This 272-Square-Foot NYC Studio Uses an IKEA Clothes Rack in a Cute and Unique Way

Name: Melissa
Location: Upper West Side — New York, NY,
Type of home: Studio Apartment
Size: 272 square feet
Years lived in: 1.5 years, renting

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: My studio apartment is located on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. It is a third-floor walk up, 272 square feet, in a pre-war building. It’s located on a tree-lined street right off the main strip of shops and restaurants. It can be noisy late at night as people leave the bars and are singing on their way home, but it’s fairly quiet.

It’s located in between Riverside Park and Central Park, which is such a perk. When I moved to NYC, I had zero preference about what neighborhood I wanted to live in—I just wanted to find a place. I’ve fallen in love with the neighborhood and always knew that it suited my personality, but didn’t realize how evident that was until I really settled in.

I work in tech in midtown, and love that I can retreat uptown to the less hectic pace of the city. I really like plants and figured if I couldn’t have a dog, plants were the next best thing. My place is the perfect size for one person. I have dedicated areas where I eat, sleep, and lounge, and I try to never blur those lines so I always feel a sense of separation. I enjoy cooking so my main gripe is that I have to be cognizant about what I want to cook for fear of setting off the fire alarm or making my duvet cover smell like stir fry.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Cozy, relaxed, unfussy, practical, inviting.

What is your favorite room and why? As anyone who lives in a studio will say, the whole place! I love having everything in one room. In such a small space, no corner goes neglected and that’s what I really like. My favorite corner of my apartment would have to be my armchair during the hours of the day where the sunlight shines directly through the windows. Only having windows on one side of my place means there is only one source of sunlight, so I try to take advantage of every bit of direct sunlight that comes in.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? IKEA NIKKEBY Clothes Rack. I needed a better solution for hanging heavy plants that didn’t involve hanging them on my curtain tension rod, and this clothing rack fit the bill! I love that it’s the perfect size for my oversized windows and allows me to hang more plants instead of scattering them on the floor.

Any advice for creating a home you love? It’s a cliche, but fill your home with things that you genuinely love. I think it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to make your space feel photo-ready all the time by buying things that look aesthetically pleasing in the moment, but don’t actually send a shiver of excitement down your spine. When you fill your space with things you love, people will feel that same love when they come into your space.

This submission’s responses were edited for length and clarity.