Living on your own is a huge transition in any young person’s life, and chasing big college or career dreams can translate into small square footage — and little storage space.
After recently moving into my first apartment with no roommates, I realized that I severely underestimated the stress that can come with living alone. Solo financial responsibilities aside, I began to experience serious decision fatigue and my studio apartment started to daunt me. How could I utilize this space most efficiently? How could I get this to fit there?
It can be difficult to make a new space feel like home when there’s little space to store your belongings, and key essentials can quickly start to feel like clutter due to overcrowding; not to mention that clutter can negatively impact your mental health and productivity. I wanted my small apartment to feel like a space with limitless possibilities, a soft place to land for comfort or recharging. I wanted to make a home worthy of all the memories I planned to create there.
Yet, I worried that in solving my space issues, I would have to compromise the aesthetic I had already filled a Pinterest board with. But finding affordable and chic solutions for uniquely sized spaces like college dorms and tiny apartments are only a challenge if you don’t know where to look.
Luckily, the internet is abundant in different options for trendy multi-use home decor, as well as clean, clever, and most importantly, customizable furniture that prioritizes space-saving — and your wallet. Still don’t know where to start? We’ll help you. Below, we tapped Shamika Lynch, the founder and principle designer of Maximizing Tiny Interiors for her expertise on how to win the functional storage game on a budget without sacrificing your style.
Phase out and pare down
One of the biggest fears I had when moving from my family home into a space all my own was that I would not be able to fit all of my clothes. Ready for my reality check? My fear came true: I could not bring all of my clothes with me. However, this was something I have come to accept, as I was forced to phase out and pare down my wardrobe, reshaping it based on what I cherished and what I wore consistently. According to Lynch, your wardrobe should only consist of your “favorite items.”
“If you’re tight on space, it might be time to phase out anything that you’re not really wearing or excited to wear in the future,” she says. “For seasonal clothing, vacuum sealing them or stowing them away with luggage pieces or in underbed bins until needed is best practice. This allows you to have space for what you are really wearing.” (And if it's time to donate or repurpose old clothes, here's how to do that in the most sustainable way.)
It’s important then to prioritize a bed that offers accessible underbed storage, as well as an underbed storage option that is flexible to fit any and everything.
Make good use of unexpected space — and be intentional about the materials and colors of your storage
One of the biggest tips Lynch shared is one that helps trick the eye into believing your small space is bigger than it is. This can be done with clear plastic or acrylic storage or furniture or by vertical styling.
“Use your walls for decor and utilize tall storage to maximize floor space,” offers Lynch. Think about it this way: “If you have eight foot ceilings, you can take up as little as 30 feet of floor space and still store eight feet worth of items.”
Vertical styling can go for furniture like wardrobes as well as smaller items, like lamps and kitchen supplies. Slim furniture and objects that nest each other vertically can save crucial inches of space in your home, space you’ll be able to use for larger, more important pieces like a desk or a wardrobe. (The IKEA Micke even has a cable design that hides messy wires for an even cleaner look.)
Everything should have multiple uses
Lynch is based in Jersey City, NJ, but supports clients nationwide; this means that she’s seen everything, from teensy student housing intended for multiple roommates in the Midwest to your stereotypical NYC closet-masquerading-as-an-apartment. No matter your location, Lynch wants you to understand one thing: multi-use furniture will be your saving grace.
By minimizing the amount of furniture you have in a room with almost all furniture serving double duty, you achieve “maximum utility.”
“Don’t buy single purpose furniture. Multipurpose furniture that works well, for example, is an entry table with storage for shoes, or a console table that works as a litter box for your cat, or bunching tables that can be used as side tables or a coffee table,” recommends Lynch. “Poufs double as seating and table space if you add a tray. [Choose] a sideboard instead of a media console. Sideboards are specified to be larger [in storage] than media consoles and they serve the same purpose. You can gain so much more storage by making this simple swap.”
In my own tiny apartment, I’ve quadrupled the IKEA Kallax to serve as my TV console and my vinyl record storage, as well as storage for my candles, cameras, sunglasses, and other miscellaneous tech accessories.
Skip “wasteful” furniture
“Don’t waste space with items you don’t use or need,” says Lynch. But what exactly classifies as “wasteful furniture”? Lynch rattles off a few examples that may seem functional at first glance, but are actually space-suckers: file cabinets, large dining tables, and bar carts.
“Instead of a file cabinet, dedicate a drawer in a sideboard [or desk] to files,” she says. “There are plenty of file organizers that can fit in a drawer.” (Floating drawer units like the IKEA Alex are popular for being able to fit under many desks as an add-on.)
Lynch knows her bar cart opinion is a hot take, but she stands on it: “If you're short on space, combine your bar with another piece of furniture!” Utility carts are perfect for this purpose, as they offer multiple levels of storage and are super-slim in width and compact in length.
And just because something isn’t advertised as multi-use doesn’t mean that it isn’t — I use my wardrobe chest as a side table, a dresser, and a useful surface. (Right now, I have my jewelry box and vase of decorative flowers resting on it.) If you ever get stuck expanding your vision for your home, Lynch suggests you “draw it out on paper to plan” and then “tape out dimensions on the floor with blue tape.” (Or if you’re into The Sims like me, mock up your tiny space for your Sim to enjoy.) And remember that every surface is usable!
