Design your life to include more money, health and happiness with less stuff, space and energy.

Design your life to include more money, health and happiness with less stuff, space and energy.

A Studio Apartment that Doesn’t Feel Like a Big Bedroom

Too often, entering a studio apartment feels like entering someone’s bedroom albeit with a few pieces of daytime furniture sitting around. No matter the size of the space, the presence of a bed tends to give the impression the room is for sleeping–an impression that is tough to shake without some sort of hiding bed (wall, sofa or trundle). A few years ago, Jordan Parnasse Digital Architecture, the same guys who designed this awesome East Village studio, created a clever way to make a small studio not feel like a bedroom.

Aside from a separate kitchen, bathroom and closet area, the 461 sq ft studio was an open rectangle with one window bank. JPDA added two pieces of custom millwork. The first was a bank of storage along the space’s north wall. At the end of the bank was a cutout that made a desk area.

The other piece is a loft bed with built in storage. By concealing most of the mattress’s bulk, the wood volume creates a nice boundary between bed and living spaces. While it’s not a mystery that there’s a bed in the volume, it goes a long way to making the space feel less bedroom-y.