Before and After: Organizing a Small Studio Apartment

Find out how an apartment therapist created the illusion of a larger studio space.

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Before: Multipurpose Space
Tamara Noble's small studio apartment in New York has bedroom, living room, dining room and guest room all in one space.

Since she does not own the place, she is limited in making big changes. She just wants to mix up the space a bit to separate her bedroom from the main living area. "I have an apartment now that I eat and sleep in, and what I want is a home that I can live in," said the young, single marketing executive.

With the help of apartment therapist Maxwell Ryan, Noble sees how small but sweeping changes can make all the difference in the world.

She wants to warm up the apartment and make it a more inviting space, but she doesn't know how to proceed. She's afraid to make mistakes, so she has simply done nothing. Not the case with Ryan. A self-proclaimed apartment therapist, he embraces drastic change and has a slew of ideas for her place.

First thing, he says, is that the bookcase, CD stand, chair and footstool all have to go. This means sorting through all of her things, purging and organizing as she goes. "Getting rid of clutter is a complete solution to revitalizing space," he says. He adds that the apartment is an incredibly awkward space — a very small room with a high ceiling and no natural lighting. The current bright light bounces off those bare white walls and makes for a cold atmosphere.

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Resources

Products
- 36-inch round table with adjustable height from Hydra Designs Inc.
Guests
- Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, Professional Organizer, Apartment Therapy Website: www.apartmenttherapy.com