1. Make the main room your bedroom/dining room by taking inspiration from all of these amazing studio apartments that we've toured AND then use the smaller other room as an office OR possibly a study OR a dining room. 2. Get really DIY and build a frame out of plywood into the smaller room that really goes wall to wall and makes a really big platform for your mattress and reads more like a tatami room in a japanese house. I had a really small bedroom years ago and I went crazy and built it out in that way as you can see in the picture. Mine was a lot of work, but the general idea of making a "big" bed in a "small" room" really works!
Oh, I ADORE that bed! I'd love to see a fuller picture of the room.
And that sweet baby is truly the icing on the cake!
Wow — this is wild!
I'm thinking that with so few right angles, you'll have a hard time putting normal furniture into the corners — you'll end up wasting some space (though you might find a really good use for it, and then it wouldn't be wasted).
To avoid that, you can do built-ins that exactly fit the odd angles (a great idea, but pricey and maybe not worth it if you're renting?), or you can just put furniture along the flat walls, leaving the corners open for potted palms or floor lamps or something. That might mean putting some furniture in the larger room in front of the windows, so it should be low furniture (a couch?). Maybe curved or oval furniture could work here, as someone else suggested. Maybe a kidney-bean-shaped couch across that wide-angle corner? Or, damn the corners; just float furniture in the middle of the space.
Time to get really creative! Go slow, and only buy stuff when you have a clear idea what will work. I suspect impulse purchases could be really dangerous here. Enjoy the process! And show us the Afters — I'm dying to see what you come up with!
I appreciate your imagined difficulties, I'm sure they'll not trouble you for long. This reminds me of my first place, it did have the odd square corner, but the rest were very odd, and the external walls/windows were curved! It doesn't appear to be big enough for both a bed and a sofa, think about a convertible sofa bed? One thing, try to avoid placing a bed in a corner, the bedding against the wall is difficult to change or keep tidy, a permanent headache. I know these ideas are very off trend, if you plan to entertain, think about stackable garden furniture, it is generally comfortable and will not interfere with your living space when not in use (stacked out of the way); or, maybe beanbags? Good luck enjoying you new freedom.
At our age, we need a regular bed with an extra firm mattress. Our mattress is 10" deep, a bit hard for me to get the fitted sheet on, but my husband helps with that every week. I remember having a water bed when we were in our 30s and they were so comfortable, but after 4 years it sprung a leak and ruined by hardwood floor. It gave us an excuse to buy a new bed and I refinished all the floors throughout the house. This house is much smaller, only 1620 sq.ft. as opposed to the previous one with 3300 sq.ft. We swapped the small living room and made it the dining room removed the dividing wall to the kitchen and installed low drawers, and lined the walls with ceiling high shelving with doors. The counters are black granite and all else is white. I like the simplicity and openness. No curtains or shutters, shades that pull up to let the bright light in.
Oh great tip on the table, thank you! The ceilings at 9'3", so I'm trying to figure out how to get things up there. Googling storage furniture all day and night!
Thank you! Okay I've ordered a better measuring tape after reading your comment haha. Love the curvy furniture idea- I think you're right about the rug!
Oh I love this!! That article is very inspiring. I think you're right and submitting to the smaller room being All Bed is probably the way to go. I've been scouring the archives for the smallest apartments you guys have featured haha, I seem to be giving them a run for their money!
Wayfair has bookcases taller than 84." Do you have photos of your closet? It's amazing how much wasted space there is in standard closet layouts unless you use creative solutions.
Yes! It's been so hard to resist the impulse buys. Using 'go slow' as a mantra! I'll definitely update on progress!
I think you really need to find a tall cupboard to fit in the space between the stove and refrigerator. If you need access to the plugs perhaps you could take part of the back off to create an appliance shelf. Think about using a daybed in the smaller room rather than a full sized bed. That might leave you enough room for a dresser. If you could arrange a curtain to close off the 4 and 3 foot walls, you could add rolling racks and have a sort of closet with out having to see all your stuff.
haha yes- they are, of course, triangular
You'll never be sorry you got a good measuring tape!
As for the rug, my current studio apartment is a rectangular box with a big rectangular kitchen aisle, all whites and grays.
So my first purchase (before moving) was a round orange rug. (Bought an outdoors rug because they're easier to keep clean.) Best purchase I ever made, outside of my sofa bed. It made the place feel instantly cozy.
