Ok, so studio apartments at Manchester’s Affinity Living are already spacious – and we’re pretty proud of that! But when it comes to living space, we all know that more is better. And, because living with us means you’ve got the freedom to decorate and put your own personal touch on your new home, what better excuse to unleash your creative side than to create a space that gives the illusion of more square footage beyond, well, its actual square footage?
No, that doesn’t mean you need to knock through walls or drill lots of holes everywhere. (But seriously, don’t do this. Our residence managers get funny about that sort of thing!). In fact, you can easily achieve an expanded look with clever little design hacks that can divide up your studio apartment. Like the 6 we’ve handpicked for you below:
1. Rugs
Rugs. Look great. Are ideal for insultation. And, they also make for great dividers in a studio apartment.
Put a rug on the floor and it will create a striking visual distinction between your living area and bedroom or living area and kitchen. Plus, you can easily replace it with a new one when the time comes to inject a new theme or colour into your home.
2. Make furniture stick out from the wall
Don’t panic neat freaks. We’re not encouraging messiness. However, positing certain furniture outwards from walls, rather than up against it, can act as a great divider, helping to give the impression of a room within a room.
For example, desks are one of the most popular ways of utilising this design hack. Point one outward from the wall, and you can create a more enclosed, separate study space, as well as helping to divide one living area from another.
3. Put furniture at the end of your bed
Hide your bed and create more space at the same time. No matter which way round you choose to have your living area, put your sofa or cupboard at the end of your bed to really separate your bedroom from the living area.
And, if you choose to do this with something like a cupboard, you could put things such as a lamps, plants or ornaments on top of it to hide your bed completely.
4. Create ‘fake’ walls
Similarly, you can use furniture to completely divide up living space by utilising them as fake walls.
We’re talking about items such as bookcases. Put one between your kitchen and living area and, not only a great place to put all your cook books, but also an easy way of separating the two spaces from each other. Also, arrange the books creatively to let light through and create a more open effect.
Or you could put up a thin curtain around the edge of your bed to really make you feel as if you’re going to a completely separate space for the night.
5. Projector screens
A bit of a bolder suggestion. But why not? If you’re a movie buff or Netflix binger, this hack is win-win on two counts.
Firstly, you’ve got a massive screen to enjoy your favourite films and series. And – more importantly for the purposes of this article – you’ve just gained the space that a TV would normally occupy. Utilise your wall space and, with no more TV, you can create a minimalist effect that can really open up the space of your living area.
6. Clear out clutter
Ok, so this probably sounds obvious. But clutter takes up space. From clothes you’ve worn once, hated and have since discarded, to unnecessary trinkets that one relative always buys you because they think you’ll like them. If they’re not essential, get rid. And while this rule should apply to every apartment size, it’s imperative in a studio.
Maybe just smile politely at your Aunt Janet and wait for her to leave before you throw out that awful figurine she brought you back from her holiday, though.