Studio apartment

"Bachelor apartment" redirects here. For the 1931 film, see Bachelor Apartment (film).

The main room of a studio apartment in Minneapolis, USA. The sofabed is to the right and a small alcove is partially seen to the left; not shown are the small kitchen and bathroom.

A studio apartment, also known as a studio flat (UK), efficiency apartment or bachelor apartment, is a small apartment which combines living room, bedroom, and kitchenette into a single room. "Bachelor" or "efficiency" apartments are sometimes smaller than studio apartments.

Design

These kinds of apartments typically consist of one large room which serves as the living, dining, and bedroom. Kitchen facilities may either be located in the central room, or in a small separate room, and the bathroom is usually in its own smaller room.

Cost

Studio, efficiency, and bachelor style apartments all tend to be the smallest apartments with the lowest rents in a given area, usually ranging around 300 to 450 square feet (25–45 square metres) in the United States, but considerably smaller in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and several European capitals.

Global variations

United Kingdom

In British usage, a studio flat has its own bathroom; a single room with cooking facilities. On the other hand, if a dwelling has a shared bathroom, it is known as a bedsit.

United States

A variation common in New York City is the "L-shaped" or "alcove" studio, in which the central room branches off into a small alcove that can be used for sleeping or dining.

Canada

Bachelor apartment, or simply "bachelor," is the common term in English Canada for any single room dwelling unit which is not a shared accommodation. A shared room, or particularly small bachelor, is sometimes referred to as a "bachelorette."

Singapore

Studio apartments, in the context of Singapore's public housing, are flats that are specifically built by the Housing and Development Board to cater to the growing senior citizen population. One must be at least 55 years old to purchase studio apartments.

Japan

Japan has an even smaller variation of the studio apartment known as the one room mansion.

New Zealand

Known as studio rooms in New Zealand, they frequently feature a bedroom with study area and an en-suite bathroom. Spaces such as kitchen, lounge and dining area are communal between other people staying in that apartment.

South Korea

Studio apartments in Korea are called Officetel or One room.

Norway

Studio apartments in Norway are called "1-romsleilighet", ”one-room-apartment" in English, because they count both the living room and the bedrooms. Hence an apartment with one bedroom is called a "two-room-apartment" (2-romsleilighet).

See also

• List of house types