What is a studio apartment?

Increasingly, in design magazines and articles, so-called studio apartments are mentioned, there are special recommendations for their design and even tips for turning typical apartments into housing of such a non-standard format. A logical question arises: what is a studio apartment and what is its difference from an ordinary one-room apartment?

In none of the regulatory documents governing building codes and rules, you will not find the concept of "studio apartment", so you can not give a clear definition. However, this type of housing, which appeared in America in the 1920s and in the USSR in the 1990s, has a set of characteristic features that provide an opportunity to get a fairly clear idea of ​​how it looks studio apartment.

The main features of a studio apartment

So, studio, or studio apartment, is easy to recognize thanks to its following features:

• The area is not divided into isolated rooms - partitions in an apartment of this format are virtually absent, with the exception of the bathroom.
• Bearing walls are located around the perimeter of the apartment.
• Most often, studio apartments are quite modest in size, although there are luxury apartments of a very impressive area and even two-level options.

A studio apartment is not just a large space in which there are no isolated rooms. Her territory divided into functional zones using colors, finishes, mobile partitions, furniture or other design techniques.

It turns out that all studio apartments can be divided into 3 types:

• Small apartments, the total area of ​​which starts from 19 square meters. m, related to economy class housing. Designed for single people, students, couples without children on a budget.

• Large, sometimes even huge apartments, where the lack of capital partitions between functional areas is not dictated by the economy of space and the desire to reduce the cost of housing, but by fashion trends. Such housing is acquired by people who always seek to be in trend, as well as individuals who lead a creative lifestyle.

• Typical apartments that survived the redevelopment and demolition or at least partial dismantling of the internal partitions. Deciding on such a step, the owners are usually guided by the desire or need to expand free space or personal design preferences.

Pros and cons of a studio apartment

Like any housing, a studio apartment has its advantages and disadvantages. And those and others for some may be insignificant, but for some they will become a determining factor in choosing an apartment for permanent residence.

Advantages of a studio apartment:

• A lot of natural light and free space. Even in a very small studio it will be more spacious than in a simple one-room apartment of a similar area, and the absence of dull partitions will provide an influx of light from the windows.
• The increase in usable space due to the inclusion in the usable area of ​​the corridor.
• Convenience of movement around the apartment, not limited to doors and openings.
• The ability to rebuild zones to address specific needs. For example, you can quickly expand the dining area to the arrival of guests due to a simple rearrangement of furniture.
• Good acoustics, which will be appreciated by professional musicians and people who have a weakness for surround and high-quality sound when listening to music.
• Ample opportunities in the field of interior design of an apartment.

The spacious room allows you to not limit yourself when the choice of style.

The disadvantages of a studio apartment, which with an objective approach are no less than the advantages:

• Such housing is not suitable for families with more than 2 people. Even one child over 5 years old needs his own separate space. With great love for the free layout of the studio apartment, a compromise with living room combined with kitchenbut with isolated bedrooms.

• A kitchen that is not separated from the living space can create certain inconveniences: smells and noise during cooking are more freely distributed throughout the apartment.
• Lack of privacy. Even if you live in an apartment with only your other half, one of you may need to be alone. Part of this problem is solved with the help of screens or mobile partitions.
• The bathroom is usually small in size, forcing to abandon the bath in favor of the shower.
• Redevelopment of an ordinary studio apartment entails certain difficulties and large financial expenses. Most likely, all communications will need to be laid according to the new scheme, starting with the electrical wiring of the heating and ending with ventilation.

When redeveloping housing, you must obtain permission from the relevant services. In the case when the inner walls of the apartment are load-bearing, no one will give you such permission, which means that it will not work to convert it into a studio.

Who is suitable for a studio apartment?

A studio apartment can attract the attention of completely different people, but most often it is chosen:

1. People of creative professions gravitating to free space and the same free way of life.
2. Young people often having parties and hosting a large number of guests.
3. Lonely people - for one person, such housing will be even more comfortable and convenient than a standard one-room apartment.
4. Young couples without children or with a small child under 5 years old. In the second case, the absence of partitions provides every minute supervision of the baby without interruption from household chores.
5. Entrepreneurs involved in the rental of real estate. Especially popular are studio apartments located in resort areas.

Turning an ordinary apartment into a studio

How to make a studio apartment from an ordinary apartment with one or more rooms? The algorithm of actions will look as follows:

• Collection of documents, obtaining permission for redevelopment, approval of the project.
• Demolition of partitions between rooms. Suppose partial dismantling of interior walls. Partitions in the apartment, limiting the bathroom and toilet, remain in place or are transferred.
• Thinking over the location of functional zones.

Note! There are certain restrictions on the transfer of stoves, “wet areas”, plumbing fixtures, keep this in mind when considering redevelopment of an apartment.

• Choosing the style of a studio apartment and developing a design project that includes, in addition to zoning, the choice of color design, interior items, decoration materials, proper organization lighting. We must not forget about thinking over the location of communications, sockets, wiring.

Design features of a studio apartment

A competent and harmonious design of a studio apartment is not an easy task, which means it is highly desirable to entrust it specialist's decision, because possible errors in design will always be in your sight and can be expensive for you cost. In any case, it is worth paying attention to a few tips that will help to equip the studio.

• A small studio apartment can be expanded by joining an insulated balcony or loggia, moving a partition that separates the bathroom.
• In an apartment with high ceilings in high-format format, you can equip the second floor - mezzanines, which can accommodate a bedroom or office.

• Zoning an apartment can be done in different ways: with color, light, with the help of furniture, partitions, arches, columns, multi-level ceilings, podiums, various decoration materials. A combination of zoning techniques is welcome.
• When choosing furniture for a studio apartment, it is desirable to give preference to compact modular and transforming options, multi-tiered vertical structures, wardrobes.