This recent house tour -- Mary Lee's Life in 300 Square Feet -- is a perfect example of carving out a bedroom space even in a small studio. By day this room serves as cozy little living room, complete with a home office. By night, the sofa folds out, the bedding comes out of the storage cubes, and voila -- a bedroom. I rounded up a shopping list of the essential components of Mary's living room, along with a quick guide to why it works...
Clockwise from top left:
- Kristina Comfort Sleeper from American Leather Mary knew that if she was going to use a sofa sleeper on a daily basis, she would need something comfortable. She chose this model from American Leather because it has a memory foam mattress. Plus, American Leather is known for their extra comfortable sleepers.
- Ikat Throw Pillows from Ginette Pearson and EasternHomeDecor By mixing up the patterns of the ikat pillows, Mary has created a lot of visual interest on her solid sofa. At night, with the bed pulled out, they double as back support for reading or watching TV.
- LACK Wall Shelves from IKEA By hanging wall shelves near the sofa, Mary has given herself storage space without losing precious real estate that floor shelving would require. You can also find affordable ikat pillows at major retailers, like World Market.
- Parsons Desk from PB Teen Mary used a simple IKEA sofa table in her space but I like this similar option from PB Teen because the drawer can be used to hide desktop clutter. Either way, the table can serve as a desk for homework. It's also a nice big surface that can be used as a buffet or dining table while entertaining.
- Nailhead Storage Ottoman from Target These storage ottomans are the workhorse of the room. They can be used to store bedding for the sleeper sofa, as extra seating for company and as seating for working at the desk. They also fit snugly beneath the console desk to keep the room feeling open.
- KASSETT Box with Lids from IKEA By lining up a few of covered boxes on the wall shelves, Mary has a place to store items that might otherwise clutter the space.
Check out Mary's full house tour to see how the room looks in "bedroom mode".
(Images: 1. Mary Lee's Life in 300 Square Feet. All others: As linked above.)
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This is amazing and I'm very impressed by people disciplined enough to do this. I know I could NEVER pull this off- I'd simply leave the bed out all the time, except for company. I'd be far too lazy to fold the bed in every morning, and make it every night.
If anyone has this sort of set up, do you honestly convert the space every day?
She made wonderful use of her space and created an impressive home in 300 sq ft. I think the decision to get a GOOD sleeper sofa, thus eliminating the need to crowd a bed into the room as well, was a really smart one. I imagine that the bedding resides in one of those nice storage stools during the day.
P.S. The window treatments are nice!
I live in a tiny space (125 square feet) and one of the requirements when I was shopping was that I had to have a dedicated place for sleeping that allowed me to hide the bed. Having to make up a bed every night would mean never feeling like I was home. Also, sleeping on a sofa bed? No thanks. I prefer a real mattress! That said, this is a gorgeous use of space for someone who is disciplined enough to keep it looking that way. That looks looks so luxurious!
I have a real bed in my 275sqft apartment. But if I didn't I'd pick a nice quality futon over a sleeper sofa any day. In fact I had a japanese style futon for like 6 years and I LOVED it.
It's way too much work (for me) to have to assemble and disassemble a bed every single day. I'd rather just have an awesome bed to lounge on. God knows I wouldn't be entertaining anyone in 300 sq ft - that's what going out in the city is for!
to my eye, it looks unfinished.
the sofa is floating out in space along with the table.
it needs a BIG rug to anchor the whole arrangement.
a warm paint color would also help immensely.
In the comment section of the house tour post, Mary the homeowner said that the bed is out most of the time unless she's entertaining or needs the space for a project. It's just kind of reality.
I sleep in a sofabed and I close it up every morning. I leave it open a while longer on weekends. It's become my morning ritual to make the beds and if I don't I feel sloppy. :)
I like that way of thinking of it Jax217. :0)
Absolutely not, I wish I had the discipline and time to do that everyday, the fact is its not necessary everyday. The idea is having an option to put away my sleeping area and turning it into more formal seating gives the space so much more opportunity to have many purposes other than sleeping.
In a space this small, I felt the functionality and purpose of the design aesthetics outweighed unnecessary styling. Since the space is used partially an art studio, the wall color needed to be easy to touch up, but also the white helps pull together the place as a whole and is flexible for my ever changing color preferences with a quick less expensive change in accessories. While a huge fan of bringing a rug into anchor a room and bringing color into a space, I felt in this case it would get in the way of the often transitioning furniture thats purpose is to not be anchored.
You imagined right mei-ling! When planning the space, I wanted the bedding to have its own dedicated space to live when it was not needed. Thank you!
It doesn't look "unfinished" so much as someone who probably has storage, or simply is not inclined to keep sentimental items, photos, or books around. I live in a 400sf space with a full-size bed and a row of Billy shelves that fit neatly into an inset wall, with space for a loveseat and coffee table. I once lived in a 250sf apt, and really appreciate being able to have a full-size bed rather than a fold-out.
If I could get halfway to where Mary is now by purging books and tchotchkes, tools and craft supplies, I'd be happy, but I can't live without plants, photos and books :)
I know that I'd want a stand alone or Murphy bed. I know that I'd feel guiltily if I didn't put the bed away everyday.
The sleeper is actually from American Leather, not American Mattress, whatever that is, and when it's open, it can be dressed like any bed, with sheets, pillows, comforter, etc. And it's comfortable to sleep on. I'll bet there are some days when she doesn't put it all away, but when she needs or wants to, she certainly has an attractive place for entertaining a few guests.
I'm surprised that those mirrored wardrobes didn't make the list of "essential components'?
I love the storage ottomans under the Parsons desk. Great idea! I have a small living room in my home, and I have been looking for items that would work.
Hi,
Where did Mary get her window treatments/curtains from?
I would like something similar in my apartment.
I am half & half. I definitely put the sofa back together when I know I have company coming but some mornings I am running late for work and leave the pillows everywhere and the bed out!
Hi Philly_Studio_Chic,
I got some plain white curtains from target and black ribbon and sewed them together :0)
The valances were a crazy find at an estate sale in the exact dimensions I needed. I removed the old fabric and stapled my own white curtain and black ribbon to match the panels.