*Age- 26
*Gender- female
*Children? 0
*Do you have visitors over and if so do you move things around to make room? yes, just bring out more chairs

*Which room in your apartment do you spend the most time? living room
*What do you store away (sporting equipment, books, clothes, shoes)? some books, keepsakes, stuff I don't use alot (sewing machine, etc)
*Is there enough space for storage? no
*Is your kitchen sufficient for your needs? not enough cupboards
*Do you eat at home/out? Would that change if your kitchen were set out differently? I do both, no wouldn't change, I could just be more organized
*How do you personalise your apartment? plants, pictures and paintings on wall, paint my furniture, decorating with things like wind-chimes
*What do you spend the most of your time at home doing (watching T.V, etc.)? reading, watching movies, having friends over, on the computer
*Do you have enough privacy in your home? yes. all my windows face away from apt complex
*Have you had problems with a particular area of your apartment? no, nothing particular

Some ideas for apt furniture that I have seen are beds that are high off the ground so things can be stored underneath (my bed in college was like that, gave me tons more room), also coffee tables that have some sort of storage underneath or inside, all of the plant stands I use have shelving underneath for books, etc.

(I don't currently live in an apt; I am remembering when my husband and I were crammed in a 500 sq ft one-bedroom which had the stupidest layout ever--it had a winding hall)
Age: 25
Gender: F
Kids: n

Vistors: Yes, I bring out more chairs, too. I have some great, comfy folding chairs from Target. One, the "dish chair," my sis and I love, but most men are too tall for it. I also push my coffeetable against the wall or behind the sofa for guests. Or I use it as a buffet if they are eating w/ us (not enough room for serving platters on the table if more than 2 are eating). And I use it for board games.

Most time: In living room. Which is also the study and dining room.

Store away: photo albums, sports equipment, childhood memorablia, off-season clothes, reference books, camping supplies, the lesser-used tools, holiday decorations

Enough space for storage: Um, no. Had to shovel stuff off into relatives' garages, actually.

Kitchen sufficient: NO. Need more cabinets! And more counter space would be a dream. Lack of counter space led to putting appliances in already-too-limited-cabinets. Top of fridge covered in piles.

Eat home/out: Very poor. Eat-in only.
Would that change: We'd eat better w/ a better kitchen. Be easier to keep it clean.

Personalize: Pics on wall, vibrant colored furniture, doormat, plants

Most time spent: On computer, reading, cooking (and cursing kitchen), watching TV

Enough privacy: Eh. Curtains are a good thing. I wouldn't want to live in an apt w/ someone I wasn't married to or related to.

Problems w/ particular area: Kitchen made me crazy every day. Bathroom was too small, but there are many genious space savers for bathrooms. Kitchen made me crazy, crazy, crazy. Trying to make anything other than a one-pot meal is a recipe for lunacy when the dish drainer takes up over 1/2 the counter space. (No place for a hanging dish drainer, no place to SET the regular one, even for the duration of cooking, except on the floor, and air-drying is the only thing I'm comfortable w/ for my dishes.)

Thanks, you guys are awesome, the info you gave me is great because it helps me heaps with my research. I haven't had to hand in the research report yet! So far it's going pretty well. It's kind of a year long project and next semester i have to actually design something based on the report. So if others wanna still offer their experiences, I'd still love to hear about them!

Girlygirl,

I don't know if it's too unorganized to be practical, but the Target website has really detailed user reviews on a lot of the furniture. I always look at the reviews before buying something there and they've been really helpful. Maybe that would help you, too? I mean, the Target market is a lot of young, stylish, not-wealthy people living in small spaces...

Age- 35
Gender- f
Children? no

these responses come our last apartment, but also apply to our current home, which comes in at just under 1000 sq ft.

Do you have visitors over and if so do you move things around to make room?

yes, lots of movie nights at our place, so the living room is set up for 4-6 with a small coffee table that has a larger top we can add at need, and hassocks that stow away under the day bed we have instead of a proper couch. all we have to move is our own stuff (we're both artists, and do a lot of work in the living room)

Which room in your apartment do you spend the most time?

living room, kitchen.

What do you store away

out of season clothing and kitchen appliances like the crock pot and the blender, tom's guitars, art supplies (have their own closet) will admit to storing most of my 'extra' books, bulky materials, and such at my mom's place.

Is there enough space for storage?

yes- if I'm ruthless with myself, who will freely admit to being a packrat who'd 'save' every paperback, ever issues of MS living, and whatever I find on the curb on the way home, if I could.

Is your kitchen sufficient for your needs?

sufficient, yes. adequate, even...but the girl who taught me a lot of the cooking I know did so in a 'galley' style kitchen with less than a square yard of counter space, so a lot of how I cook is about passing things directly from the fridge on your right, through the cutting board, to the stove on your left without taking more than a single step.

the kitchen is actually less well laid out in the new (well, 100 year old) house...but I make do, since it will be done, all at once, sometime in the next decade.

Do you eat at home/out? Would that change if your kitchen were set out differently?

we eat in way more than we eat out- but I would prepare more elaborate meals if I had the room for it.

How do you personalise your apartment?

my landlord wouldn't let me paint the walls- but he did let me paint the trim, which is royal purple and turquoise, to match the matting on my collection of fantasy art posters. big, bright throw pillows helped a lot, and did live hanging plants.

What do you spend the most of your time at home doing

Tom watches movies on the TV and draws, I sew or paint, garden a bit, and read- I try and save the boob tube for movie nights.

Do you have enough privacy in your home?

inside, yes, since we were on the second floor.
but the cul-de-sac we lived on was nosey as heck, and the neighborhood was lousy, to the point that I gardened in long skirts rather than shorts.

in the house, priviacy is not so much the problem as the street light that sits outside out bedroom window- that called for blackout curtains!

Have you had problems with a particular area of your apartment? the single bath with its single sink, and no storage to speak of (a medicine cabinet, I added a corner shelf unit later) has proved to be a pain for me, who is used to having a bath with two sinks- and a second bath to run to in an emergency.

same thing in our new house- but we're rehabbing what used to be a powder room on the main floor, which should make the best of the situation.