Swapping Pads: What to Consider when Downsizing to a Studio Apartment

If you’re packing up and heading to a housing market in a new area or you’re looking for a way to simplify your life, then it might be time to think about downsizing where you live. Studio spaces are convenient, affordable, and trendy, and a studio apartment layout offers an ideal way to cut out the clutter in your life.

If you’re ready to embrace minimalism, then read on to find tips for living in a studio apartment and what to consider before making the swap.

Furniture with Function

Studio apartments all have one thing in common — they’re smaller than your current home. Start by mapping out some typical studio apartment layout plans, and then assess your furniture to figure out what you should keep.

Furniture for small studio apartments should be as multifunctional as possible. Think of items like a day bed that you’ll use as a couch and then convert to your sleeping area at night, or consider a loft bed with space for a desk or dresser underneath. Other studio apartment ideas include an ottoman that you can use as extra seating when you have guests over or open shelves that provide storage space and serve as a room divider.

Woman drinking coffee at a table with a book

What Needs to Go?

One of the biggest challenges of a home studio layout is paring down your belongings before you move. In a studio apartment, you’ll find that knick-knacks, collectables, and even items like clothes and books take up valuable space, so you’ll have to think carefully about what’s worth keeping.

Each studio apartment layout varies in the amount of storage space included, but those coveted cubbies fill up faster than you think. Prepare to sell or donate items that aren’t going to be useful in your new living quarters, and know that this move is one that will really help you see which of your items are important to you and which ones you can part with.

If you have heirloom pieces or items that are simply impossible to give away, then you may consider renting a small storage space during your time in a studio apartment.

Open shelves in a kitchen neatly stacked with cups to maximize space

Studio Style

Another major change you’ll experience as you downsize is in your décor. A switch to a studio is a chance for a fresh, new start, and that includes the style and design choices you make.

Since your studio apartment layout is most likely more open than your current home, you’ll want to start by thinking of an overall style or theme that applies to the entire space.

From there, brainstorm how you can give each area of your studio its own feel while still maintaining a cohesive appearance. Popular studio apartment décor ideas use bookcases or open shelves to create the appearance of division throughout the space without overcrowding. You can maximize this sense of separation through your décor, such as a row of potted plants along the window near your couch or a piece of kitchen-inspired artwork above your sink.

If you’d rather forgo that sense of division and embrace the fluidity of your studio, then choose an overall color scheme with a few accents, and apply this palette to your entire space.

Moving from a house to a studio apartment is a big change, but there are ways to make the transition easier. CORT Furniture Rental offers functional furniture to help you maximize your space so you can get the most out of every inch of your smaller pad.

Neatly stacked shelves and hung towels show how to utilize space in a studio apartment layout