There are a lot of perks to living in a studio apartment. They’re usually in the heart of the city, close to work, in the thick of the action, and the open plan is good for new renters and homeowners needing a more low-key maintenance plan for their home. But there is one major downside that drives tenants crazy: the lack of space.
A studio apartment means you have one wall with your bed, another with your sofa, another with your kitchen, and maybe another room for your bathroom. It’s all contained in the one space, meaning that there is very little room for storage. So, what can you do about it? We’ve got some suggestions on how you can optimise space in your studio apartment.
Use vertical space
Vertical space is criminally underused in western homes. Art is great, but it’s purely aesthetic. If you need space, you need to use vertical space. The best way to do this is with overhead shelves and cabinets. Use the wall space you have to display what you have or hide them away, depending on whether you go with shelves or cabinets. Either way, you’ll have a place to put all your things.
Choose furniture wisely
Along the same lines, you might want to really think about the furniture you’re taking into this studio apartment. If you need a bookshelf, get a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. Use the wall space you have.
Anything made for the floorspace should have a storage element to it. You can buy, or make, a loft bed from putting a bed frame on a foundation of chests of drawers. Or a loft bed with empty space, enough for a desk or sofa. Any desk you buy should have cabinets.
Try minimalism
But all of that can feel cluttered very quickly, if you’re filling the space with furniture, you might want to go with somewhat of a minimalist approach to keep the room feeling tidy. At the very least, take some pointers. Keep away from display cabinets and open coffee tables. Opt for closed doors rather than glass or empty space in your storage furniture, so that only the best of the best is on display and everything else is put away.
Store what you don’t need
If you’re not using that mountain bike every day to get to work, it doesn’t need to be there. The seasonal clothes that are too hot for a summer’s day, the art supplies you only ever pull out once in a while: they can all be stored away.
But if not in your studio apartment, then where? A storage unit. There are lots of self storage options in London, which will keep your things well secure and protected from the elements. You’ll be given a key that will grant you access whenever you want, so if you’re feeling creative this weekend you can pull out that easel with no fuss.
Keep only what you need
And there is a lesson to be had from hiring a storage unit: if you don’t in fact pull out that easel or mountain bike in the next 6-months to a year, maybe it’s time to get rid of it. Moving into a studio space, especially a London studio, is a good time to take into account what you have and what you are actually using. Maybe it’s time for a clearout.
Be brutal. That dress you swore you’d wear can go to a charity shop. Those shoes where the soles are coming off can go in the bin. And it’s worth mentioning that a lot of things can go to charity and vintage shops. They’ll happily pick up an unwanted piece of furniture for free, for example.
