Living in a Studio Apartment: Q+A!
Living Pretty Ep30 // Studio Apartment Decor Q+A: Studio Layout Ideas, Styling Tips, & More!
It’s studio apartment decor Q+A time! In this video, I answer the questions you asked me on Instagram, covering everything from studio styling tips, studio layout ideas, figuring out your apartment rug situation, and even my cat Helo’s origin story!
If you’re in need of studio apartment tips and studio apartment layout ideas, you’re wondering about having a cat in small apartment life, and you want to learn how to make your studio cohesive, join me as I answer your questions about all that and more!
Watch the video now!
↓ Video Transcript ↓
I’ve made some slight edits in the transcript below so that everything makes more sense in text form. But overall, this is almost a word-for-word dictation of what I say in the video. I’m a much better writer than this, I swear, haha.
Today I'm doing a Q&A video in which I answer the questions that you asked me on Instagram! There's a total of ten, so i'm going to try to get through them.
Before we dive in, if you're new to my channel, my name is Steffi and I'm the creator of the interior style blog Moda Misfit, and you're watching Living Pretty, the place for apartment styling tips and small space decor inspiration. So if you're into that kind of thing, then be sure to subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when a new episode goes up every week!
So let's just cut right to it! I have my trusty iPad right here and I'm just gonna start diving into your questions.
This first question comes from @dreamypuppyposh…
1. “How did you know your space was the one?”
Well, funny story about this dream apartment of mine... it was actually my very first apartment that I looked at in my apartment search. Which really felt like fate!
I did look at two other apartments after I looked at this one. One of them I really considered because it was much cheaper and there were a lot of amenities like a gym. But ultimately I had to go with this one because... it's kind of this “it factor:.
Like, when you find the right place, you feel excited when you think about it.
I didn't feel excited about the cheaper, more amenity-filled place. It was kind of cookie-cutter and not very inspiring. When I thought about this place, which is in a 1920s building and the location is amazing - I'm right in the heart of things in Seattle - I just felt that little sparkle in my soul, you know?
It can be really hard to decide on an apartment. There are always so many things to consider and there are always drawbacks to whatever space you choose. You take the good with the bad, you know? The facts of life.
So if I were to have any advice for someone who is currently on the apartment search... it's gonna sound cliche, but listen to your gut. Does the space light you up inside? If so, that's what you should go for.
This next question comes from @andreabcp…
2. “How would you style/divide a square shaped studio?”
I love this question. I love any questions that have to do with dividing a studio or laying out a studio. I have a video right here, it's where I share my my main tips for laying out a studio apartment. It'll tell you sort of the basic overview of how I make a studio apartment feel cohesive and how I separate out the space into different zones. And the design principles that I use to actually implement those ideas.
So Andrea, I would definitely recommend you check out that video, but basically to sum it up, one of the big misconceptions I think people have about studio apartments is that they have to be literally separated by tangible things like dividers or bookshelves.
And that can be really helpful - it can be - but i think people are really stuck on this idea of using physical barriers to separate their studio space. Honestly, I think more times than not, that only makes the space feel closed off.
One of the biggest criticisms that I get in my space is people telling me that this place would look better with a divider between my couch and my my bed. And I just firmly disagree! I want to walk into an open concept space, I don't want to immediately feel like i'm walking into a closed closed-off cave. I think you can create separation in your studio without physical barriers, a lot of the time at least.
I create separation using my couch. It basically acts as the distinguishing separator between my living room area and my bedroom area, and that's all that needs to be done. Anything else would be overkill.
I also think that area rugs are extremely helpful for creating a sense of separation in a studio. Area rugs really just act as anchors in a studio, or really any space, that help your eye identify what space is what.
So Andrea, I would recommend that you watch this video. I would also let go of the idea of physical barriers like dividers in your studio, (unless... you know, every studio is different, so sometimes dividers work. I just think that we all have a little bit too much of a fixation on them), and use area rugs to create separation in your studio.
Speaking of area rugs, this brings me to my next question, which is from @20_carbs_below. Unfortunately, this comment or question got cut off, so I’m going to do my best to answer it. I think I know what she was about to say, but here it is:
3. “How did you decide area rugs from area to area? Do you make sure they blend or where I am in a small place should they just have a color and be less...”
I'm guessing she was gonna say be less obtrusive or noticeable. @20_carbs_below, feel free to comment below or send me a DM on Instagram if that really wasn't your full question, and then I will answer you personally. But basically she's asking how do I decide what area rugs and where to put them in a small space.
So with my area rugs in particular, it actually started with a particular rug that I found on Target. It's this rug and then that rug over by my bed. They're both the same rug just different sizes. I saw that rug and I fell in love with it, and I knew I wanted it, and so it really started with that inspiration point.
So once I got that inspiration with this one rug, then I realized I could just buy it twice and use it to unify the space. So that's one thing about area rugs in a studio, is they can act as separators (like I mentioned in the last answer) and they can also act as unifiers.
And if you go the route that I went and just buy two of the same rugs, just in different sizes, then that acts as a unifier that brings the space together. And you don't have to do that - it's definitely not necessary. But it's a really good tool to make your apartment cohesive.
This next question comes from @lemonpathtravel…
4. Has your cat ever been outside?
Funny you should ask! Well, um, Helo spent the first year of her life outside as a stray feral cat, so she has gotten a lot of outside time.
She was a year old when I adopted her from the Seattle Humane Society, and before that... I mean, I have no idea where she was, but she was definitely outside.
This is the day I brought Helo home! As you can see, she is super skinny. She was a year old and she looked like a kitten, so she was obviously not getting enough food. And as a result of her living as a stray cat for the first year of her life, she's, like, obsessed with food.
So yes, Helo has been outside. She doesn't go outside anymore because she's an indoor cat and we live in the city. She... I think she loves the the the small environment, and if she's ever in a big environment - like my parents house, which is like a 4,000 square foot house - she's extremely anxious and I really think she prefers the small cozy space with me.
This next question is from @claire_louise_mcc. She asks…
5. “What style would you go with if you didn't have your style?”
I love this question because I love thinking about it. I love fantasizing about decorating a brand new place, you know? And I and I actually run through my head, what style would I choose? Would I stick with what I have or would I do something totally different? Because I am in love with pretty much all interior styles.
I do love the idea of switching to a fully Scandi space. I just think it's so soothing. And it's minimal, but unlike true minimalism, it's also very warm, with a lot of textures being layered.
I also love the idea of going all in with dark decor. My space here is pretty dark and moody, but I’m talking, like, black walls, dark, moody, witchy, all powerful sorceress vibes... that would be really cool.
So Claire, I think it's a tie between Scandi and full dark decor. It's probably full dark decor.
This next question comes from @jess_emerald.inc…
6. Where did you get that gorgeous orange kimono? Saw it in one of your videos.
Oh, you mean this one? I got this at Target. Yep, just Target. It was probably like 29 bucks or something. A lot of my stuff is from Target. A crazy amount of my stuff is from Target.
I'm definitely one of those girls who can't resist the siren call of Target. She gets me every time.
Which leads me to this next question from @gketter…
7. Where do you find your beautiful bedding? Love the colors and textures.
My bedding is from Target too. My gray comforter is literally a bed-in-a-bag comforter from Target, and I have zero shame, honestly. Zero shame.
When you have a cat, it's kind of nice to not have an extremely luxurious comforter, because I feel like if I did, I would be stressed out all the time.
But aside from my comforter, my other stuff on my bed is stuff that I've accumulated over the years. The damask pillows on my bed I actually got from Nordstrom many years ago for my freshman college dorm. So that would have been in 2006, so I've had those babies for 14 years. Oh my god. Cue the existential crisis.
The center pillow is from Pier 1. Let's all just take a moment of silence for Pier 1... I can't! Anyway, I'm really sad about Pier 1 closing. I'm just gonna leave it at that.
And then the green smaller pillow is from Bed Bath and Beyond, and that was another one that I got for my college dorm back in 2006.
The throw at the end of the bed is also from Pier 1. Wow, and I got that for my college dorm as well.
Wow so much of my style just comes from 2006 freshmen at NYU Steffi. Am I really that stylish if so much of my stuff comes from 14 years ago? The answer to that question is yes. You don't have to buy new things to be stylish.
That was a little journey that I just went on in the last few seconds.
And then the green scarf on top of that Pier 1 throw is a scarf I got at H&M initially to be a scarf, but then I decided I liked it as part of my bedding.
This next question comes from Marisa. Marisa asks…
8. Something fun: how or where did you get Helo? Don't remember if I ever heard you mention it.
Well I mentioned it earlier in this very video! I got Helo at the Seattle Humane Society and I fell in love with her the moment I saw her.
I actually was totally certain that I wanted a black cat because I love black cats and I wanted to name it Luna after Sailor Moon's black cat. Um but when I saw Helo, that was it. I had to have her.
Basically, my first visual of Helo was of her hugging my brother. So my brother was holding her and she was just hugging him, like, arms around his neck, hugging him and I was like, “That one. That's it.” Now she hates my brother. She hisses at him every time she sees him. God, she's such a fucking drama queen.
This next question comes from Daisy…
9. Did you take the back cushions off your couch and replace with throw pillows? What else did you modify?
Yes, Daisy, that's exactly what I did!
So my couch is from West Elm. It's part of the Urban Collection - it's their Urban Sofa - and when I got it, I noticed that the back cushions took up way too much room. And if I put throw pillows on it, then it looked totally crowded and there wasn't really room for me on the couch. And so, since I am so dedicated to using copious amounts of throw pillows, this could not stand.
So I actually removed the back cushions. They're in my closet over there as we speak. Neglected and sad.
But yes, it's just throw pillows there, and I didn't modify anything else on that couch. That's all I did!
And this final question comes from Claire...
10. Anywhere in the world you would like to try studio living?
Well yes and no. Seattle is home for me, it's where i'm from, and after living in New York for six years and LA for five years before coming back to Seattle, I don't want to live anywhere else ever again. I pretty much lived in a state of perpetual homesickness when I was away and I never want to go through that again.
But if we're dreaming here and if I could teleport back and forth whenever I wanted… I would definitely live in a studio apartment in Paris. I mean, that's like every girl's dream right?
Whenever I see one of those classic Paris apartments on Pinterest or, like, in a YouTube video, I swoon. I absolutely swoon. I think that would be... in fact, I'm going to link to a video that I watched recently. It's a video of a girl searching for an apartment in Paris, so you get to see a few different apartments, and it was riveting. And it was so beautiful and amazing and it was so fun living vicariously through her. So I highly recommend you check that out!
So there you have it! Those were the answers that I had to your questions for today's Q&A video. If you want a question of yours answered in the next Q&A video, then be sure to follow me on Instagram @moda.misfit. I usually gather the questions for Q&A’s on there.
But also, I think the next time I do a Q&A, I'm actually going to ask in my Facebook group, which is the Living Pretty Facebook group. It's filled with awesome decor lovers and it's just a really great place if you want somewhere to geek out about interior decor. And so, I will link to that here if you want to join!
And if you have any studio apartment questions and you don't want to wait until the next Q&A video, then download my Studio Styling 101 workbook. It's a free pdf that walks you through how to get started on your studio apartment decor. So I definitely recommend you check that out!
And if you want regular doses of apartment styling inspiration, then subscribe to this channel and hit the bell to be notified when a new episode goes up every week!