How the starter studio is zoned
A studio works when each activity gets its own patch of floor. Here that’s one 16 × 20 ft room (320 sq ft), 8 ft high; on the plan its window is in the top wall:
- Sleeping, top left. A full bed with its headboard against the left wall, a nightstand and lamp tucked beside the headboard, and a wardrobe in the top right corner doing the job of a closet.
- Living, middle. A TV stand on the left wall, a coffee table on the rug, and a three-seat sofa facing the TV with its back to the kitchenette, so the sofa marks where the kitchen starts.
- Kitchenette, right wall. From the top: a base cabinet, the range, the sink cabinet, another base cabinet and the fridge, with a wall cabinet above each of the two plain base cabinets.
- Dining, bottom. A 35 in round table with two chairs across from the fridge, a few steps from the entry door on the bottom wall. The second door, on the left wall, is the bathroom.
Check the kitchen gaps first
Switch to Top view and select the fridge, the range or the sink cabinet: the numbers show the free floor in front of each. The efficiency-unit rule in the model International Building Code (section 1208.4, 2021 edition) asks for at least 30 in in front of the sink, the cooking appliance and the refrigerator (except in Accessible, Type A and Type B units), plus a living room of at least 190 sq ft. The starter keeps 31 in between the fridge and the table and more elsewhere. Your city may use another edition or its own amendments, so treat these as a planning check, not a permit answer.
Try other layouts
Swap the sofa for a loveseat to win a walkway, turn the bed so its foot faces the window, or slide the table up against the back of the sofa. Duplicate a dining chair for a third seat. When a layout works, print the plan or share the room with whoever you live with.
What the starter studio apartment holds
The room is 16′ 0″ wide and 20′ 0″ long, with a 8′ 0″ ceiling. Every piece starts at the size below; select it to type your own.
| Piece | Width × depth × height |
|---|---|
| Rug | 6′ 6.5″ × 7′ 10.5″ × 0.5″ |
| Full / double bed | 4′ 5″ × 6′ 3″ × 3′ 3.5″ |
| Nightstand | 1′ 5.5″ × 1′ 3.5″ × 1′ 9.5″ |
| Table lamp | 1′ 0″ × 1′ 0″ × 1′ 7.5″ |
| Wardrobe | 3′ 3.5″ × 1′ 11.5″ × 6′ 6.5″ |
| Floor lamp | 1′ 3.5″ × 1′ 3.5″ × 5′ 3″ |
| TV stand | 5′ 3″ × 1′ 4.5″ × 1′ 7.5″ |
| 55-inch TV | 4′ 0.5″ × 10″ × 2′ 6.5″ |
| Coffee table | 3′ 7.5″ × 1′ 11.5″ × 1′ 4.5″ |
| 3-seat sofa | 6′ 10.5″ × 3′ 0″ × 2′ 9.5″ |
| Base cabinet with worktop × 2 | 1′ 11.5″ × 2′ 0.5″ × 3′ 0″ |
| Stove / range | 2′ 6″ × 2′ 2″ × 3′ 0″ |
| Sink cabinet | 2′ 7.5″ × 2′ 0.5″ × 3′ 0″ |
| Fridge | 2′ 6″ × 2′ 5″ × 5′ 10″ |
| Wall cabinet × 2 | 1′ 11.5″ × 1′ 1″ × 2′ 6″ |
| Round table | 2′ 11.5″ × 2′ 11.5″ × 2′ 5.5″ |
| Dining chair × 2 | 1′ 5.5″ × 1′ 8.5″ × 2′ 10.5″ |
Edits you make here are kept for this page only, so your plan on the main room planner stays as it was.