Before and After: The Total Transformation of a Tiny Studio
Francis decided to rent this small (like, only 365 square feet) studio apartment in Miami when he got sick of his commute to work from Fort Lauderdale. The seven-minute drive from his office was nice, but the old, dirty looking tiles and the outdated kitchen were not.
But, Francis was totally able to see the potential of what this studio apartment could become; he saw past the dirty tiles and noticed how much natural light the place received, as well as how the layout felt like something he could work with.
The first thing he did was sit down to create a to-scale 3D rendering of the space…to make sure all of his furniture would fit! After confirming that, he signed a lease to rent it the next day.
Thankfully, the landlords were willing to update the studio’s tile flooring to wood, and give the small galley kitchen a remodel. Though, Francis didn’t get to choose the new materials or color palette.
“My landlords picked the flooring and the kitchen cabinetry (I’m not going to lie, I tried convincing them to go with a lighter color for the cabinets), so I had to embrace these choices and make them work in my favor.”
He was able to talk his landlords into skipping upper kitchen cabinets on one wall so he could install open shelving. He also painted that wall an accent color, and just a bit of teal makes all the difference in the small space. A $20 cabinet door pull upgrade was another way he was able to personalize the rental.
The beauty of this small home is how Francis — who recently started his own Architectural + Interior Design firm — made so many functional areas in essentially a square box.
From the smart bookshelf/divider in the entryway, to how he uses an office desk to help define the bedroom…this small home is full of ideas to steal if you live in a studio apartment.