Some of us like living alone. But that doesn’t mean we don’t still want to be in the middle of all the Athens, Ohio University action that happens uptown. Yeah, you might want to go home to silence and solace at the end of the night, but you still want an apartment near the bars for easy access to friends and parties. And, of course, you want your apartment uptown because it’s also close to campus.
The cost of renting Court Street apartments, though, is usually space. Especially if you want to live alone. That’s why a studio apartment close to campus is such a good option for renters looking for a quiet place to study and sleep that’s still central to everything. After all, you’ll be at Alden or Lucky’s most of the time anyway, right? Not to mention that smaller spaces mean smaller utility bills. That’s probably why they call them efficiency apartments.
Benefits of Choosing a Studio Apartment for Ohio University Housing
The logistics of a studio apartment make it just as good (if not better) an option as a one-bedroom apartment, especially if you’re living by yourself. Couples? Only if you’re 200% sure you can share a room with someone 24/7 and not kill them. Some advantages of studio apartments in Athens are:
- Location: Sometime a spacious studio apartment is a possibility where a one-bedroom of any kind isn’t. You could get in at a prime location that might not have 1-bed units available.
- Cost: Studio apartments cost less than 1-bedroom apartments, and fewer rooms also means lower utilities.
- Privacy: Literally no one and nothing to worry about but yourself. Crackers and pepperoni for #girldinner? There is no one to judge you.
- Less cleaning: It’s all one big space, so there are less nooks and crannies for dirt to accumulate. Easy, quick cleaning on chore day!
- Cheaper to furnish: Fewer rooms also means less furniture needed to make the space functional.
You might be wondering if you could really live in a studio apartment without feeling cramped. Even those of us who like their space still like having a friend or two over once in a while. Because uptown Athens apartments are almost all in retrofitted historic buildings, there are a lot of cool studio apartments that have antique fireplaces or leaded-glass windows over a century old. But are they realistic to sleep, eat, study, and chill in? They are if you know the right way to maximize space!
Here’s our advice on how to make your uptown OU studio apartment luxe and spacious:
Going Minimalist in an Off-Campus Studio Apartment makes it Seem Bigger
It might seem ironic, but less you put in a small space, the more it seems could fit. If you have empty floor space, it gives the vibe that you don’t need all the space you have, making it feel bigger. But you still actually need things in your efficiency apartment. No worries; there’s a solution for everything.
- Take advantage of nooks. Most Athens studio apartments have a strange corner here or an angled wall there. Revamp an otherwise unusable area with pillows and cushions for a reading, studying or TV-watching nook.
- Love artsy wall pieces? Stick with just one or two big ones. It’s okay to use a lot of wall space if it looks clean and light.
- Take advantage of in-wall storage. Just like those weird corners, your studio rental might have come with a built-in cabinet, or a weird wall of stairs that lead to nowhere. Appropriate those spaces for things like textbooks, notebooks and board games.
- Forego a dining area. Unless it’s also your study area. This is a studio apartment – we’ve got to make spaces multifunctional. Pub tables with leaves that fold down are great for saving space, versatility, and the bar-height makes it seem slimmer than it is.
- Go floor to ceiling with your curtains/window treatments. It’s another way going big makes a small space seem bigger. Don’t ask us why it works like this – it just does.
- Vertical storage is key. Open shelving in the kitchen, bookshelves in the main room, tables with shelves underneath – any way you can go tall instead of long with your storage design, the better.
- When you sign the lease for your uptown studio apartment, ask your landlord if they’ll paint all the walls white before your lease starts. Light, airy colors make a space seem bigger.
- Make your bed do double duty. Either choose a high bed with storage underneath, or a low, day-bed style solution that doubles as a couch during the day.
Take these tips into consideration when you start the unpacking process in your new Athens studio apartment space and your move in will be just as efficient as your new efficiency apartment!