Need help arranging furniture in a studio apartment (flooring, panel, colors)

[mark23]

This is my first apartment and I'm pretty confused. I haven't purchased any furniture yet, but plan on starting that tomorrow.

I have attached the layout and a picture showing the wall color and flooring of the apartment. I've also attached the setup that I'm currently planning on going with. I would like help improving this setup to optimize space.

Here are a couple questions that I have:
- I liked the black bed frame at IKEA. Should the rest of my furniture (tv stand, dresser, computer desk, chair, sofa) also be black? Also, is black furniture a good idea with my wall color and flooring?
- How should the furniture be arranged, so I can enjoy the most window lighting?
- What's the best way to add a divider between the bed area and the living room (sofa) area? Should I add a frosted glass panel that goes all the way across (between the bed and sofa)?

[mark23]

Here's the setup that I'm currently planning on going with

[Hopes]

In your first post, the drawing doesn't match the photograph you posted of your studio.

It's hard to provide you with advice when we we don't have an accurate image of your space.

What's that room past the closet in the distance?

I'm assuming the open door near the closet is the bathroom, but what's the other side of the closet in that little hallway?

You don't need to provide an actual drawing. Can you just take multiple pictures from different directions?

That indentation in the wall is relevant. It might help figure out the best arrangement for the furniture.

It's difficult to figure out how much room is on the other side of the room (behind camera view.)

More pictures would help.

[gigimac]

I saw on TV an inexpensive way to divide two spaces. They got this braided wire to stretch between two big circle hooks screwed into the wall, and they hung lightweight fabric over it, stitched at the top like a curtain slides over a curtain rod. The wire and hooks were at the very top of the room, and the fabric could be pulled open or closed. I also saw on TV where they used a couple very high bookcases with backing, to halfway partition the two rooms.

You can also buy a folding screen, it sits on the floor and the panels open up at wide angles, and this makes for an attractive and effective divider, particularly if you can get a plant to sit in front of it on the living area side. And I myself lived in a one-room apartment, and I think back on it often and try to figure out ways to have done mine better, and I wish I had built a sleeping area up higher in the room, with a little curtain to draw closed up there, which leaves the whole room open for other stuff. In fact, at stores, they'll have a kid's furniture thing like that, but with a desk arrangement or dressers underneath the upper bunkbed type deal.

I think the colors in your empty apartment are very nice, real peaceful. If you get a black bed, you do not have to get black everything else. You can get colors that are sort of in the same range, like all shades of brown, as you've put your couch a dark brown in your layout, and then choose a third color that you like in general that would not clash with the wall colors, for accent stuff like pillows, art, lamps, bedspread.

[ms rehcaet]

The first thing i would suggest is that you measure the room. and get cheap/free templates of furniture( They are cutouts that are to scale( ie 1inch =1 foot. you can usually find them in decorating books at the library or probable on the internet. Scale your room on another sheet of paper using the same scale, graph paper works well( like 1inch =1foot Then you can start to "arrange" your possible items on paper rather than moving heavy pieces of furniture around. This way you'll see what can fit and where.
Please also consider the uses of the room (ie do you need a lot of furniture pieces to store clothing? Are you using the area as a sleeping area and a study?( then you'll need to consider adding a desk,chair ,computer items and lamp-) Will you keep exercise equipment there? In each of these situations you'll probable need to make a separate "area" to place furniture there.

As far as the look of the room. I would suggest that you look around in furniture stores. Find styles and colors you like. Check on the net. There are lots of sites with little quizzes to see your style. Sometimes magazine have a lot to offer.

wall art is easily and cheaply found by creating your own( look at what you have and love) Check out thrift stores and flea markets,look for sales and even rehab stores and Goodwill,or freecycle.

I don't think you need to match all your pieces of furniture in the same color and style.

Good luck- hope this helps. :]

[gentlearts]

All I read was black furniture, blah, blah, blah. Black furniture shows every bit of dust. Therefore, black furniture is BAD.