Studio flat design ideas
Whether it's due to skyrocketing rents in crowded cities, or the trend for less-is-more living, more and more of us find ourselves in tiny spaces where bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms all jostle for room. Don't let claustrophobia get the better of you though - all you need is some clever design and innovate thinking on room layout, paint colours and furniture placement. Here are some studio flat design ideas from the House & Garden archive to help you along the way...
Michael Sinclair1/10If constricted to a one-room flat, there is every chance you will want to screen certain sections off for privacy or for cosiness, such as a living snug or bedroom. Internal curtains are a perfect way to do this. They are easy to install and to move: far less of a commitment than other options such as a stud wall or crittal windows, and they easily open up to make the space feel bigger when they are not needed. What’s more, in a modern, small apartment, it can be best to avoid curtains on the actual windows. Very simple windows are a key architectural feature, and curtains can suffocate them, masking their clean lines and eating too much into the size of the room. Roller blinds in bold colours can be a smart choice. Heavy fabrics are particularly great for internal curtains, such as this beautiful, intense red velvet from Metaphorés, used to screen off the living snug from the doorway.
Michael Sinclair2/10People so often presume that space-saving furniture is a modern invention, and therefore only think to look at twentieth century or contemporary design. This is a mistake; Georgian furniture often has quite narrow proportions and could be brilliantly utilitarian at times. It also makes a handsome and sophisticated contrast when used in a modernist building. Here, a Georgian antique table makes for a lovely, compact dining nook, and can be folded away to allow for more room, or for cleaning. Try also looking out for ‘Bistro’ shelves, such as these shown here, as they are particularly shallow, but tall, and so can make for a beautiful display in a surprisingly small space.
Michael Sinclair3/10The desk and desk chair in this studio flat are set perpendicular to the wall which creates a nice visual barrier between the living area and the bedroom and helps everything to flow together well. This also means that you don’t have to working facing into a blank wall, or face outwards like a receptionist. This art-deco desk from Quindry is nice and compact, with a built-in in-tray and a good amount of storage for its size. This Carl Hansen wall-mounted office system is a beautiful, simple design classic which can be built up to cover the entire wall in storage without looking messy.
Davide Lovatti4/10In Tara Craig's tiny London flat, she makes the living room and kitchen work together as one continued space through the clever use of colour. The living room end is painted in ‘Nabis’ by Adam Bray for Papers and Paints and that colour carries through to the door, while the main kitchen units are a custom apricot shade by Papers and Paints. The tones of the two colours complement each other while helping to simultaneously break the room into two functional spaces and keep it feeling harmonious.
Lucas Allen5/10The original boarded ceiling in this high, former studio, now living room is located in Chelsea, London. Owner and interior designer Hugh Leslie painted it in 'Skylight' by Farrow & Ball, while the sisal rug is from Crucial Trading (since discontinued, but they have plenty more to choose from, priced around £56 per square metre).
Simon Brown6/10Banda Design Studio maximised every inch of space in this small, modern, one-bedroom flat by fitting a large sitting area and a dining alcove with banquette seating. A mezzanine houses the bedroom and bookshelves.
Lucas Allen7/10The neat attic bedroom of designer Hugh Leslie's Chelsea studio is partially clad in horizontal tongue-and-groove boarding. This is a good trick to visually widen a small room. Try the Georgian range from The English Panelling Company, which would create a similar effect.
8/10This 33m2 flat in Hong Kong was designed by interiors studio JAAK. An 'engawa' - a corridor-like space along one side of the flat maximises natural light from the windows while custom-made cabinets create harmonious divisions within the home. The only fully enclosed space within the original concrete walls is the bathroom with discreet cupboards, which is accessible through a secret door.
- 9/10
One of the walls of this diminutive 13-square metre studio flat in London is angled, which posed an extra challenge. The bed, fitted at the narrowest end of the triangular shaped room, folds up when not in use and is surrounded by two slim bookshelves and a bedside table.
- 10/10
In this seriously clever New York studio, the narrow kitchen faces a brick wall across a tiled corridor, where wooden shelves fold out to form a breakfast table or extra counter space.
