Bathroom is behind bookcases

That's a huge studio. (I'm surpised it wasn't turned into a 1BR.) Love the bookcases and the furniture.

Other than the small kitchen area, it doesn't "feel" like a studio. Maybe "look" is the word I'm after.

Mmm, love the parquet floors. The chandelier in the sleeping alcove is a great touch. :D

As a NYC dweller, I say that’s taking what you got and running with it.

This would often be described as a Jr. 1 BR in some of the buildings of this age around me.

Years ago I saw a studio apartment in a magazine, and it was very dark (first floor, I think) so it was mostly very saturated colors, but the bed was 4 poster with operable curtains and was well lit inside.

That’s pretty great. I actually do not like the chandelier in the sleeping nook, I’d prefer sconces or wall-mounted lights on a folding arm, can’t recall what they are called. and a little bedside table.

Excellent use of mirrors and storage.

When people have relatively small houses, and they want to "open it all up", one of the reasons I cringe is because of the concept designed here. This is not "big" really, we see master suites on the Building a Home Forum where the main space of this apartment would have a king size bed and two nightstands in it and people would be hesitant to add more than a chair.

This apartment Lives larger because of the partial and implied separation of spaces.

Ha! I had a NYC studio apartment in the late 70's . It was a decent sized one but still I think smaller than that one. My kitchen was way smaller than that one. It was behind bifold doors just a bit larger than my current laundry closet. Sink, under counter fridge, oven. It did have some wall space that had maybe 2 or 3 feet and pegboards on it to hold the random stuff. It was fine for one person.

The art and bookcases are perfection. And in terms of function, I could easily live in the space. But I would need different furniture in the LR. I need a place where I can put my feet up and read comfortably or work on my laptop. In this set-up, the coffee table would need to be an upholstered ottoman, and those side chairs would need to be more conducive for sitting.

I don't care for the mirrors and the upholstered/wallpapered area of the sleeping alcove. I'd do something more to separate it visually, too. And, of course, update the bath and kitchen.

Overall I like it. It'd remove the wallpaper and chandelier from the sleeping nook, and put curtains on front of it.

Definitely a 70’s vibe to that enormous studio. I appreciate it in the context of its time, but would not live there as is. The wallpapered alcove with the chenille-ish fabric platform is messy (and now tacky) looking; if the owner didnt want to separate out a bedroom (easily done) they could have used cabinetry and had a built in bed with wood paneled doors and beautifully appointed interior with shelves and sconces built in. Closed during the day it would look like a paneled wall. Instead of a varnished surface that wood cabinetry enclosing the bed could be painted, giving some relief from all the pretty but nearly overwhelming caramel tones. The kitchen is also crying out for an update.

I am not a fan of continuous-mirror walls except over vanities in bathrooms. I prefer the mirror squares with detail that look almost like leaded glass. It’s a different look but would work with the existing furniture.

omg- I just googled and my very apartment is listed here with floor plan and it was clearly updated a while ago They now have a full fridge. If I recall correctly the fridge is where the oven was and the bathroom when I had it did not have a vanity cabinet. ( not certain but pretty sure it was just a sink). Still has the grey tiles though

My apartment from 1977 ish

oops no - edited to say I think the photos are just reversed because the tub was definitely to the left when entering the bathroom.

And here's mine, from 1982, when the Flatiron district didn't have its own name yet and realtors called it "Greenwich Village vicinity": https://streeteasy.com/building/27-west-16-street-new_york/3c

The kitchens and baths in these buildings, no matter how nice the building is, rarely seem to get substantially updated and I think that it is because it is such a hassle first, then the relative expense. Plus most of the Inter-war buildings seem to have bathrooms that are as sturdy as bomb shelters.

People in Manhattan seem to not cook much. We know someone who had the gas to their stove turned off and they use the oven for storage and have covered over the burners. They have lived in a tiny studio for many years.

One of my friends sublet a new law tenement style apartment (it was actually 1BR) and the bathtub was still in the kitchen with a folding door on top. It had been converted to a shower, and I had to use a step ladder to get into it. Originally the toilets were accessed by the hallway outside. With few exceptions it was at a point where each apartment had its own toilet. In this particular apartment they had just cut a hole in the bedroom wall to access their toilet. The old door to the toilet was still there on the hall side.

With so many restaurants just steps away, and delivery being ubiquitous (it was readily available, including groceries, even when I was a child in the '60s), NYers just don't need to cook if they don't want to. When I lived in that studio, my boyfriend (now my husband) used to joke that I had all the ingredients in my apartment to make ice water. I don't think I ever turned the oven on, and probably used the stovetop to make scrambled eggs on occasion, but that was about it. I ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches when I wasn't eating out. :-)

Goodness, just for fun I googled our old apartment building in NYC and there is a matterport tour of our D line 3 bed / 2 bath apartment. It was on the 31st floor and most of the windows faced south; on a really clear day we could see the twin towers of the WTC from our Living room. There was also a north facing window in the living room, and a west window in the kitchen. It was bright and sunny with lots of closets. We moved in with one child and by the time we moved to St. Louis seven years later we had three, the oldest had just finished third grade.

This apartment is as nice as I remembered it! The 1200 sq ft size seemed spacious at the time, and still does. We had minimal furniture, brightly colored flat weave dhurrie rugs on the floors and my collection of Haitian art on the walls. 🥲 (nostalgia)

https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=5uzrGbHEa1F&back=1

salonva, that was just around the corner from where DH grew up...on E 71st between 2nd and 3rd.

I like it. They have put in a lot of personal belongings to make it their own and yet it doesn't feel claustrophobic. That can be tough to do in a smaller space.

I also thought that kitchen was pretty big for an NYC studio. When I had a studio (Not in NYC lol) I used a futon for my bed and couch. I used a bottom sheet and just a comforter with a cover which I washed. Very easy to stow away when company came, my coffee table was a storage chest. That nook would probably end up being my office space . . .

AnnieD, our building was on the corner of E 70th and York Ave. Our north facing window looked out onto 71st street between York and First Ave.

When DH taught at NYU, we had two kids in this apartment. No, they were not in the second bedroom - that was DH's office. They were in that little alcove off the living room. Two cribs in that small space. https://cdn-img-feed.streeteasy.com/nyc/image/54/67182754.gif?_ga=2.60186157.1252819311.1641086244-1486454856.1641086243

Pal, you could do a lot with that space!!