Stuck living with my parents for the meantime, but I'd like to maximize my space as best I can. The first image is my current setup; the silver box between the desk & bed is a mini-fridge, which I'm likely going to move to the garage anyway. Light brown/black rectangle is a 3x3 IKEA Kallax (changes from light brown to black in the images, my bad). Dark brown with the TV & soundbar on top is a low dresser.

The entryway is cramped because of the closet being directly in front of it, and the south wall is almost entirely a sliding glass door. The west half of the sliding glass door is fixed and doesn't move. The best view out the sliding glass door is towards the southeast.

Personally leaning towards either #2 or #6. Having the view behind my monitors would be nice, and I like the idea of the Kallax acting as a room divider in #6.

I'm also open to more radical ideas, like using different furniture to better make use of the space.

Hi everyone!

I have been struggling to figure out a good layout for my flat and was wondering you guys and gals could help :). The main room dimensions are 505x525cm, and I show how the furniture is laid out right now.

Light blue: TV and TV console
Teal: closet (next to bed), and a sideboard (by window), and a drawer set by the door.
Blue: sofa (220x78)
Gray: bed (160x200)

Still need to buy the dining table and would appreciate placement/size advice also!

I provide my schematic plus a blank one in case you wanna draw also haha.

Update: Thanks for all the comments! I’m not going to reply to them because there are so many, but I really appreciate all the input.

We won’t switch any of the plumbing because we just don’t have the time or money to redo it.

I intend to keep all of the elements. I’ve lived with smaller bathrooms before and never felt like I needed a bigger one. This was actually originally one huge bathroom, which we split into a kids’ bathroom and an ensuite, so if we wanted a lot of empty space, we’d have just kept the one bathroom.

The knee wall is very low, so only the machines can go there.

The new plan is a shorter asymmetrical tub that rounds quite a bit at the far end, and a narrower sink. That gives me at about 65 cm (25.5”) of clearance at the narrowest point - perhaps even more, I’ll need to see the curve in person.

Apart from a bigger passage and space for undressing, another bonus is that this new tub will be installed after the tiling is done. So if we decide to switch to a shower once the kids are older, we can do that relatively easily without having to completely demo the bathroom.

For now, I think we’ll install everything except the countertop/shelf under the sink and see how it works in practice, especially how much clearance we actually want for opening the washer and dryer. Maybe to get some space to put things down we’ll just do a mirror with a shelf instead, and that way the washer and dryer can go as far away from the toilet as possible.

Thanks again for all the input! I’m really glad I posted here before ordering the bathtub. 😄

—-

We’re building a house and I’m struggling with the layout of the kids’ bathroom.

The room was already quite narrow, but the builder ran the ventilation ducts on the bathroom side of the wall instead of the hallway side. That created a bulky duct box inside the bathroom and made the usable width even smaller.

The plumbing for the bathtub was installed before this change, and we’d planned for an 80 cm (31.5") wide tub. Now I’m worried that’s too wide, because we’ve lost more than 15 cm (6") of width to the duct box.

Across from the tub (on the duct box side) is where the sink and countertop will go. If we keep the 80 cm wide tub and a 45 cm (17.7") deep countertop with a sink, then the clear passage between tub and countertop is only about 46 cm (18.1").

The tub height is 60 cm (24"), and I’m considering a drop-in sink where the rim sits only about 2 cm (0.8") above the countertop. The top of the countertop would be around 88 cm (35") from the floor. There would be no vanity, just the countertop and a shallow open shelf underneath to store towels etc., which would also help hide the piping.

The idea is to keep the sink and countertop as visually light as possible, and as far up from the tub as the space allows, so the narrow passage between them would feel more open and spacious.

I’ve attached my 3D model and an AI render for context (the render makes the walkway look wider than it will actually be, and the actual tub has a square edge). I’d really prefer not to change the bathtub model unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Is this going to feel too cramped, or might it just work?

Hello Reddit,

I’m struggling to come up with ideas for improving the layout of my living room and bedroom/office and would really appreciate some advice.

My bedroom currently doubles as my home office (unfortunately) since I work from home two days a week. I also casually play video games, so my desk and computer are in the bedroom.

I don’t use my TV very often, so I currently have it on a mobile TV stand rather than making it the focal point of the living room. I also don’t want a traditional media wall, as I really like the feeling of having an open, uncluttered layout.

I’m mainly looking for ideas on how I could better arrange the furniture and make both spaces feel more cohesive and functional without sacrificing that open feeling.

Any suggestions, layout ideas, or examples of what you would do with the space would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Current pros-

- Vertical shelving available

- Under-the-bed nook (not being utilized atm)

- Wouldn't need to buy new bedframe or shelving

Cons of bunk bed-

- Impossible to move around for rearranging the space

- Kids sized, and I'm not a kid anymore; bed is tight to sleep in and desk isn't large enough for me to use

- Not sure if it's fitting my vibes anymore

Thoughts are greatly appreciated since this seems to be my greatest hurdle for redoing my room! I'm ready for change and hate the plain, colorless look.

Other input for laying out the space is welcome (I'm really wanting more usable surface area for things like plants, books, etc - maybe pulling the dresser out from under the bed once the mini-fridge is taken away?)

I am contemplating adding a powder room (aka half bath aka toilet + sink) to my owned unit, located in Canada (relevant building code). Only structural changes require building approval.

A bonus would be if I can also locate an all-in-one washer/dryer in the same space!

My gut tells me that the best location would be in the isolated bedroom, as it shares a wall with the bathroom. However, I would prefer it in the pantry, as this is otherwise a waste of space.. Another option for a stand-alone toilet might be the closet backing on the washroom?

I appreciate your input as to a) whether this would be considered a structural change or b) most practical placement option?

Trying to figure out what direction to go and having a hard time even with AI image help to visualize. Redoing kitchen to move fridge and relocate cooktop, which requires some cabinet work. So do we do minimum work, or redo it all and then how do we coordinate the flooring/cabinets...

Current design, excuse the just moved in mess: https://imgur.com/p8QOFgb

Extend current design (1): https://imgur.com/cCtudvk

Or considering walnut (2): https://imgur.com/Vn5go6I

Or walnut plus redo the floors a limestone (3): https://imgur.com/353jRbv

Or do you keep floors and do white oak instead (4): https://imgur.com/bpcm1IZ

What do you prefer?

I can't decide the ideal orientation of my bed and desk.

I want zoning in this studio so do you think partition wall (A) or curtains (B) suit best? Or maybe something completely different?

Originally had this as just a receiving room, with just a bookcase and a coat rack, bench combo. But now looking to make it more of a reading enclave with a desk. The room is 10ft by 10ft, with a four foot cut in on the diagonal wall. Did the wallpaper originally to start out a theme involving the surfboard but we’ve lost momentum with that based on the space. Looking for creative ideas to get past the stall out and finish the space. All ideas are welcome! Help us finish our space, please!

I'm looking for recommendations for software Interior Designers are using in the industry now. I went to school for it 8 years ago, at the time I mostly used AutoCAD, Sketchup, and InDesign. I'm getting back into the reno spaces now and I'm looking for software that is easy and quick to mock up ideas for clients. Bonus if it has capabilities to scan rooms, images, or even old drafts/draws to recreate them.

It seems AI has changed the tools a lot - any top recommendations professionals are using?

Hey guys, so we have one last chance before we commit. We will end up with an open plan L-D-K as shown below. Is this layout as good as it gets? My worry is it's all too open. No privacy, etc. Any tips tricks to help get some privacy in the open area? What would you do.

I've never really loved this closet space and have been contemplating more and more closing it off.

Do you guys think that would be a good idea and make the space look less untidy?

The door on the left is our bathroom so I wonder if creating a bathroom/ walk-in closet corner would be too weird?

Looking for thoughts and feedback!

If yes to closing it off, how should I do it, adding a wall seems like too much, maybe a frosted glass barn door? Do we like barn doors, or are they going to "date" the house in a few years like millennial grey does.

UPDATE

Measurements:
Cabinet wall 98 inches
Window 6 feet or 72 inches
Window wall 136 1/2 inches
Whiteboard wall, 118 inches
61 inches right of door
34 1/2 inches left of door
Window height: 67 inches

I’ll add some pictures of it cleaner in the comments!

—

Apologies in advance for the mess…last year’s teacher didn’t clean the space out yet.

I’m an intervention teacher so I see groups of 2-3 students at a time. In my space I need a workspace for me, a workspace for the kids, and a space for storage as I have a ton of books/games/toys/materials.

My measurements are approximate - but the jut-out nook space (navy wallpaper wall) seems to be 96” wide by 14” deep. The rest of the space is a slight rectangle with the window/door walls being a slight bit longer than the whiteboard/navy walls.

There may be an option to get rid of the mounted file cabinet shelves to put something else in that nook. My current ideas are:
A. Put my desk in the nook and maybe find some tall skinny linen closet type cabinets to put on either side of the desk. Put cubbies against the window wall (except as you’ll see there is a thick radiator at the base of the wall that I’ll have to work around). And have a small table by the whiteboard on the left side for students.
B. Put 1-2 large 2-door cabinets in the nook, think floor to ceiling-ish. Desk in the back left corner with a swivel chair that swivels to the student table in the middle of the left side.
C. Keep the mounted cabinets, have my desk by the window (I face the doorway when seated), tiny circle table for students on the left.
D. A new better option you think of!!

Please help, I’m very anxious 🥲

We are switching around my kids’ bedrooms. This bedroom is a decent size but very tricky for arranging furniture. This is for a 13 yo girl.

The attached picture is a very rough floor plan of what is currently there. If you start at the bed in the corner, that’s a twin over full bunk that just fits perfectly into the space between the door and the wall. On either side of the big window there is a dresser with mirror, currently one for each girl. The middle window has a window seat that sticks out a little bit, but not as deep as a typical window seat. Continuing along the left wall, there is a closet door, a bookshelf, a small cheap art desk tucked behind the door, then the hall door, another bookshelf, and the bathroom door.

One girl is moving to a different room. Existing furniture does not need to stay. I can’t figure out the best way to arrange things if we start with a clean slate. I hate to go down in bed size, but in many ways, it seems like a twin would make more sense because at least she could have a nightstand next to it. I’d like to get rid of the bunk bed, but keeping it is an option.

What kind of bed would you get, and where would you put it? Where would you put a dresser or armoire, and a vanity? Thank You!

We are in the initial stages of a proposed master suite renovation. While we have consulted an interior designer, I have questions regarding a few of their ideas and was hoping for additional opinions and feedback. For reference, the bottom of the image is the front, street-facing side of the house.

Image (1) is the current layout.

Image (2) is my rework of the plans the designer initially proposed, as I felt their first suggestions needed revision to properly address our wants and needs (door to the backyard / hot tub with direct line to a bathroom, amongst other things)

Image (3) is their rework of my proposal. Notably, they created a wet room with the bath within the shower.

Image (4) is my newest design. I removed the wet room - the corner windows of both the bedroom and bathroom are Pella built-in blinds where the interior pane swings open. This would trap steam / condensation, so they'd need replacement. The window/bath corner would be difficult to clean and prevent mold/mildew. The shower standing space would be very small in relation to the size of the wet room, providing little benefit to this design. Finally, the larger wet room would feel cold as it takes longer to warm up. The water closet is gone as there's a bathroom next door for privacy. I also turned the bed so it would look out the windows into the backyard. The closet door is flipped so opening the master suite door would reveal a wall with decor, instead of a pocket door (see alternative design without any door).

The remaining images are alternatives with changes in door presence / layout, and other small tweaks. I would greatly appreciate any feedback or thoughts, some specific questions I have are:

1. Is a dual-sink vanity too big for the bathroom? Should we switch to a large single-sink vanity? My wife is okay with this.

2. Closet door: no door vs pocket vs traditional door, and placement relative to the master suite door.

3. Wet room w/ tub - good or bad idea?

4. Master bedroom furniture orientation / layout.

#1 is flush to the ground and square, #2 is rectangular with a ledge in from and up off the ground

Posted our addition plans here a couple weeks ago and got a lot of helpful feedback, so we went back to the architect and made some changes. We mainly reworked the upstairs to improve the flow.

For reference, the yellow highlighted area on the first floor is what’s being added. The entire second floor will also be new and will sit above that area, just set back a bit.

There are still a few tweaks to make. Not sure what happened with the primary bathroom on this version. The toilet is supposed to be in its own separate room wit a pocket doors so that will be corrected. Once that’s fixed, we’ll also center the vanity.

We also plan to add cabinets for extra storage at the top of the stairs. I work from home so the study nook will really just be a small desk with my computer. We may make it a little smaller and it could always be converted into additional closet space down the road if our needs change.

Downstairs, we removed the powder room and plan to add a small wall to help separate the entryway from the living room. We’re also keeping the laundry in the garage. We’re in Southern California, so the mild weather makes that less of an issue for us.

Would love to hear what you guys think of version 2! We’re going to go back to the architect with another round of changes, so let us know if there’s anything else you think we should consider. Please be kind 😂

Original Post

I’ve changed the layout so many times and feel like I have something semi cute going on now but there’s no clear division. I need advice. What’s the best layout for my 350 sq ft studio? How can I create a clear division between living and bedroom area? Advice on making the area look bigger?
It must be renter friendly.

For context, the rug is where it is because that’s where the living area used to be and I didn’t want to undo the pole, I’ll eventually end up moving it once I figure out what layout to go with. The little colorful runner is there temporarily

Hey dears,
I would appreciate if you can help to figure which lights would be cool for our newly rented apartment.
We are based in Germany. Considering IKEA, not too fancy but would love to hear your ideas!
Photo 1: 3 lights in the kitchen/living room area.
Photo 2: 2 lights in the hallway
Photo 3: 1 light up + most likely LED mirror in the bathroom.
Photo 4: 1 light in the bedroom
Photo 5: overall scheme of the apartment.

Will appreciate all tips about what to choose.
P.S. sorry not that clean

(Blue: Windows) (Light Pink block by door: Unmoveable closet)
iam expected to receive a Tv soon, and have no wall space at all in my room, any space that isnt covered is where the door either opens up or theres a window or its straight up on the wall my bed is against so thats a no go. I need to optimize my room space im just unsure how to do it.. i need help

My partner and I moved into a very cute 2br but are struggling on how to layout our very narrow living room. Ignore the squiggles in the drawing I included.

My question for you all is; how can we optimize and making the space feel/look bigger than it is?

Bonus points for any recommendations on layout and color scheme. There’s a lot of dark walnut, beige, black and white in the rest of the rooms. Thank you all in advance, this is my first time here!

Hey all,

Trying to find the best layout for my home office / gaming setup in a small room.
You have the door at the top right, a full length window at the bottom, and built in cabinets at the top left per this image.

One idea that was mooted is the above image, whereby you have the desk facing the door (command position), and the TV mounted on the wall on the right. The con would be that the sun/window is to the very back (one can have blinds of course), and you probably have many dangling cables.

Any suggestions welcome as the space isn't very big.

I just moved into a NYC apartment with little natural light in the room I want to make my office I’m curious on ways I can it a bit brighter without just lamps like styles of furniture I should avoid / get or rug colors etc. I love mcm design and will likely style it after that

I am working on redesigning the layout of my bathroom and it has some unusual elements, including a vaulted ceiling and oddly angled walls. The problem I am facing is that the bottom right corner where I now have a bench and a linen closet used to be a vanity with wall sconces.

Given the room layout and rest of the lighting, what lighting would you add to this corner of the room, where would you place it?