A small apartment does not need small furniture everywhere. It needs the right piece in each spot, and fewer pieces overall. Here is what works.
Start with a tape measure
Measure each room, then measure the doors, the hallway and the stairs. Furniture that fits the room but not the staircase is the most common mistake in an apartment. Write the numbers down and bring them to the store.
Living room
- Choose one main seat. A loveseat or a small sectional is enough. A sofa, a loveseat and a chair will fill a small room wall to wall.
- Look at the depth. A deep sofa eats floor. Sit on it and check that it is as deep as you need and no deeper.
- Show some floor. Sofas on legs make a room look bigger than sofas that sit flat on the floor.
- Use a cocktail set. Three matching small tables can be moved around more easily than one large one.
Dining
A dinette set is made for this: a small table with its chairs, sized for a kitchen or the end of a living room. A table for four is about three feet across. Leave about three feet from the table edge to the wall so a chair can pull out.
A counter height table is taller, with stools. It gives you somewhere to stand and chop or sort the mail, so one piece does the job of a table and a counter. A set with a bench on one side seats more people and slides under the table when you are done.
Bedroom
- A full instead of a queen is six inches narrower and five inches shorter, which in a small bedroom can be the difference between a nightstand and none.
- A daybed is a twin bed with a back and sides. It works as a sofa in a studio or a spare room and a bed at night.
- Bunk beds put two children on the floor space of one bed. Leave about three feet between the top mattress and the ceiling.
- A chest of drawers is taller than a dresser and uses less wall for the same storage.
Three habits that help
- Buy one room at a time, and live with it for a week before buying the next.
- Keep the walkways clear. A room you can walk through feels larger than a room with more in it.
- Pick pieces you can carry out again. In a rental, you will move.
Come and see the sizes in person
Photos hide how big furniture is. Our dinette sets, bedroom sets and living room sets are set up at 2121 N Foster Dr in Baton Rouge, so you can stand beside them with your measurements. Call (225) 356-0068 to ask what is on the floor.