How to Fix a Poor Apartment Layout

Want to find space for a living room, dining area, and bedroom in a studio? See how designers solve this task in their projects. Even with the most unfortunate layout, you can work with it.

Small Stalin-era apartment with a kitchen-living room

Small rooms and low ceilings were the starting point for Irina Krivtsova when she began decorating a Stalin-era apartment from 1953.

The designer removed all partitions and only isolated the 'dirty' zone in the entrance hall — this added air to the cramped space. Glass sliding doors were installed between the living room and kitchen. The small bathroom was combined with the main bathroom and storage room to fit everything needed.

View the full projectSmall two-room apartment with a walk-in closet

In a two-room apartment, there was originally a narrow corridor where even a wardrobe wouldn’t fit, and an inconveniently narrow kitchen. These spaces were combined, and space was immediately found for a small living room.

The second room was adapted into a bedroom with a full-size bed and walk-in closet. The living room and bedroom were separated by a solid glass partition that allows natural light to pass through.

View the full projectStandard three-room flat in a block building

Designers were asked to make the rooms more functional and raise the door frames. Ludmila Danilovich proposed combining the kitchen with the living room. The gas stove problem was solved using sliding doors.

The entrance hall was isolated with a partition — now it’s the son's bedroom. In addition, niches were made in the entrance hall for wardrobes to avoid having a separate walk-in closet.

View the full projectApartment with a small living-dining room

Designer Ksenia Konovalova immediately suggested removing the wall between the living-dining room and entrance hall and replacing it with a ventilated partition made of vertical laminated strips — this added space and air.

They didn’t stop there either: they enlarged the opening to the kitchen and replaced the kitchen window block with sliding glass doors to the balcony.

View the full projectStudio with functional zones

To add more light to the long seven-meter room with only one window, designer Andrey Rybakov closed one of the door openings and supplemented the other with pockets for sliding doors.

The bedroom zone was isolated using vertical slats — they let in enough natural light and add privacy.

View the full projectStudio with a bedroom instead of a storage room

As in most cases, the partition between the small kitchen and living room had to be removed. Where a storage area was originally planned, a bedroom was created. The storage issue was solved using built-in wardrobes.

Also, the bathroom was combined in the apartment to accommodate a washing machine and wardrobe.

View the full projectStudio with a dining area on the balcony

Designer Julia Telnova combined the kitchen and living room into one space, separating them with an open shelf. The balcony was attached, insulated, and the dining area was moved there. Radiators were replaced with vertical ones, and windows — with panoramic sliding partitions.

A part of the living room was isolated with a partition and decorated as a small bedroom. The partition was partially glazed to keep the room bright at all times.

View the full project