This post shows you how to decorate a small studio apartment.
Living in a metropolitan city means spending much of your 20s in a studio apartment. Suppose you’re having questions on how to decorate a studio apartment on a budget or how to maximize space in a studio apartment.
In that case, you’ve come to the right place. From overall studio apartment layout ideas for stylish and modern looks to space-saving tips, clever furniture choices, and even clutter-free organization hacks. Living in a small studio apartment is a challenge I welcome wholeheartedly as a home decor enthusiast.
I’ve experimented with the best decorating ideas for studio apartments. I’m here to show you the journey to live with creativity, a practical mindset, and the exact ways how to decorate a small apartment.
Studio Layout Ideas – How to Divide a Small Studio Apartment
However small your studio apartment is, you still want to create separate zones for sleep, work, and leisure. Reducing the visual crampness to the minimum.
Dividing comes in many shapes and forms to fit your studio layout. Scroll down for inspiration for small apartment ideas.
1. Divide with a High-Profile Bed
Dividing up sections for different living purposes can be difficult for small studio apartment decorating ideas due to the limited space.
In this case, I encourage you to think vertically; a way to go is to have a high-profile bed.
I love this idea because of the different visual heights of the bed and the sofa. One automatically distinguishes the zones for sleeping and seating. Giving the illusion of a one-bedroom apartment.
You can also install plenty of precious storage units underneath the bed.
A win-win solution if you ask me.
2. Divide by Couch
A set of lovely sofas is what normally comes with studio apartment ideas.
It can also serve as a room divider, separating the sleeping zone from the rest of the living space.
Look for a couch with proper visual weight, just enough thick for comfort and narrow for separation. You should only have limited furniture inside your studio room design.
Remember, every piece should be classic and timeless.
3. Divide with a Bookshelf
A bookshelf is another excellent choice for dividing furniture for your small studio room ideas.
An ideal bookshelf is sleek and minimalist, perfect as part of the studio apartment design ideas.
You will be able to use it to display your book collections alongside other objects that are close to your heart.
4. Tiny Studio Apartment Ideas: Divide with Curtains
Curtains are super powerful for setting up ambiance. Besides that, they work wonders for subtly dividing up a small space.
This idea is perfect for a small studio apartment for rent, as curtains can be easily set up and removed.
The sleeping sanctuary might be somewhere you’d prefer it hidden. Setting up a curtain is perfect, adding a grandness to the small room.
It can also cover a rather unflattering part of your home for a more clutter-free outlook.
5. Divide by a transparent wall
Wall-up is a brilliant idea for space division. Set up a transparent wall with glass for a small studio apartment.
Through a glass up, you don’t lose the valuable natural lighting or the wholeness of the place. Instead, you will have more functionalities applied to your original space.
6. Small Studio Apartment Ideas: Divide with Rugs
I can’t think of a better decorative element to add to a small space than a beautiful rug.
Adding a rug to define your bed area makes it feel homey.
Or have two rugs to divide the space naturally. Have the fluffy, neutral-colored one under your bed and another colorfully patterned piece for the living area.
Be conscious of the choice of rugs. For example, a heavily patterned fluffy area rug will make your studio look smaller.
How to Decorate a Small Studio Apartment: Space-Saving Tips
7. Maximize the Living Space With A Large Mirror
Mirrors are essential for home decor magics, especially for smaller spaces.
A large mirror leaning against the wall makes any place look great and opens up the space in no time.
If you love modern home aesthetics, try a large, sleek mirror with no evident border attached.
Besides helping make your room look more significant, the mirror is a functional furniture piece to check your OOTD before leaving home.
8. Bedside Table
Replace a chunky nightstand with a round bedside table.
Besides being functional to hold objects, the bedside table’s thin legs and sleek silhouettes have a minimalist atmosphere, crucial to setting the tone of a small space.
You can also get a floating shelf on the empty wall to utilize the vertical space.
9. Open Shelves For Storage
The significance of storage in a small studio apartment cannot be strengthened enough.
Due to the limited space, there won’t be many existing storage options available. Therefore, I encourage you to think outside the box and be creative!
Having open shelves next to your bed is a brilliant idea. It’s functional for storage and display and is aesthetically pleasing to look at without overdoing it.
There are also over-the-head shelving ideas available. Personally, I’m not a fan. I just prefer not staring directly into objects while lying down.
10. Folding Table On How to Decorate a Small Studio Apartment
An antique mid-century fold-out desk is an excellent rendition of your working space.
Besides the apparent reason that it can save a ton of space, it is chic and will blend perfectly with the rest of your studio.
11. A Fully Utilized Closet Space
Make your closet the divider between your sleeping area and the living space.
Create a luxurious walk-in closet from scratch, offering all the desired functionality while looking visually pleasing.
Even though this arrangement will not work for a very small studio apartment layout, it’ll be nice to see how it can optimize a space.
12. Tall Headboard Bed
Due to the limited horizontal space, we must think vertically and grab any chance; in this case, it’s the tall headboard.
A tall headboard will elongate the eye level, reducing the room’s foundational visual weight.
You can use a neutral, light, woody tone to blend the headboard with the rest of the living space.
Add warmth through fluffy cushions and a textured throw for a feminine finish.
13. Slim Bathroom Storage Cabinet
I’ve always passionately advocated for a slim cabinet for small space storage.
It is sleek and minimalist, beautiful yet subtle enough to put in a small bathroom.
Another advantage of a slim cabinet is that it can be placed in any corner of your bathroom. It takes up less space while storing daily toiletries such as toilet paper, pads & tampons, cleaning supplies, and more.
To learn more about small bathroom organization hacks you’ll love, check out my post here for the 25 best tips to save storage space.
14. Kitchen Open Shelves
A small studio apartment often has a smaller kitchen, which we must work with.
There are amazing tricks to add functionality when exploring how to decorate a small studio apartment. One of my favorite things to do is install open shelves.
It helps utilize the vertical space, adding more storage options with easy access.
You can also add a decorative pot of plants onto the floating shelf to create a fresh and homey atmosphere.
15. Dining Area in a Small Kitchen
Creating a separate dining area in your small kitchen might be beneficial if your studio layout allows.
This idea allows a complete utilization of the kitchen space that you have.
It also gives the kitchen a rustic and cozy feel.
The dining table can also be used as your designated work desk while providing extra seating for party hosting.
16. Top of the Fridge Storage for Small Studio Apartment
I used to neglect the above fridge area, but not anymore!
It is a fantastic place to organize and display. You can add a woven basket to your refrigerator to store items you don’t use daily.
There are many other ways to utilize the precious top of the fridge space. Look at my previous blog post here for some fantastic decor hacks.
17. Add an Entryway Bench On How to Decorate a Small Studio Apartment
Utilizing your entryway to the fullest by adding a narrow bench.
If your entryway is small or nonexistent, simply use a narrow bench to add aesthetics and functionality.
Consider leveraging the rustic bench for seating and art displaying.
You can also add some woody baskets underneath for extra storage.
18. Greeneries All The Way
Having fresh greenery in a small space is the game changer!
Curate your plant collections and place them in every corner of your studio.
Greenery generally brightens any small space, making the room 10 times more lively and lovely.
19. A Sofa-Free Studio
Removing a sofa from a living space may be unconventional, but it could be liberating!
If you don’t often host big parties, consider switching a traditional sofa out with 2 classic chairs in this idea.
The neutral and woody tones blend perfectly with the minimalist room, and there are still enough seating options for someone with a simple lifestyle.
20. A TV-Free Studio
I notice a trend nowadays in home decor: people no longer view TV as necessary.
I’m a TV person, but even I have been gravitating towards a TV-free living space.
I still have not caved into watching movies on my laptop. Instead, I started exploring with a home theatre projector.
It is versatile and easy to carry but still offers inpackable quality.
Even when you’re not using the projector for leisure, you can still have it on to showcase time or as an aesthetic background.
21. Utilize Your Vertical Space
Does your studio have an awkward space next to the sofa or bed?
Utilize that space carefully by adding a piece of furniture.
A sleek and tall bookshelf is a great way to leverage the vertical space without taking up too much horizontal space.
You can use it to decorate your living room and store books simultaneously.
22. Neutral Color Tones For Studio Apartment Interior Design
A neutral color palette is the secret to a cozy small studio apartment.
Focussing on one neutral color as your main color scheme will give the illusion of a more prominent place.
It will also help calm the room’s vibe, avoiding it being too cramped or chaotic.
Add accent colors such as pastel pink and coral for a pop of color and a girly finish.
23. An Aesthetic Folding Screen
What a lavish way to divide a studio! What I love about this folding screen is that it does the job by simply standing there as an aesthetic piece.
The folding screen will help create the illusion of privacy, which is most appreciated in a small studio apartment or a loft.
Not only is it highly functional, but it also looks astonishingly beautiful and adds characters to the space.
24. IKEA For Efficiency Apartment Ideas
Ikea is truly your friend when it comes to decorating a studio apartment.
Even though Ikea is permanent furniture, it is still flexible enough, thus highly efficient for renters. For small studio apartment decorating ideas, Ikea is the way to go.
What I love about this Ikea bookshelf idea is that it creates open cubicle space. It can provide tons of extra storage and is see-through, so all the natural lights shine in.
Final Thoughts on Decorating Your Small Studio Apartment
Living in a small studio apartment doesn’t mean you have to compromise on living quality and style.
There are clever ways to work around the space issue that many of us have, whether through studio design ideas, layout adaptation, or optimization for organization tips.
The most important thing is to decorate your studio with just the right touch of personality, passion, and functionality.
This post showed you how to decorate a small studio apartment.
