Small apartments have always caused a feeling of discomfort; their owners felt left out. Since the time when new design approaches to the reorganization of space and compact “smart” apartments appeared, the purchase of budget housing has become prestigious. You can live quite comfortably on a few square meters if you think through the design of a small studio apartment to the smallest detail. Here you can combine desires and opportunities by arranging cozy housing in the center of a big city.
A small standard apartment can turn into a very cozy studio apartment, the design of which will take into account all the needs of the family living in it.
Advantages of small apartments
A compact studio apartment is a special type of layout, where there are practically no partitions or walls. Small housing with proper zoning is common in the megacities of Japan, Europe and America, where every square meter is very expensive. A good design project for a small studio apartment also costs a lot of money. But you can use the recommendations of experts to make several of your “squares” of living space cozy.
A studio apartment is a space planning option that appeared in Russia not so long ago.
The small size of the “studio” is an opportunity for your creative self-expression, where it is easy to emphasize some design concept or vision of aesthetics. This is as functional and economical as possible, especially during the heating season, and also in terms of repair costs.
A few decades ago, few people thought about demolishing all the walls in their apartment and combining the rooms into one space.
A thoughtful design project for a small studio apartment is considered ideal for certain categories of citizens:
- A young couple who have just separated from their parents;
- Students whose wealthy parents prefer to move them away from the negative influence of the hostel;
- Entrepreneurs who are forced to work for two cities for years and often come on business (cheaper than paying for a hotel);
- Creative individuals using the studio as a creative workshop;
- A single resident of a metropolis who wants to have a compact apartment in the center of the capital or a large regional center;
- Lovers of modern housing with an unusual layout;
- Couples living as guests from different cities or countries, having adult children and forced to meet on neutral territory.
Now this option is used very often and apartment owners prefer studios for many reasons.
The absence of stationary partitions and interior walls is a great advantage in terms of functional changes. With the birth of a child, it is easy to transform the interior design of a small studio apartment by adding a children's corner with a play area. As your lifestyle changes, you can expand your workspace to perform additional tasks remotely from home. If you often have guests in the house, it is recommended to “expand” the soft corner with additional seats.
The studio apartment was popular in America and Europe: it was simultaneously used as housing for young people and as a creative workshop.
See alsoApartment design for a young man
Advantages and disadvantages
Studio apartment 20 sq. m is perfect for a young couple. It is affordable and can accommodate modern furniture and equipment. Such a space requires decoration in light colors. If the studio is 40 sq. m, there are even more ideas for layout and design.
The advantages of a studio layout are:
- The absence of partitions inside the room, making it cozy and bright;
- Increasing the area that is useful;
- Simple redevelopment with a variety of options and the ability to independently change zoning;
- Availability of each zone;
- The ability to highlight zoning using a variety of styles, color palettes and finishing materials.
Flaws:
- If several people live in an apartment, conflicts may arise due to the lack of personal space;
- It is not always possible to convert a simple apartment into a studio. Such drastic changes must take place with the consent of the BTI;
- It is important to pay special attention to the installation of ventilation and heating devices;
- The need to install a strong hood in the kitchen;
- The need to maintain perfect order.
Arrangement of a studio apartment using zoning
With the huge selection of housing that real estate agencies offer today, it is not so easy to choose the best option. The spectacular design of a small studio apartment or smart apartment can more than compensate for all the shortcomings of the footage if every corner is managed correctly. Thoughtful zoning of functional areas will help with this.
You can talk about a studio apartment from the creative side - after all, this is, at a minimum, a platform for self-expression.
Housing with a “studio” layout is much more convenient than traditional small-sized apartments, which remain cramped and dark due to the large number of walls. Studio apartments do not have them; most often only the bathroom is separate; there is only a conditional division between the hallway, living room and bedroom areas, as in the photo example.
The absence of walls appears to the free artist (and the common man too) as limitless opportunities for the manifestation of his imagination.
If there is a desire to make an additional delimitation of living space, different techniques are usually used.
TABLE
| 1. | Methods of visual zoning and organizing space according to functionality | Kitchen block, sleeping area, guest and work space |
| 2. | Glass partitions, mirrors, aquariums and bubble panels | Partitions made of glass blocks, up to the ceiling and low partitions, glass and plastic doors, sliding and stationary screens |
| 3. | Screens and textile curtains (ceiling cornice, Japanese) | Light transparent (translucent) fabric, thread and rope curtains, decorative elements |
| 4. | Furniture zoning | Multi-level shelves, bookcases and racks, upholstered furniture with an island, a computer desk at the end, folding table tops, a bar counter, furniture modules |
| 5. | Bunk and multi-level furniture | Coupe bed or loft bed, folding chairs and sleeping modules |
These methods are quite enough to conditionally delimit space to fit into the design of a small studio apartment. Using modular furniture and all kinds of transformers (folded after use), it is easy to expand the possibilities of compact housing.
Let’s figure out how you can independently furnish your studio in style with maximum comfort.
Attention! The point of zoning is to have everything at hand, and every corner is equipped so that it is obvious which zone is for sleeping, working, cooking or receiving guests.
Apartments with small square footage are considered for housing for several reasons: convenience, savings, practicality.
Do not forget that each functional area should have its own local lighting. Widely Use:
- LED strip around the perimeter of the stretch ceiling;
- Spot lighting for cabinets;
- Floor lamps;
- Desk lamp;
- Wall sconces.
Lamps can be mounted not only to walls and ceilings, but also to the ends of cabinet furniture.
The convenience of a studio apartment is a comfortable space for one person or a couple.
See alsoFurniture for a small room
Materials for finishing a studio apartment
For interior decoration, the same materials and technologies are used as for ordinary block apartments. Most often, the walls and ceiling in a studio apartment are finished with plasterboard sheets, followed by painting with light enamels.
The ceiling is most often made suspended; in the area of the kitchen space, a two-level cabinet with built-in directional lamps is installed.
The floor is traditionally made according to a warm scheme with water or electric heating. Sometimes, for the sake of a certain style, for example, Scandinavian, the floor in a studio apartment can be made of planks, with artificially aged floorboards.
What should a studio kitchen and bathroom look like?
Regarding the kitchen, there are also options, especially since modern city dwellers cook little, coming home at night and on rare weekends. It is not necessary to take up space with a large 4-burner gas stove with oven. If you cook often, you need a powerful hood to prevent fumes and odors from filling the entire apartment. This is the only minus of the studio apartment.
One person does not need a full kitchen.
Everyone chooses from the list of kitchen equipment only the most necessary:
- Small electric stove with 2 elements;
- Electric kettle;
- Oven (microwave oven);
- Electric grill;
- Coffee maker;
- Food processor;
- Universal pressure cooker.
Several devices will fit in a small kitchen cabinet next to the sink or the only washbasin, if a bathtub is not included in the design project of a small studio.
A studio-type apartment does not require bulky cabinet furniture; open modular shelves that can be rearranged for equipment and office supplies are sufficient. Some pieces of furniture can be displayed on their ends, using them as a functional partition.
The interior of the small studio does not have a full kitchen, only a small catering unit.
Usually a studio-type apartment has a full-fledged toilet or bathroom, but it can also be isolated rather conditionally. The problem is odors and hygiene. Therefore, it is better to separate it as it should be - according to all standards. There is no bathtub - just a shower box with a tray where you can do laundry is enough.
The size of the bathroom in a studio apartment does not allow it to accommodate a full-sized bathtub.
A compact washing machine can be located in a niche under the sink, so as not to allocate a separate space for it. This technique is used in Khrushchev buildings and modern interior design of a small one-room apartment. When the composition of the family changes, children are born, it is advisable to change the studio to a multi-room apartment.
There is a washing machine built under the countertop, and there is also a small storage system.
As long as everything suits a small family, it is better to have one large room that meets all modern requirements than a small one-room Khrushchev-era apartment, where even one person is cramped. The studio always has a lot of light, air and free space in the passages, if it is not cluttered with old furniture and unnecessary rubbish.
Having a small studio apartment, you can make the most of the space and keep everything at hand.
The choice of finishing materials for the design of studio baths and kitchens in small apartments is the same as in a traditional layout. Considering that everything is united here, the room must have good waterproofing.
Double-glazed plastic windows will help improve the sound insulation of a house located along the road.
See also Art Deco in the interior: colors, features, photos
Design of a studio apartment 20 sq. m
For the smallest apartment measuring 2.8 x 6.3 m, small-sized furniture, household appliances and kitchen units are traditionally selected. An L-shaped facade with a stove and a built-in microwave is installed directly on the entrance wall of the studio apartment.
There is also a dining area in the form of an impromptu bar counter.
The rest of the space in the studio apartment is filled with upholstered furniture and cabinets. In order not to artificially narrow the room, the entire interior of a small apartment is made in a light color palette, made of plasterboard and plastic.
The amount of free space in the interior can be significantly increased if the ceiling height of the studio apartment exceeds 3 m.
In this case, the design of the room can include a second floor for sleeping space.
Design approaches to planning and arranging furniture in a small studio apartment
The size of studio-type apartments ranges from 16 to 40 sq.m. There are square, rectangular and corner options, depending on whether it was the original layout or a transformation from the old foundation. When purchasing, some received a fully furnished home with furniture, only personal belongings were missing, while others received bare walls.
It’s always nice to independently participate in the design of your apartment, and the studio makes this easy.
Attention! If it is not possible to turn to specialists for a layout project and interior design of a small studio apartment, you will have to arrange it yourself. The catch with a studio-type layout is that in a limited area without walls, the dining table may be near the toilet, and the bed may be near the front door.
The owners can choose the best shades, favorite fittings and delimit the space in a way that is convenient.
A new apartment may not even have plumbing; only communication risers are installed:
- Gas pipe;
- Ventilation duct;
- Water pipes;
- Sewerage.
These exit points determine the location of the bathroom and kitchen unit. They cannot be moved, but pipes can be extended to move them along the wall.
Participating in the layout - especially of the studio - is very important.
After the square meters for communications have been allocated, it is important to purchase compact plumbing fixtures. It is recommended to purchase multifunctional and vertically elongated models. After solving the issue with partitions and ventilation of the bathroom, you can begin to design the kitchen unit.
Savings are a significant indicator: studio apartments are much cheaper than multi-room options.
Advice.
You can do without a dining table in order to save space by expanding the window sill in the form of a tabletop.
A large dining table is only needed for a family of 3-4 people. Be sure to provide a full-fledged work surface (top of a cabinet or folding tabletop) for cooking. A bar counter and a wide coffee table near the sofa bed or in the center of the guest island are enough for 1-2 residents.
It is the savings in money and repair costs that are a significant advantage of a studio apartment over other housing options.
Keep in mind that there will be other horizontal surfaces - a computer desk (folding module for a laptop) and open hanging shelves in each functional area. When arranging the interior of a small one-room studio apartment, take into account your lifestyle and daily needs, and do not fill your home with unnecessary items.
It is better to store the wardrobe in one wardrobe with a mirrored facade, then other mirrors are not needed. Use the cabinet itself to delimit functional areas or as a headboard under a folding sofa.
Open space makes you feel more free and puts you in a creative mood.
In the design of a small studio apartment, modern style is most acceptable:
- Ecostyle;
- High tech;
- Fusion;
- Art Deco;
- Minimalism;
- Postmodernism.
With a minimal area of studio apartments, you have to save every centimeter of space, but there is the possibility of visual expansion. For these purposes, designers use wide horizontal lines in the decor and tall, narrow furniture. Various pencil cases, modules and multifunctional shelving will also serve to zoning and “absorbing” small items.
Arranging a studio apartment is a whole creative project that deserves a multi-faceted approach.
Pay attention to the corner computer desk with shelving. Despite its compactness, it is very roomy and convenient in the interior of a small studio. You can even place it against the back of the sofa or fence off the corner where the bed is.
Advice.
To prevent your sleeping area from appearing close to the front door, move the bed or pullout sofa as far away as possible.
The decor should be minimal, and the approach to planning should be thorough.
Furniture should be placed so as not to lie facing the entrance. A high headboard or side of any furniture will help isolate a sleeping person. You can use textiles and temporary partitions, a canopy or a curtain. For more practical tips, look at real examples of a small studio apartment with interior design in the photo.
See alsoFusion style in the interior - combining incompatible things
Interior style of a studio apartment
Getting rid of unnecessary partitions does not transform the home into an example of modern design. Moreover, parts of the room that were completely different in content were combined into one space. Therefore, it is important for the owners of a new studio apartment to find their own, most suitable interior design if they do not want to turn their home into a chaotic pile of things and furniture.
Most often, the interior of a studio apartment is decorated in one of the most popular styles:
- A classic room design option. At the same time, the classic styles for kitchen-studio interiors include loft and minimalism, which were recently considered avant-garde;
- Modern style using a lot of chromed metal, tinted glass, polished wood and plastic;
- Mixed options - “natural materials”, “Provence”, “Scandinavia”.
For your information!
Modern styles do not have clear boundaries of images, so in the design of a studio apartment it is quite possible to use individual, most successful solutions, borrowed from the interiors of other styles you like. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Firstly, borrowing should not disturb the image of the studio apartment’s interior, and secondly, when drawing up the layout, you need to strictly adhere to the zoning system. For example, a great idea with a folding sofa, photo, you can’t even try to fit into the design of styles such as minimalism or art deco, but the design will fit well into a loft, techno, or any modern version of the design of a studio apartment.
Studio apartment in classic style
Sometimes it is difficult to understand the intricacies of trends, trends and concepts of modern design. In this case, experts recommend using classics when choosing an interior. For example, pastel brown colors for the walls and furniture of the room, photo. A classic combination of minimalism and techno in the design of a studio apartment. In this case, the furniture façade of the kitchen, a TV and a modern stereo system complement the practical minimalism of the interior well.
Refusal of white color, which is obsessively recommended by all designers and stylists, does not obscure the room. On the contrary, the interior of a studio apartment looks muted, soft, and very comfortable, especially if sound-absorbing coatings are used for the walls and floor.
Another version of the classic apartment interior is a studio; it is difficult to highlight the main idea in it, so it is classified as a fusion or mix style.
In one space of a studio apartment there are interior details of several styles. A huge window covering the entire wall, laminate flooring and tables in the form of wooden chocks are considered the hallmark of the Scandinavian style. Furniture and wall decoration can be classified as both loft and office design.
One cannot help but recall the classic Loft. A huge number of studio apartments are decorated by their owners in this style.
At first glance, a studio apartment in loft design does not make a strong impression. Only after long-term use and residence can one appreciate the simplicity and perfection of the interior. The studio apartment is filled with things and details that create comfort and the design of the living space itself. In this sense, classics will always win over more modern styles.
Studio apartment in modern style
The most popular stylistic trends for studio interiors include high-tech, office style, a mixture of minimalism and neoclassicism.
Modern styles have their own “handwriting”:
- All minor objects, belongings, and interior details have been removed from the studio apartment. Everything is packed and hidden in numerous cabinets and niches;
- Most design solutions have a hi-tech touch of functionality. Upholstered furniture, tables, chairs - all furnishings of a studio apartment have style, functionality, without unnecessary decor and unnecessary decorations.
For example, a very simple office style is always designed so that the interior details are “at hand,” reliable and functional. Black soft upholstery and fabrics, contrasting light walls and modern flooring. In such a studio apartment, all interior elements are subordinated to one goal - to be useful for the residents.
A softer design option for a studio apartment is shown in the following photo.
In this case, in order to get rid of unnecessary functionality, but also not to clutter up the space at the same time, three reference colors were used in the design of the apartment - red, white and gray. The essence of the interior has not changed, but the design has become much more human.
Modern studio apartment design can be very bright and open.
And even cheerful or homely.
An example of modern design is an interior in the neoclassical style.
Tatiana Belaly, designer and head of BTD studio:
A studio apartment can go from being just a budget option to becoming a creative and comfortable home if you make the right choice. The window plays an important role in the possibilities of furnishing the studio - it is better to place a bed next to it or build a podium, do not fence it off with a partition, separating it from the rest of the area, you will spend an additional budget on paying for lighting. Ideally, if the window faces east - then in the morning the apartment will be light and warm, and in the evening the sun will not shine through the windows.
When you arrive at the house, pay attention to the shape of the room: an elongated rectangle, with the front door and window located on the short sides, limits the ability to create a comfortable apartment. Choose one that is close to a square - then you can conveniently plan all the zones and arrange them as you wish. Be careful with original layouts - with radial walls, with sharp corners - in such, the usable area is reduced significantly, but the cost of furniture increases, which you will have to make to order for non-standard apartment configurations.
Zoning a studio is not easy, so think about it in advance, even before purchasing, and consult with a professional designer. The sleeping place should not be placed opposite the door or vis-a-vis the kitchen; this does not contribute to either good sleep or a good appetite. If you want to arrange a bedroom or kitchen area, placing it on a hill (usually at least 50 cm), then keep in mind that the ceiling height in such a room must be at least 3 meters. What will you be offered – a shared or separate bathroom? Are you ready to sacrifice a bathroom and stay with only a shower - it all depends on your habits and daily routine.
Design of a studio apartment 30 sq. m
As in previous options, planning the interior of the room begins with the placement of the kitchen unit. The dimensions of the studio apartment, 30 m2 or 7x4.5 m, are spacious enough to accommodate all the furniture and household appliances without any problems.
The interior design can be called classic. The first quarter of the plan is allocated to the kitchen, which is approximately 12 m2, of which the kitchen unit takes up less than a third. The remaining 7 m2 of kitchen area can be used for the dining table and refrigerator.
To arrange the recreation area of the studio apartment, 18 m2 remains, which is more than enough to accommodate upholstered furniture, a home theater and cabinets.
Principles of arranging a studio in Khrushchev
The peculiarity of apartments located in multi-storey buildings built during the reign of Khrushchev is their small square footage. Many of our compatriots live in such apartments.
Taking into account the lack of living space, the decision to create a studio layout for an apartment having an area of 30 sq. m. m., becomes especially appropriate.
Interior design experts advise combining the bathroom with the toilet, and the kitchen with the living room, due to this the area will become larger.
Do-it-yourself kitchen decor can be homely: you will find original ideas with photos and descriptions of cute accessories and various useful things for the interior in the article. To learn how to choose curtains for wallpaper with a pattern, read this article.
Why studio?
Apartments with a combined living room and kitchen came to us from America and Europe, where they are popular among young people. In our country, people are divided into those who see a studio as an option for budget housing and those who consider it a design solution.
World famous design studio
One can agree with both points of view. A studio actually costs less than regular apartments and can be an ideal option as a first home, for busy people who are rarely at home, or as a real estate investment. The cost of utilities is also usually lower due to the small footage, so a studio can be considered an economical option in all respects.
Due to the absence of partitions, such apartments visually look more spacious and brighter. The open layout of the studio inspires creativity and provides space for implementing design ideas when renovating and decorating. Even with minimal decor, the studios look unusual and therefore interesting.
Design of a studio apartment 25 sq. m
One of the most successful options for a small-sized studio is shown in the photo below. The square proportions of the studio apartment allow you to easily plan the kitchen space not at the entrance, but against the side wall.
Another secret to a successful interior is the use of balcony space to increase the seating area. In general, the design of the studio apartment turned out to be quite homely and at the same time stylish.
For elongated, rectangular floor plans, almost the entire kitchen facade is “stretched” along the wall, and only the part with the refrigerator and stove is mounted at the entrance to the apartment.
The sleeping area and wardrobes are located on the opposite wall. The interior turns out to be somewhat unusual, but the conditions in the studio apartment are comfortable enough for one or two people.
