apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

In my studio I had a loft bed similar to this one:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/fur/595382924.html

My living room was downstairs and my bed room was upstairs.

Have you tried moving the couch so it's parallel to the bed, facing the window wall and the chair (TV?)? That would create sort of a living room space and a bedroom space.

Maybe put a chair or two in front of the radiator, and add a shelf over it like this. That might help integrate it into the space which is sometimes better than just trying to ignore an ugly immovable feature.

I would get a bookshelf that can double as a room divider but still let light through. The Ikea Expedit is always a good choice. I'd put it to the left of your bed so your bed is kind of walled-in between the two bookshelves. Then I'd hang a nice pendent light above the bed and hang curtains at the foot of the bed area that can be tied back to the wall and/or expedit shelf. Then you have a cozy (but well-lit) little nook of a bedroom, and the shelf unit even doubles as a night stand, so you don't need an extra piece of furniture. Plus, you increased storage.

Then I'd put the couch dead center under the window, being careful to keep it far enough out from the wall so it doesn't touch the radiator. This serves the dual purpose of hiding most of the radiator and giving the room some symmetry. Any of the radiator left visible could be obscured by a floor lamp or a potted plant to the right of the couch. I'd set the two chairs at a diagonal facing the couch to create a seating area, add a small coffee table (with storage if possible), and then move the desk to the far corner of the wall where the couch is now.

Hope that gave you some inspiration!

The Mercer room is a different layout:
http://www.tablethotels.com/The-Mercer-Hotel/New-York-City-Hotels-New-York-State-USA/103

Nothing will change the shape of the room.

But you like the feel of the rooms at the Mercer? What specifically grabs your attention?

I can't tell what all the object in your floor plan are, other than the desk and bed.

Do you need the larger bed, as in, do two people live there?

Think. What is your time at home comprised of? For instance, if all you do is barely have enough time to get home, get into bed, get up, to go to work, and you do little to nothing else there, you don't need a lot of stuff other than a comfortable bed, and it doesn't have to be a large bed.

After you've gone to sleep, your body doesn't know or care if you are in a luxurious suite or a hayloft in a barn, as long as it's comfortable.

So, you want to divy up your schedule to see what you do in your apartment so you KNOW how to allot the space. And let us know how your day is divided. What you do in there should determine what you need.

As far as the radiator, you can probably pick up a very inexpensive space heater and turn that radiator OFF, so you can use that wall. I turned my wall heater off many years back. Just use a small portable heater.

I'm not sure what the dimensions of the room and couch are, but if it will not block entry to the kitchen, maybe you could center a long, narrow console table in front of the windows (one that covers the radiator), then put your couch in front of the console table. The console might still allow enough space for air to come out and you could put plants or something on it. Then you could put the chair(s?) on the wall where the couch is now.

Here are some consoles that might fit:

http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=114&f=2079&q=console&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1

http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=114&f=4221&q=console&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1

if you don't want to have a bed sitting out in sight all the time you could try something like one of these:

http://www.mannymachadodesigns.com/mstore.html

http://www.closetorganizer.ca/rollup.html

One approach I used with a similarly sized room was to have a winter and summer furniture layout. In winter, I would arrange the furniture in a tighter layout so as not to impede heat from the radiator. In summer, I expanded and rotated the layout and blocked the unneeded radiator.

Another approach you might use is to enclose the radiator in a cabinet which allows heat to flow out, but permits you to use the radiator top as seating, desk surface, a shelf, etc. If you make the cabinet longer than the radiator, i.e. the length of the windows or the wall, you can incorporate storage cabinets or other features.

Leaving aside budget for a minute -- because CL exists to solve that problem -- how committed are you to having a separate double bed and sofa in your space?

Trading them in for a sofa-bed would give you a lot more floor space and flexibility. The quality of sofa-beds for sleeping has improved dramatically in the past 10 years or so; they won't fool you into thinking you have a $10,000 mattress, but they won't wreck your back, either.

If you were comfortable with going that route, you could put the desk with the bookcases and have the sofa face the window, with its back to the bookcase, and you might even have room for another chair.

(And if the radiator is ugly, definitely get a radiator cover.)

If you're really wanting the feel of an upscale hotel room wouldn't you want to make the bed more of the focal point. It there & there is no hiding it. So go with it.

Perhaps moving it to where the couch is now. Then turn the area in front of the bookcase into your sitting/living room. Essentially flip flopping the current bed & sofa configuration.

Once you get the layout down it all about the accessories to make it chic. Good luck.

First off, the bed is in the wrong place.

You need a daybed in the far right corner across from the kitchen - something like this full-size daybed w/ drawers:
http://cgi.ebay.com/MODERN-FULL-SIZE-BARBADOS-CAPPUCCINO-DAYBED-WITH-DRAWER_W0QQitemZ150118399886QQcmdZViewItem

It should be placed against the wall and loaded up with bolsters and pillows - this is your replacement for a sofa.

In front of this, place a round rug, a tall tea-height table and your armchair with its round end-table and a lamp. A hanging lamp goes in the far corner. At the end by the bookcases, this is where the desk goes against the wall with a large table lamp on top.

The entry area needs a narrow shelf mounted at console height with a mirror above as a place to catch mail, keys, cellphone, etc. as well as another small rug and a stylish wastebasket to catch the junk mail.

Alternately, what about using sheer panels to separate the sofa from the bed? It would create a romantic atmosphere, allow light to filter through, and also create a distinct "living" and "bedroom" space.

(I'm thinking something along the lines of this:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2006-entries/36-marcs-eminent-domain-007270

Sorry for the confusion, all, that rectangular shape by the north wall is a LACK tv bench, the shape next to it is an armchair, as is the rectangular shape near the kitchen.

True Blue, in answer to your question, I do spend a good amount of time in my studio. I write when I come home from work, sometimes late into the evening, so it's more than just a place to sleep.

Saintmims, if the rectangular shape is a tv bench, does that mean that you don't have a sofa? And, is a sofa something that you need/want?

anokha, i'm not looking for a sofa, i use the two chairs instead.

it sounds like you want something a little more lux feeling than efficient. your current space is probably "efficient" in the sense that it maximizes your central floor space but pushing everything to the walls doesn't make it entirely comfortable.

part of the lux feel is putting your bed in a more central spot, i would put it where your lack tv bench currently is with space on either side. if the radiator is a problem, try to find a cover or something with a surface that you can put items on or maybe a really short screen folding screen.

anyhow, where your built-in book case is i would try to create a sitting area with your two chairs and a bistro sized table facing into the room. would be a nice cozy area and decent for dining or a glass of wine.

then swap out the big lack bench for slimmer system and put the tv in the corner where the rectangle chair is. assuming of course the tv would fit in that space.

then fill it up with nice heavy curtains, great fabrics, cushions, and maybe a big mirror or piece of art.

I'm with Allsunday. Put an an expedit, and you have a bookshelf, nightstand, and you could mod it so that it is also an entertainment center. Take the couch and have it face the shelves, the chair goes in the corner near the kitchen, the desk goes where your couch is and voila.

OK! Saintmims, you need a comfortable place to sleep. And you need a comfortable place to write. Writing necessarily includes reading. Ha!

Do things in stages. That makes it much easier on the budget. You lose those built in bookshelves by having a double bed.

Bookshelves can be for more than just books. You can use that area for nice looking storage boxes. For art and sculpture. And for towels and spa-like items.

So, one suggestion would be to switch to a single bed. Folks have suggested the Expedit bookcase, and that could be used. Guess what? It is the same length (the 8-square or 16-square) as the LACK tv stand! 58 5/8"

Where am I headed with that? Have your new single bed, with a walkway between the built-in bookshelves. And making the "back" of the bed (running lengthwise) this:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50103086

With your current LACK tv shelf placed AGAINST that bookshelf. It will be not possible to access the bottom cubbies on the EXPEDIT easily. However, if you're like the majority of people, you probably have things that can be stored out of season. Shoes, sweater. Or memorbilia. Things you want to keep, but do not need daily.

Now, that gives you a short room divider of about three feet. Again, you can use that for a pair of lamps, sculpture, whatever you want to feature. And it will give you light for your bed area, which you can use for reading too.

The two chairs get moved to angle into each other, in the corner, where the TV shelf is currently. One chair will face the TV and one will face into the room. Or they can be side by side.

You may now be able to move your desk over by the window? Where the rectangular chair is now.

You know your space better than I do. You can even try out part of this, for now, by moving the tv bench and the chairs and the desk. You will have to climb in bed from the bottom though. Ha!

I personally put up a free-standing entertainment unit (tv and bookshelves) between my living area and my twin daybed. I have a very different layout to my studio than you do. But dividing up the space for me was the answer. I like my cosy cubby for sleeping.