Nicole's Studio

I signed this apartment sight-unseen from several states away. For the price, I was willing to trust my long-time NYC-local aunt's instinct that the location alone was reason enough to commit to this place - I could work out a layout later. I was coming off of my "nomad" summer and was essentially starting from scratch with this apartment - the only large items I had were a dresser, a full-sized mattress, and my two huge plants. So, the moment I signed the lease, I started sketching.

Constraints:

• The entire space was about 12' x 14'... enough said

• I was determined to fit a full bed, a dining area, a living area with a TV, and a work-from-home set up

• One barred window, a covered radiator, and an in-wall AC unit made placing anything on the window wall a challenge

• The far corner nearest the window was the only spot I could put my large bird of paradise plant

• The apartment came with a full-sized fridge positioned outside of the kitchen, but it cut heavily into my square footage, so I had to decide whether it was worth it to keep

• I had about a foot and a half of kitchen countertop space... so adding more surface area was another priority

In my sketch phase I tried a few non-traditional orientations with the bed, but it was my strong preference to keep both long sides of my bed away from a wall, so I ultimately abandoned a few early ideas. I also quickly decided I wanted a projector instead of a TV to lighten the visual weight of a big black square in my tiny space. It was during this phase that I also decided to get rid of the full-sized fridge in favor of gaining a "dining area" so I didn't have to eat every meal on my couch. One final bittersweet realization was that I was going to have to give away one of my big plants - so, thanks to my friend Chicago for taking in a 4-foot Monstera!

I finally narrowed it down to two layout options and didn't make the final decision until after I moved in and could move my mattress around and get a sense of the resulting paths of travel. I also realized after my first night sleeping there that I had totally underestimated the level of street noise; so, it was this final piece of information that led me away from the layout with my bed against the window wall.

In the end, I lived for 2 years in this tiny studio and not once did I feel cramped. In the last year I even shared the space with my partner, truly putting the efficiency of the studio to the test. This was far and away my most successful space planning endeavor and I'm proud/embarrassed to say that when the landlord came to take pictures of my place when I was ready to move out, he said the apartment had never looked better (and then they proceeded to list it for $800 more than I had been paying!)