Studio Apartment Space- Fun.

Double_Faces

As many of you may begin to piece together, I'm trying to cheaply move to LA. I have a place, and it's.... shall we say... economic in it's size. It's a studio apartment in Toluca Lake, and I need advice, considering that I've never lived in such tight quarters since my dorm room freshman year.


Any suggestions on space saving? What I truly need/ don't need? Any thing else?

Also, I feel as if I HAVE to get a sofa bed- what are your tips on that?

Love you.

Daenris

I would suggest possibly getting a loft bed instead of a sofa bed. I've never met a sofa bed that was as comfortable as an actual bed. And with the loft you still save space and can put a desk or sofa or whatever under the bed.

Improvolone

Do you live near an IKEA? Check out their stores, they have some "apartments" set up at varrying sizes.

RyakStorm

Double_Faces wrote: »

Also, I feel as if I HAVE to get a sofa bed- what are your tips on that?

Love you.

I don't think a comfortable sofa-bed has ever been designed. I could be wrong however. But if such a thing exists it won't be cheap. The loft bed is a good idea, if not ideal for sexy-time (depending on how important that is for you).

I'd rather go with something like this: http://www.murphybedcompany.com/

Cynic Jester

Futons are bitching for those really cramped apartments, but I can see why people would steer away from them. Still, if the place is really small, the space you save by going the futon route could help immensely.

contraband

i second the futon bed, but LA can get pretty hot, can't it? i usually stay away from lofted beds 'cause it gets mighty hot up near the ceiling, making sleeping really difficult.

kitch

Another option is to get a foam matress thingy and just set off a sleeping space somewhere on the floor in the room. I hear it's super hip.

EggyToast

No, sleeping on the floor isn't trendy. Murphy beds are trendy ;D

Barring that, I'd definitely go futon over any other seating/sleeping option, mostly because futons typically consist of a spartan design. There's not a lot of bulk to them. No arms as big as the seating area itself, no massive back that's mostly hollow. that jives well with small spaces.

RNEMESiS42

My girlfriend and I have this IKEA lofted bed, and it's pretty great. Our apartment is in a big old house, though, so our ceilings are about ten feet high and allow for a lot of room up top. I can fit my Jerker computer desk underneath it, no problem at all:

desperaterobots

Is your computer desk really called a 'Jerker'? Wow.

Loft bed would be a great idea unless the roof is particularly low. I've slept in beds like that and I got somewhat claustraphobic. Summer would be vile. Being incredibly organised and neat and having a 'spot' for everything will keep your place from turning into a garbage strewen hovel every few days.

vonPoonBurGer

Daenris wrote: »

I've never met a sofa bed that was as comfortable as an actual bed.

I have. It's this plus this. It's the couch in my office / computer room, which is the only room in my apartment that has an air conditioning unit. When the weather is really hot, my girlfriend and I will turn on the A/C unit and sleep there instead, and it makes for a surprisingly comfortable bed. At the very least, I don't feel guilty letting guests sleep on it, because I know it doesn't suck like most sofa beds. It's really more like a decent budget bed that just happens to be something you can fold into a couch.

corcorigan

vonPoonBurGer wrote: »

Daenris wrote: »

I've never met a sofa bed that was as comfortable as an actual bed.

I have. It's this plus this. It's the couch in my office / computer room, which is the only room in my apartment that has an air conditioning unit. When the weather is really hot, my girlfriend and I will turn on the A/C unit and sleep there instead, and it makes for a surprisingly comfortable bed. At the very least, I don't feel guilty letting guests sleep on it, because I know it doesn't suck like most sofa beds. It's really more like a decent budget bed that just happens to be something you can fold into a couch.

I was just going to mention that sofa bed. It's really good. Better than a lot of dedicated beds I've had the misfortune to sleep in over the years.

I almost killed myself putting mine together on my own a few years ago. It was really insanely hot, stuffy, in a small non-AC room (we're in Britain, it's never usually that hot), and I decided I'd do it on my own. I must have lost a couple of kilos in water I sweated off. Plus the room was tiny so I kept getting flattened by it. Fun times.

Evil_Reaver

Improvolone wrote: »

Do you live near an IKEA? Check out their stores, they have some "apartments" set up at varrying sizes.

There's an IKEA in Burbank which is really close to where he is moving (Linky).

Also, welcome to the Valley, Double_Faces. I live up in Northridge (northwest of Toluca Lake by about 11-12 miles), so if you have any questions specific to the Valley, don't hesitate to ask. I've only been here for 2 years, but us transplants have to help each other out when we can.

useless4

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10031628

Had this frame with a mattress and cover for 3 years, it was great and survived two large large girlfriends! folds out to a full size mattress. comfortable

Improvolone

As you can tell, IKEA is kind of a go to place for this kinda thing.

Double_Faces

Evil_Reaver wrote: »

Improvolone wrote: »

Do you live near an IKEA? Check out their stores, they have some "apartments" set up at varrying sizes.

There's an IKEA in Burbank which is really close to where he is moving (Linky).

Also, welcome to the Valley, Double_Faces. I live up in Northridge (northwest of Toluca Lake by about 11-12 miles), so if you have any questions specific to the Valley, don't hesitate to ask. I've only been here for 2 years, but us transplants have to help each other out when we can.

Thanks man. Any job opening where you work?


But seriously, I'd love to get a murphy bed, but they look so expensive. I think IKEA is where I'll end up.