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How to Decorate a Studio Apartment on a Budget

If you’re on a budget, decorating any living space, let alone a studio apartment can seem daunting.

It may sometimes feel like a challenge to decorate your home with little or no money, but it is possible! What’s more, a studio apartment isn’t that large, so this aspect reduces any furniture and decorating costs instantaneously.

We’ve assembled budget-friendly interior design ideas that get your creative juices flowing, and show you how to effectively maximise on the minimal space available, while still achieving a killer designer look.

Enclose your Bed

Studio apartments don’t have bedrooms; the living space and sleeping area are one.

Get creative with your sleeping area and use a pull-up bed that can fit into a closet or drape handing curtains around your bed to create a private nook.

Anything that sets your bed apart from the rest of the living space will make your apartment space feel more spacious and add interest to your everyday routine.

Mirrors, Mirrors, and More Mirrors

Mirrors are a simple yet effective way to brighten up your home.

These handy decorating items hung on the wall, reflect natural light making a small space, feel larger.

Why not go a step further and use mirrored furniture like coffee and dining tables or storage cupboards? These pieces also cut down on the feeling of being hemmed in by bulky furniture, making your studio apartment feel less restrictive.

Lighten Your Walls

Small dark spaces can look fashionably dramatic, but for small spaces always make a point of working with light colours.

Pastel, white, and cream themed colours brighten your small studio space, and make it larger in your Clean, large windows with white window sills, white ceilings and walls, and light-coloured painted furniture all add light where it’s needed.

Divide Space Wisely

One of the challenges of studio living is separating your living space, eating, and sleeping space.

When entertaining guests, it may feel strange and off-putting if guests can see right through to your bedroom from the kitchen and living room.

Position your bed in a far corner of the apartment, and using inexpensive partitioning like bookshelves, screens, or curtains to separate your sleeping area from the rest of the space. This design aspect has the added benefit of enhancing privacy and creating a sense of separation, which won’t interfere with the flow of the apartment. 

Don’t Forget to Utilise Your Walls and Ceilings

Hang things! Often we focus our decorating efforts on the floor and forget to use the ceilings and walls.

Don’t let this valuable space go to waste. Add a hook rail on your kitchen ceiling and hang your pots and pans from it, and fill your walls with decorative and bold art and other decorative items.

Be Bold with Your Accessories!

Be bold with the colours and patterns of your rug.

A patterned rug enhances your living space without overwhelming it. Depending on the colours and patterns you choose, these rugs can also make your apartment feel more substantial and more spacious, and complement your colour palette and accessories.

The same applies to your throws and cushions. Choose bold, geometric designs that create optical illusions that add depth and dimension to the living or bedroom.

Incorporate Vertical Gardens

A wall-mounted vertical garden is an excellent addition to any small space; it brings in the outdoors. Plants also give off oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, cleaning your indoor air.

If you’re a culinary enthusiast, why not grow your herbs and salad vegetables on your kitchen wall?

Embrace Corner and Floating Shelves

Shelving is another budget-friendly and effective decorating technique that creates space while looking good.

You’ll need all the space you can get in a studio apartment, and corner or floating shelves allow you to utilise all the available space, display your books and treasured possessions prominently, and all without crowding the floor space!

Prioritise Invisible Storage

Use storage that looks and feels invisible.

To avoid clutter, camouflaged storage like:

  • Double-duty furniture – think a sofa bed or an ottoman with hidden storage
  • Hidden closet or drawer space to hide car keys, cables, and food items
  • Soft and foldable handing storage
  • Wall hooks and racks
  • In-built wall storage to store anything from pull-up beds, clothes, and shoes

As a budget-savvy pro, these solutions allow you to maximise the use of your single open space, and find creative solutions for avoiding clutter.

Avoiding clutter in a studio apartment, however, is about more than just utilising hidden storage; it is also about adopting a minimalist mindset. Less-is-more in this case, so before you purchase any item for the home, ask yourself if you need it. The more pieces that are scattered around your living space, the less usable space you have, and the more susceptible you are to clutter.

Final Thoughts

We hope these handy tips have given you creative, budget-friendly, and easy-to-execute ideas that you’ll implement in your design project. Remember, your studio apartment is your personalised space, so apply Marie Kondo tactics and only include what you love!

We hope you enjoyed these budget-friendly studio apartment decorating ideas. Living in a studio is all about maximising the use of space to enjoy and appreciate living in the space.

If you’re still searching for your perfect apartment or townhouse, Buy Melbourne Apartments can help.

We have a full range of pre-release studio apartments, lofts, standard apartments and townhouses available, and will guide you on selecting the right one for you. Check out our studio and other apartments, and contact us online or call us at 0417 331 263.

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