45 Creative Ideas For Designing Your Small Studio Apartment

When you live in a studio apartment, you're presented with a straightforward but daunting task: converting one single space into a bedroom, living area, kitchen, office, and maybe more. And to do it without creating too much clutter—otherwise, you'll feel claustrophobic and overwhelmed. But don't allow a limited area or a difficult composition to keep you from building a cozy, attractive house that you'll want to spend time in. The small studio apartment ideas and recommendations below will make living in one space not only simpler but also more beautiful. Take inspiration from these cool studio apartment design examples and prepare to transform your itty-bitty house into a castle.

1. Display "Floating" Art

Max Sinsteden separated his sleeping area from the rest of the studio apartment by hanging a floor-to-ceiling curtain and then dangling a "floating" picture to further identify it. "I don't like seeing a bed from the front entrance, so I installed a curtain to cover it. You really do feel like you're at a Parisian hotel when you shut it "'House Beautiful,' he says. In the temporary living area, he hangs out with pals despite the cramped quarters.

2. Install a Glass Divider

Try a glass-paneled screen if just one-half of the room is windowed (and privacy isn't a concern). It offers just enough visual distinction to a space while still allowing enough light to pass through.

3. Make use of a Room Divider

Use a folding screen to provide the appearance of solitude and separation in an open loft or studio apartment if you don't want to—or can't—install permanent separators. Designer Maureen Footer also draws our attention with an extremely tall bed cornice, emphasizing the apartment's vertical spaciousness. In a confined area, she tells us, "There's no place to be shy."

4. Make a Mud Room Miniature

Even in a studio, a part should be set aside for a dramatic arrival. This entryway, created by Tamsin Johnson, demonstrates that a corner, rather than a defined entrance, is all that is required. A stylish mirror, an accent chair, an umbrella holder, and a few hooks are all that is required. A mirror and a pedestal with a little catch-all for keys and mail can suffice if you don't have a place for any of that.

5. Think beyond the box.

To have some privacy when changing, use a partial room divider, and choose a slender couch for additional sitting when visitors come over.

6. Use Architectural Flaws to Your Advantage

Every inch matters, so make use of architectural idiosyncrasies to the greatest extent possible. What's with that radiator next to your window? Make a window nook out of a gorgeous radiator cover and a bespoke cushion. (Plus, you won't have to worry about the big sofa taking up half the studio!) Pile on the cushions and, as Jae Joo did here, add a task lamp.

7. Create a Workplace That Is Unique to You

In the case of small work-from-home areas, a bespoke fold-out desk is an ideal option. When you need to return your home office to the living room, dining room, or bedroom, just shut it up and tuck it away. Any nook, no matter how little, can appear and feel elevated, as this one created by Brockschmidt & Coleman demonstrates.

8. Only use one color of paint

So you're trying to turn a large white box into a home? Leanne Ford Interiors has kindly provided you with a blueprint. The concept that the area has "rooms" is reinforced by the different floors in the seating. Add an area rug instead of refinishing your flooring if you don't want to refinish them.

9. Keep your bed hidden

Consider a DIY trundle bed or a solid platform with a retractable bed underneath it if your studio apartment is too small to house both a small sitting area and a bed. The wooden platform in this area allows for a couch to be placed in place of the bed, so it doesn't seem like a bedroom when guests come over. It's similar to a Murphy bed, but it's much simpler to make.

10. Curtains are preferable to doors

Instead of installing a sliding door, put a curtain over the bed to provide privacy. Like in this attic by Leanne Ford, a more diaphanous cloth allows light to pass through while also not weighing down the space.