A studio apartment is a type of housing characterized by the complete absence of partitions between rooms. The idea of a studio apartment came to Russia from America, but even earlier it arose in Japan, due to problems with housing. After many years, this idea caught on with us.
The design of a studio apartment is very diverse and consists of many inventive ideas, because such housing combines both a recreation area and a place of work. Therefore, such projects are more complex than usual, and must take into account various details and calculations.
What does a studio apartment look like?
Usually it looks like an area divided into two zones - a kitchen and a place to live. These zones are separated by various color shades, furniture, niches, differences in floor and ceiling levels - there are a lot of design ideas for studio apartments on this issue. There are also combined types of housing, consisting of a studio room and ordinary rooms. Such apartments look like spacious and free housing, which is very important for a small space.
The euphoria will pass quickly: why you can’t buy studios in converted communal apartments
Thousands of communal apartments are resettled in St. Petersburg every year. However, if you believe the official data, the number of people living within these walls, for some mysterious reason, not only does not decrease, but even increases. However, as it turned out, there is no mysticism here.
It’s just that the square meters in the former communal apartments are no longer rooms, but cozy studios with a separate entrance and even their own bathroom. Although the housing is small, it is your own and for little money. But you will have to put up with a number of inconveniences. About business in communal apartments Sergey Leskov.
Excellent renovation, no trash in the hallway and no unpleasant odors. You won’t immediately believe that this is a former communal apartment. And there are more and more such housing on the real estate market.
Such a studio is far from an apartment, on average 12-15 square meters, but everything you need is there. The bed has a small kitchen, but the main difference from a regular communal apartment is a separate bathroom.
City center, gorgeous view from the window, a couple of minutes walk to the metro, and even the price for such an offer would seem to be a bargain. From one and a half to three and a half million. Ekaterina Abaeva bought her separate short film without looking. But the euphoria passed quickly. The problems started immediately after the housewarming party.
“Now I’ll show you on the plan. It was a garbage chute; it was sewn up and tiled. A garbage chute that turned out to be working, although we were told it was not working. They threw bottles and we listened to it,” says the girl.
The business of reanimating old communal apartments in St. Petersburg appeared several years ago. The scheme is simple but profitable. Some companies buy apartments entirely, make cosmetic repairs, and install water and sewerage in each room. And then they sell it as a separate home. Profit from 30 to 50 percent of the invested funds. But according to the law, it is generally impossible to register such a communal alteration.
“It is necessary to find out and establish what redevelopments were made. Do they have consent or are they unauthorized? Since the owner bears responsibility, regardless of who carried them out,” says lawyer Yuri Smirnov.
Almost every second buyer talks about their ordeals in modernized studio rooms. People claim that they were blatantly deceived. In fact, they do not own separate housing, but only a share in a communal apartment.
“The company’s employees convinced us that in just a few months the plans would be approved and our personal accounts would be divided. It all came to a standstill and as a result, we still paid according to the standard,” says Olga Stolbova.
In this situation, company representatives explained the delay in terms of the coronavirus epidemic. Although they don’t deny it, they always receive the necessary documents with difficulty.
“If you try very hard, approval can take from three months to a year, and maybe more, in fact,” says Alexander Osokin, general director of the company for construction, design and real estate transactions.
It was not possible to contact another company about which customers constantly complain. I had to introduce myself as clients and supposedly come to view the property. Everything seems to be in order, except for the documents permitting the redevelopment. They say they will really have to wait.
But according to sanitary standards, so-called wet spots, sinks, showers, wherever you want, cannot be installed. No one will issue permission. After all, the load on communications increases several times. Here the wiring can short out and neighbors can be flooded in the event of an accident, or vice versa, left without water.
“The load on the utility network will increase quite seriously. Neighbors will feel it quickly. Especially the residents of the upper floors. They won't have water. Almost all the pressure will be distributed lower,” explains housing and communal services expert Alla Berdets.
Real estate experts cannot say how many people purchased such dubious apartments. But several hundred such transactions are registered every year. Judging by official data, there are 60 thousand communal apartments in St. Petersburg today; due to resettlement, this figure decreases annually by five thousand per year. But, paradoxically, the number of residents in them, on the contrary, for some reason is constantly growing.
Designer styles
Before you draw up a room project, you need to accurately decide on the style. There are quite a lot of different design styles:
- Loft . Loft-style design is the closest option for such a living space. Literally translated, the word loft is an attic. In America, ordinary workers used to live in the attics of the buildings in which they worked. They simply lived there in order to save money, without renovation, with the most necessary furniture. This is how the loft style was born, which includes brick walls, wood floors, and various furniture.
- Provence style . It will be chosen by people who love simple, provincial comfort, flowers on the curtains, and homemade decorations.
- High tech . A strict style, completely opposite to the Provence style. Materials used for decoration are glass, metal, and plastic. Abstractions can be used as decoration. The main color is metallic, silver, white, gray, black.
- Art Deco . Especially elegant, stylish and unusual design of a studio apartment. The characteristic decor for this style is geometric patterns and expensive natural materials. The design of a studio apartment in the art deco style is very luxurious and expensive, but quite realistic.
- Fusion style is a mixed version of interior design. Here different styles are combined together, but the main thing is to highlight one close direction. The advantage of this style is that you can create your own individual interior.
Choosing a style
When starting to decorate the interior of a studio apartment, you should definitely decide in what spirit you want to transform your home. Despite the usually modest size and simplicity of such a room, a one-room apartment does not impose any restrictions on its design, but some styles still suit it more than others.
Style | Characteristic | Distinctive features |
Loft | Free, creative |
|
Provence | Romantic, rustic |
|
High tech | Modern, minimalistic |
|
Art Deco | Sophisticated and stylish |
|
Fusion | Fresh and democratic |
|
Mirrors will be a great solution. They will visually expand the boundaries of the room
Even in a small room you can let your imagination run wild
Some styles will look better than others in a design.
The issue of apartment design should be approached seriously
The apartment is designed in a modern style
See also Practical and stylish design for an apartment of 25 sq.m., photo.
Repair and project
After choosing the interior style, you can begin renovations, which are best left to professionals. But you need to know the basic principles yourself. First you need to divide the total area into zones:
- Hallway
- Kitchen
- Work zone
- Bathroom
- Place to rest
Then create a project. You can select ready-made renovation and design projects from photographs on the website, or join the corresponding VKontakte group. On social networks you can not only choose a modern design, but also discuss this issue in correspondence. In a studio apartment, renovations are done in stages:
- Preparing the premises. Remove all furniture, clean the ceiling and walls of old plaster, prepare the floor and, most importantly, remove all construction waste.
- Purchase all necessary materials.
- Replace old batteries.
- Level the walls, ceiling and floor.
- Install windows and doors.
- Replacement of plumbing, electrical appliances and wiring as necessary.
- Plastering the ceiling, pasting the walls, laying the floors.
Choosing furniture
The main rule when buying furniture for a studio apartment is maintaining stylistic unity. Unlike an ordinary apartment, you cannot decorate the kitchen in an ethnic style, and give preference to the classics in the living room. All zones should overlap with each other and smoothly transition into one another.
The second rule is multifunctionality and monochrome. The design of a studio apartment is already crammed with many necessary items. In order for the atmosphere not to resemble a vinaigrette, you need to choose a calm main color and, if necessary, dilute it with bright details.
Multifunctional furniture is not only space, but also money. Therefore, be sure to pay attention to compact and ergonomic transforming models.
Designing a studio apartment is an interesting and exciting activity, which may seem difficult only at first glance. In fact, it’s enough just to master a few rules and approach it with soul and imagination.
See also: Photo wallpaper for the kitchen: a new look at design
Gallery: interior design of a studio apartment (25 photos)
Design of small apartments
You can create an unusual and extravagant interior design even in a small space. If the studio is 20 sq. m, well-thought-out design will help to rationally use every meter. For example, the minimalist style is perfect for such a case. The main characteristic of this style is everything to a minimum (furniture, interior). Natural materials are used for decoration, and the decorative interior is made in the form of simple shapes and lines.
Also for a studio apartment of 20 sq. m suitable design in contemporary style. It is also called an economical version of minimalism, because owners can do it with their own hands. Also arrange 20 sq. m possible in loft style.
Free and spacious housing without partitions is loved not only by young people who love freedom of style, but also by creative people: artists, photographers, writers. After all, you can set up a photo studio very quickly - decorate it in monochromatic colors or make the walls in different pastel shades. You can leave the wall in brick color to create an industrial style.
Kitchen area
Equipment and decoration of the kitchen area in a studio apartment is perhaps the most difficult task. Since there are no partitions, without a powerful hood, all odors and soot will spread without barriers. Therefore, this equipment must be of good quality. One more point: since everything is in sight, there should be nothing on the countertops. Everything is laid out in cabinets and drawers, of which there should be a lot. To rationally organize space, it makes sense to use storage systems and modern pull-out shelves that allow you to use corners or cabinets up to the ceiling (corner and drop-down shelves).
The floor in the kitchen area is most often raised. This is an additional factor that allows you to delimit the room. Although, from a practical point of view, it is preferable for the rest of the room to be elevated - there will be less trash to carry around. If the interior is designed for one person, this is not so important: in these cases, little and infrequent cooking is done. But for a young family this can be an important factor.
Decoration for small studio apartments
If the studio apartment is small - 20-30 square meters - you will have to resort to tricks to avoid it being cramped. The first is to use a table as a zone divider. It can be made in the form of a bar counter, it can be equipped so that there are many drawers on the kitchen side, and chairs on the room side. Then, depending on the situation, it can be used both for cooking and as a dining table.
The separator in this case is a table on which it is fashionable to cook and dine.
If there are enough surfaces for cooking, you can add a small dining table as a divider. If necessary, more people can fit behind it, which is important if relatives and friends will periodically visit.
An unusual table and stools refresh the interior
An important point: when choosing kitchen appliances in a studio apartment, you will have to think not only about how well it will fit into the interior, which in itself is already important. You will need to choose one that is silent, or at least produces minimal noise. It is unlikely that you will like to sleep with the refrigerator growling. By the way, you can disguise it as a cabinet or buy a built-in one.
Small built-in refrigerator
If the room is long and narrow, you will have to fit all the furniture differently. In this case, there will be two cabinets, the back of which will serve as a partition or table, and one of the ends will serve as the entrance.
How to organize a kitchen in a long and narrow room
Kitchens in spacious studios
If the studio apartment has an area of 40 square meters or more, you can fence off the kitchen area with a more solid partition. It should not be massive, but rather airy. Smooth, rounded lines look best in these cases. And if you play it correctly on the wall, the effect is very interesting (see photo).
The wall seems to continue the partition. Because of which the boundaries are blurred...
If you wish, you can also install a full-fledged dining table. This is an option for those who enjoy the process itself...
Creative - part of the brick wall was left untreated
The main task when decorating any kitchen is to make it not only beautiful, but also comfortable, and when developing the design of a studio apartment, complexity is added to the requirements: kitchen furniture should not “fall out” from the general style. And this is not easy. Too different purposes and materials, and functionality too. Several examples of successful combinations in photos.
Despite the fact that the kitchen furniture is bright, it does not look foreign in this interior
Everything in the same style and color scheme - a win-win option
Repeating textures and colors is one of the ways to create a harmonious interior in a studio apartment
Pastel gray-beige tone, a classic combination, accented with fragments of natural stone
Uniform stylish design of different zones and separation by a standard partition
The weightless glass table is almost invisible
Decorating a studio room with a kitchen
This type of design is not an easy task. After all, the kitchen in a studio apartment is not blocked, and all the smells will be felt throughout the entire area. Therefore, a very powerful hood is needed. It is also important for the kitchen to have a large number of drawers and shelves so that kitchen utensils are not lying in plain sight. To separate the kitchen area, you can raise or lower the floor level. Furniture for the kitchen and living areas is best made to order.
Zoning the room
The first thing that comes to mind when you need to divide one large room into several small ones is, of course, partitions. Very convenient sliding models that allow you to easily turn one room into two, and back again, with a slight movement of the hand.
The design of a studio apartment should not be overloaded with them, but using a few simple designs is quite acceptable. Also when zoning can be used:
- Bar counter. This studio design idea is perfect for separating the kitchen from the living room. The bar counter looks stylish and modern, and it is also very compact and functional. This item replaces a cabinet, cooking surface and dining table.
- Different levels. The simplest way is to place one zone on a small podium 15-20 cm high. Those who are not afraid of more complex tasks will like the idea of vertical zoning. It will suit you if the ceilings in the apartment are high enough to accommodate a bedroom under the ceiling. It won't be cheap, but the results will be worth it. The multi-level design of a studio apartment looks creative and saves space.
- Furniture. The standard way to divide rooms using a sofa, table or shelving unit. The required item is simply placed at the interface between the two sectors. Of course, its functional purpose should be related to the area in which it is located: separating the bedroom from the living room with a kitchen table will be at least irrational.
The standard zoning option is partitions
If zoning occurs with furniture, then its functional purpose must correspond to the zone in which it is located
Furniture is perfect for zoning
You can separate rooms by color
You can zone the room with anything - Color. Different shades of wallpaper or flooring work wonders for visually dividing a space. The method is suitable for the design of small apartments, since it does not use any additional items and saves space.
- Decor elements. This technique allows the owner to dream up: place a huge aquarium, a hedge or a false fireplace in the middle of the room. The main thing is not to overdo it with originality and not to disrupt the overall design style of the studio apartment.
- Lighting. Light sources are placed in a row at the border of two zones. For example, above the bar counter, in an arch or under the ceiling. This technique is rarely used independently and is rather an addition to any other method.
When zoning furniture, you need to place it so that it does not interfere with the passage
Furniture in the apartment should be multifunctional
You can separate the bedroom with curtains
The bedroom can be separated with a curtain
Sometimes zoning may not be carried out
See alsoDesign of a 1-room studio apartment, photo.
How to furnish a studio apartment
Furniture design is done according to the following principles:
- Compact location. Things and objects must be placed very tightly. Suspended structures and mezzanines are suitable for this.
- Pastel light shades will visually increase the area and create a feeling of harmony and lightness. White curtains will fill the room with light. And the use of bright colors in interior details will distract from the size of the space. To choose the right color scheme when choosing wallpaper, you need to adhere to the chosen interior style.
- You can transform the design of a room without partitions into a one-room apartment using mobile partitions: screens, curtains, cabinets, shelving.
- Decorating with custom-made furniture will help save space.
- Small lamps in a small room will look much better than large chandeliers.
- Make the most of high ceilings. You can even make a second level.
In the setting and design of a studio room, color, zoning and rational planning are of great importance. If you follow these rules, you will get a beautiful, cozy and practical living space.
Use wire shelving
Wire shelving is very light and cheap and comes in a variety of sizes! Dust does not accumulate on them, they are well ventilated, and they almost never need to be wiped. Store art tools loosely on shelves or use baskets to store paper, printer cartridges, and art supplies.