2 Bedroom Apartments: Layout Ideas for Shared Apartment Living
See how to turn limited space into a haven for your family, with plenty of room for hobbies, games, and personal space for each person living in your 2-bedroom apartment. Do you have kids, or do you share your apartment with roommates? See how others are making their 2-bedroom apartments work for their lifestyle.
The Music Room/Noise Room
When sharing an apartment with others, from playful children to practicing musicians, it helps to keep the noise to one area. This is the one spot where people can make as much noise as they need to, within reason. With the door acting as a buffer, the squeak from the trampoline, the pounding on the drums, or opera practice will be much easier for the rest of the household to handle. The music room can also double as a bedroom, assuming no one is playing the trombone at 2 in the morning.
The Everything Table
Certain things can take up a lot of space, and may be left for weeks at a time without interference. This includes art projects and puzzles, and less fun things like taxes and sorting socks. Introducing the Everything Table, with several clear plastic shelves or tubs nearby. So long as someone’s working on their project, it can be splayed all over the Everything Table, but once they decide to take a break, they must place everything back in its tub so someone else can have a turn.
Niches and Personal Zones
This one comes in handy when two people, especially children or adult introverts, must share a room. Look around the entire apartment for places that make good niches, perhaps in a corner or by a window. Set up a small desk with shelves around it to better create this private space. It’s best for each niche to be in a separate room, though two isolated zones in one quiet room is better than one isolated zone in a loud and busy room. Each person decorates their niche and sets it up for quiet study or work, reading, and independent activities. This is their own personal zone to come to whenever they need.
Room Dividers
Who says a 2-bedroom apartment should only have 2 rooms? Subtle dividers can help break up large spaces into independent rooms. A couch in the center of the room marks the edge of the living room. Book shelves facing perpendicular to the wall create the illusion of an arch or pillar, creating an invisible line across the room. A shoji screen creates an impermanent yet opaque wall between two areas, creating new spaces within your apartment.
Sharing an apartment can sometimes be tough, especially for families with kids, and even introverted roommates. Setting up your 2-bedroom apartment in a way that works best for you will make your home a more enjoyable and welcoming place in the long run.
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