Before my college days, I had always dreamed of having my own space. No frowning parent ordering me to arrange my room and other such tiring tasks. When I finally got into college, I could practically taste freedom. I was able to rent a studio apartment, and yes it was tiny, but it was all mine! However, it didn’t take long for me to realize that the tiny nature of the apartment was going to be a problem as I had lots of stuff and basically very little space. Remember that saying about necessity giving birth to invention? Yeah, well during my 5-year stay in that studio apartment, I eventually learnt how to maximize the small space.
- Don’t clutter
Contrary to what anyone might say, there is no organization in chaos, at least not for tiny studio apartments. Tossing stuff wherever you feel like it would make your room cluttered and disorganized. Have a place for everything, and then keep things in their appropriate location. In return, you would have enough space to move around and what’s more, you won’t spend hours searching for an item under a pile of clothes you carelessly tossed on one side of the bed.
- You can’t go wrong with properly-placed curtains
Many people balk at the idea of putting curtains in their studio apartments with some claiming it takes even more space. As someone who has tried and tested the curtain theory, believe me when I say a well-placed curtain is one of the best space-saving ideas for a small apartment. I adore my privacy, and once I placed a curtain that separated my bed from the living area, I felt quite happy. There was my space for just me alone, and there was the space for visitors and friends. The partitioned area can also serve as your work space.
- Get some double-duty furniture
People say diamonds are a girl’s best friends, but if you’re living in a tiny studio apartment, multi-purpose furniture, and not diamonds, have to be your best friends. Multi-purpose furniture, or as I like to call them: double-duty babies, do exactly what their name says. They perform more than one purpose. Whether it’s a bed that can be converted to a couch, or even chest storage that also serves as a coffee table, these handy furniture save the space that could have been used for storing two separate furniture pieces. For more double-duty furniture options, check out this post on multi-purpose furniture.
- Use your walls
No matter how many flexible furniture you purchase, the fact remains that your floor space is limited. At this point, you have to turn to your walls. My mantra back then in college was: “No space left unused.” Silly, but true. However, most landlords don’t like tenants drilling holes in their walls and even have rules against that. If you have such restrictions, no worries. The Command hooks with very strong adhesives are great alternatives to screws and nails. You can use them for a variety of purposes and maximize your wall space: hooks for pots and pans in your kitchen area, floating vanity shelves for your bathroom, cloth racks, and even bookshelves.
- You can always store stuff in the unlikeliest of places
Little shelves placed over your doors can be used to store light, essential items. With the help of wheeled plastic bins, you can store towels, sheets and seasonal clothes under your bed.
So, take a minute today and look around your apartment. Which of these ideas can you implement to save space? Do you have other space-saving ideas, questions or suggestions? I would definitely love to hear from you.