Living in a studio apartment sounds cozy, but there are pros and cons to consider before you sign that lease.
Apartments come in all shapes and sizes. There are large lofts with soaring 15-foot ceilings, modern multi-bedroom models with windows instead of walls and vintage units with exposed brick, crown molding and the undeniable charm of simpler times. This article, however, isn’t about those types of apartments.
This is about the little guys. The 400-square-foot studios with barely enough room for a bed and a bathroom. As anyone who has done it can attest, living in a studio apartment is an entirely unique experience. It requires perseverance, flexibility and even a little creativity to not just live, but to thrive in your studio apartment. Here are some of the pros and cons you should be aware of to make the most of your minimum square footage.
Pros
Let’s start off on the right note and cover some of the most significant pros associated with living in a studio apartment.
1. Enjoy the efficiency
By and large, a studio is going to cost you less in rent. What you sacrifice in space you make up for each month when you pay your rent. Beyond that, less square footage means less space to heat in the winter and cool in the summer. Less space also means fewer lights to accidentally leave on before you head out for the day. No matter how you slice it, the smaller your apartment is the less your living costs will be.
2. Clean with ease
With less space to live in comes less space to clean. Less floor space to vacuum. Less counter space to scrub. Fewer windows to wipe down. So, while you’re able to see the entirety of your apartment from the comfort of your bed, at least you also have the luxury of being able to clean your entire living area without walking up and down stairs or traveling room-to-room.
3. Crowd out the clutter
Potential hoarders may see this pro as a con initially but it all depends on your mindset. If you’re someone who likes to keep a lot of knickknacks around your home, enjoys picking up unnecessary decorative items when you’re out and about or has a tough time letting go of things from your past, moving into a small studio apartment can act as a strong motivating factor to help you remove the excess clutter from your life. At the end of the day, if you physically don’t have room for it, it has to go.
4. Embrace healthier habits
As mentioned above, living in a more confined space can force you to change some aspects of your day-to-day life. For example, when you live in a small studio apartment, you can see (and possibly touch) your bed from your kitchen. You may even be able to make eggs while sitting on the couch in your living room. What that means, though, is that your bed is almost always in view. If the bathroom is your only escape from the sight of your unmade bed, odds are, you’re going to start making it each morning.
If you’re someone who lets trash pile up a bit before taking it out, living in a small studio apartment can change that, as well. The last thing you want to smell at the end of a long day while you’re trying to drift away to dreamland is the leftovers from last week sitting stagnant in the overflowing trash can five feet from your bed.
Cons
While living in a studio apartment has some pros, it also undoubtedly has its cons, as well. Here are a few of them.
1. Avoid sofa surfers
If you’re used to having friends crash on your couch, you may want to reconsider that after moving into a studio. When you’re living in a studio apartment, a friend crashing on your couch will take you right back to your freshman year in the dorms. That means you’re going to hear all of the snoring, sleep talking, late-night bathroom trips and more all throughout the night.
While this isn’t a major issue for heavy sleepers, it can quickly turn a fun weekend with a friend from out of town into a nightmare of no sleep and lacking boundaries.
2. Smell what’s cooking
One of the first realizations you’ll have in your small studio apartment is that your kitchen is now part of your bedroom. What does that mean for you? Well, that means if you decide to make salmon for dinner, you’re also sleeping in a bed that smells like the boat your salmon came in on.
So, while breakfast in bed is one of life’s great pleasures, there are some potentially smelly downsides to consider when it comes to sleeping so close to the kitchen.
3. Drowned out by the dryer
To be clear, in-unit laundry is never a bad thing. It’s almost always the preferred choice of renters to have the laundry just a few steps away as opposed to a few floors or city blocks. The only situation where that is not the case is when you live in an extra small studio apartment.
If you’re set up in a small studio and you have a loud washer and dryer, it can literally sound like an airplane is taking off next to you while you’re trying to focus on the season finale of a British drama you’ve been following for months. If you find yourself in this situation, be sure to take advantage of the time you spend outside your studio and do your laundry while you’re out on the town.
4. Take a seat
One aspect of small studio living that many people don’t consider before making the move is what happens when you have people over. One or two friends doesn’t pose much of a problem, but when those numbers balloon up a bit more, seating can get a bit cramped and even awkward. Depending on your setup, you may have to end up using your bed as a seating area in social situations. Regardless of how close you are to your friends, this is not the ideal setup for a casual hangout, game night or movie marathon with platonic friends.
Studio life is what you make it
At the end of the day, your comfort and quality of life when you’re living in a studio apartment largely depends on your specific needs. The only thing you can count on for sure is that living in a studio apartment will require you to rethink your daily routine and reevaluate your priorities. If you’re ready for that, there’s no reason you can’t thrive in your new surroundings.
Source: rent.com