There are plenty of benefits to living in a loft or studio apartment. You can easily make a smaller living area your own, put yourself in the heart of a downtown city area, and give yourself easy access to everything your town has to offer. Unfortunately, space isn’t one of those benefits.
If you’d like to give yourself a little more room to breathe while still storing your belongings, we can help! In this article, we’ll give you a handful of hacks for getting more out of less space while adding your own touch to a studio apartment or loft.
1. Add an open-concept closet.
Signing off on a studio apartment usually means giving up closet space, but there are plenty of ways to store and organize clothes without a specific room to put them in. Using a rod, rack, or wardrobe can help you keep your outfits organized while putting your personal taste in clothing on display.
For example, you can mount a tension clothing rod on a bare wall or on a piece of existing furniture to get extra mileage out of things you already own. You can also purchase a clothing rack to wheel into your space to add a little costuming chic to your apartment, or if you have enough room and enough budget, purchase a wardrobe to store clothes in.
2. Install shelving to get things off the floor.
Putting some shelving in your studio space can go a long way towards freeing up the floor and other surfaces. If your apartment allows you to put holes in the wall, look into strong shelves you can mount with screws; if not, you can mount decent shelves with Command strips or even find free-standing shelving units to store things on.
There are plenty of ways to repurpose existing items for shelving, too; spice racks and mason jars can both double as bathroom storage for jewelry and makeup, for example. This goes both ways as well, as a free-floating shelf attached to a wall can make an excellent nightstand while giving you floor space.
3. Bring in area rugs to help divide the space.
A studio apartment is a single room, but with the right methods of dividing it up, you can make it feel more like a multi-room space. Getting ahold of some area rugs can help with that division while adding a little personal taste; rugs can be a major investment, so make sure you measure your space and purchase the right sizes so you don’t end up with buyer’s remorse.
When putting rugs in your loft, it’s worth moving your furniture around to see what fits where and how much space you can save. Maybe the bed works better at a different angle, or maybe the couch can go up against the wall instead of in the middle of the room. Placing a rug gives you an opportunity to explore options and see what different arrangements of furniture can do for your apartment.
4. Get some plants.
When you live in the middle of a city, bringing some greenery into your home can help offset the urban atmosphere outside and make your space feel more alive. Low-maintenance succulents, resilient plants such as spider plants, and ferns are all excellent ways to put some green in your loft if you aren’t an experienced gardener.
Classic clay pots with soil never go out of style, but if you’re looking to spruce (sorry) up your space even more, try putting together a little DIY terrarium for your plants. If you’re feeling more ambitious, you can hang up a vertical herb garden in your kitchen with Command hooks; it’ll give you that pop of green while providing plenty of useful herbs to add to your cooking.
How else can I maximize my studio apartment space?
These are just a handful of tips for getting more space from less; use them as a starting point for your own do-it-yourself space-saving innovations. From closets to greenery, you’ll be well on your way to making your space your own.
If you need a little extra space, have you considered renting a storage unit? If so, you’re in the right place. Storage.com’s built-in search tool lets you see storage facilities near you, compare prices, and sort by the features you need.
