Dining Room as office - Good idea. Put bookcases in there along the back wall.

Dresser in the closet - Another good idea, but also consider using it in the living area as a credenza until such time that your budget allows for something better.

Solarium - Rather than a "reading nook", consider using it as a dining area with a cafe table, a pair of chairs and a bar cart/console table?

Sofabed - There are very few out there that are both good beds and good sofas, and the ones that succeed at both aren't cheap. Why not consider a daybed with twin mattress instead?

What bepsf said! Ditto, especially on the twin matress.

I agree with bepsf on the solarium, except that I see no reason it can't be both a dining area and a reading area. Just make sure you have comfy chairs in there. (I'm horribly jealous by the way)

There aren't many sofa beds that I'd be willing to sleep on every night so maybe concider a murphey bed. I know they're a little pricey but they can be SO comfortable. I'd put one on the 9.5' wall as you walk in the front door.

My layout would probably go like this: murphey bed (I'm imagining one of the ones that's in a large cabinet) as you walk in, on the 9.5' wall. Between it and the closet door some sort of entertainment center. Across from the entertainment center would be your sofa with the chair tucked into the corner between it and your solarium. Add a fun rug between the sofa and entertainment center to help define the space and add some color. Solarium has aforementioned cafe table and chairs as well as some book cases. Dining room as the office with more book cases (hardware stores often carry nice looking wood folding ones. They rock, especially when you have to move them).

Good luck and have fun!

(a) Go to thrift stores and CL for furniture, even eBay. (I can count on one hand the pieces of new furniture I've bought in my life and I have several collectible pieces.)

That being said, I think a Murphy Bed would be one purchase you WILL NOT regret.

(b) Measure your space and make sure you take a measuring tape with you when you shop. DO NOT BUY FURNITURE UNLESS YOU HAVE MEASUREMENTS.

(c) Don't be afraid to buy "big" pieces, but only if you can balance them out, i.e. one on either side of the room or a large one in the center, like the Murphy Bed. Your best bet's going to be buying furniture that does double duty.

Anyhoo, just some thoughts. And congrats!

: )

Below is one of my favorite articles from Apartment Therapy: 5 Smart Studio Apartment Layouts. Your layout is different from these, but there are some great ideas that may offer some help.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/inspiration/5-smart-studio-apartment-layouts-092329

When I moved into a studio after college, I set it all up in a way that was extremely comfortable to me, and it worked great............until I had friends over. Then I realized that my breakfast nook wasn't great for entertaining, and I had no way to hide my dirty laundry or unmade bed when people stopped by unexpectedly.

So! My only tip is to remember you may have guests over. :)

They are pricey but the Room and Board Parsons twin daybed is a simple, elegant daybed. A friend bought one for her studio and I've lusted for one ever since.
http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19580&catalog=room&category=rm_living_spaces&subcategory=studiosofa_chaise

Based on my experience as a resident of a studio, I think, as the space is limited, it is most important to first have rooms for;

(1) living dining working, and
(2) sleeping

I would divide the main area into two sections in horizontal - presumably the point where the ceiling lamp is located would be the boundary between those sections;

a. upper side - one half where the solarium is, and
b. lower side - the other half where the entry belongs (16'4" x 9'5")

Then, the lower side would be the sleeping area and the upper side would be the living area combined with the working space.

- living area: (1) --> a. upper section

In the living area, you could place a sofa and chair. Where the space allows, the coffee table would be nice as well. I got a LACK coffee table from IKEA. The size of the table should not be too large as its bulky look would only make the space packed.

- working dining area

You are very lucky to have a separate dining area in your studio. Then the space could be used for both dining and working. However, it would depend on how much space you need for working as you said you mostly work from home. Alternatively, the living area could be used as the working space as well.

In my case, I got a big dining table and used to use it for working and dining, but now I only use it for working since I got a coffee table for dining. Working and having meals at the same table made me so bored, I felt as if dining was the extension of working.

Especially, when you work from home, you might want to be away from your working space for a while for refreshment(!). On this basis, it would be good to have separate spaces for different purposes. As such, I would have used the living area for living and working and the dining area for only dining.

Moreover, when you have many books and stuff, it could be a good option to purchase a big sized book case such as EXPEDIT from IKEA. You can put everything you want - books, clutters, files, CD & DVDs, bed linens, etc.

In living in a studio, it is better to have one big sized furniture rather than several small furniture, which make the studio look packed.

- sleeping area: (2) --> b. lower section

As someone said above, I would place a bed on the 9'5" wall (the bedhead towards the 9'5" wall) as it is not a good idea to put a bed on the same wall where the door is, according to feng shui. Moreover, it is always practical to place a bed as close as possible to the bathroom and the closet.

If you already have a sofa and chair, I think, you could buy only a bed with a good mattress for sound sleep, not a sofa-bed. A sofa-bed is only useful when you have a bed, and don't have a sofa, so need to purchase a new one and something else in case of having a guest staying.

Well, it has been so lengthy, but I hope it could help get some idea for the floor plan. Good luck!

This is such a great floorplan for a studio, and it's a great size too.

I think you should get a proper double bed, not a Murphy Bed. Unless you're a fanatic for home yoga, all a Murphy bed will give you is a big blank patch of floor during the day, and this space is plenty big enough that you don't need a big blank patch of floor during the day.

I would put a double bed in the bottom right hand corner, with the foot facing the windows. I think you even have enough space for a locker-wide walk-around-the-bed space - this will also make it easier to make every day, which you will have to do as it will be so visible.

I think a narrow curtain or folding screen at the head end of the bed, just enough to conceal say a locker from view, will give you a psychological barrier while still maintaining the open-plan feel.

I think you could put a deep bookcase at the foot of the bed (leaving your walk-around-the-bed space) to act as a room divider. The Ikea Expedit (either the two-square-high or the four-square-high) has been used very successfully by many people for this purpose.

You can set up the window end of the main room as your living area, with the sofa facing the window so you get the view.

I agree that the kitchen would make a great workspace, and there is plenty of room for shelf storage. However I think it's also a great dining area, and it would be a pity to sacrifice such a social area to pure office duty. If you work on a laptop then it would be very simple to have a large square or round table to do double duty as a desk and dining table. If you get shelf units or cabinets with doors then you will have all the office storage you need but it can be out of sight when you're not "at work".

would rachel please set up a flickr account with some photos?

wouldn't it be fun to make the solarium a bedroom? lots of plants and some light filtering curtains. i guess this would only work if the windows are insulated.

With the solarium, I'd be tempted to put a desk on one end for your "office" and then a comfy reading chair on the end to make good use of the space.

Then I'd use the dining room as the bedroom. I'd place the bed facing the solarium with nice nightstands on either side.

Yes you would have to go through the bedroom to get to the kitchen, but then you'd have the whole huge living area as a living room/dining room. Might feel more like a one bedroom with a den this way. Depends on how open or closes you like it.

I would also go for a matte color white wall unit for your Entertainment Center. I've had great experience with these guys, -they customize, and also do in-home installation in some places in the US. www.milesgershon.com

What about creating a sleeping alcove by building/hacking some open shelving and running it parallel to the 9'9" wall about 5-6' out. Put a full/queen or even king bed on the bathroom side of the wall and use the hallway side for storage/display...or even a small fold down desk.

Then create a banquette along the 15'2" wall and add a small coffee table and a chair or two and mount a TV on the closet wall to the side of the entrance.

Use the area outside the kitchen as a dining room/office (but hide the clutter).

You might also consider using the solarium as a place to sleep --- but only if it is heated/cooled. Then you could have a really open living plan.

I like bepsf's idea for the solarium. Don't know if I'd recommend a twin bed, why don't you get a double bed and put it on that 9'5" wall - I mean, what if you have somebody over :>) You'd have plenty of space along the 15' wall for your couch and to set up a little living area in that part of the room. You could always put up a track and long curtains around your bed for a little extra coziness. Check Craigslist for some fun finds (that's where I found my coffee table). Have fun living on your own - I had a studio for my first "on my own" place and really enjoyed it!

Bublebeechicago is right. You can easily tuck a double bed in that corner, maybe a pretty screen to block it from front entrance. You still have tons of work/live space. Keep your work space separate or you'll go nuts.

Having a double bed in a studio screams out "this is my bedroom" instead of "This is my gracious home." The murphy bed is a great idea and, when it's closed, you can put two chairs there, or a bench---on wheels. Great place to put down coat, packages, pocketbook, dry cleaning as you come in. Things that really belong someplace else, but need to be put down NOW. They can be moved when the bed is open or moved closer to the couch when you're entertaining.

You deserve to sleep in a proper bed. Not a daybed, not a single tucked into an odd space, not a murphy bed. This is your home, you don't have to apologize for or hide the fact that as a human being, you sleep at night.

Get a bed you like (I recommend a full sized, low platform) and place it so that head of the bed is against the 9'5 wall at the right, with a couple of feet of space between the side of the bed and the 16'4 wall. You could place an open bookshelf a couple of feet to the otherside, or leave it open to the room. Honestly, I don't understand what is so terrible about seeing someone's bed, it's just another piece of furniture.

place your large sofa floating in the large space, facing the 15'2 wall so that the back of it creates a "hallway" to the kitchen.

If I had that solarium I would use it as a garden - meyer's lemons, buddha hands, blood oranges... any exotic citrus would grow wonderfully in there and make the apartment smell wonderful (as would planting lavender or jasmine).

The library / dining room is a great idea.

i also suggest against a sleeper sofa. i would keep your sofa & spend the $ on a bed. i have 2 different types (lillberg & lycksele) of ikea sleeper sofas and had an actual, not cheap, queen sleeper sofa before. the ikea ones have never been comfortable for more than 2 nights at a time. the nice one's mattress lasted a year or so with nightly use and was awful to move around. most of the time i would be too tired to even use them as beds and slept on them as couches. as people have mentioned on AT before, i should have put all that money towards a nicer sofa that i'll have a long time. i also love having my bed that is just used for rest.

could you use the "solarium" as a smaller office? some nice window treatments to keep it cool enough? i feel much more productive when my office area is by windows. i miss having a sunroom for that!