Flipping Fixer Upper Homes

In the real estate industry, it's said that location is everything. When selecting a studio apartment, it really is. The location of a studio apartment can significantly impact how small or large it feels -- without changing the square footage or floor plan. If you're comparing studio apartments, here's how to find one that's situated so that your space seem bigger than it really is.

Look for Studio Apartments Near Grocery Stores

Because space is at a premium in studio apartments, it's important to have as few extraneous items as possible when living in one. Decluttering and donating is an obvious way to reduce how much stuff you have. Living near a grocery store is a less obvious, but just as effective, way of limiting how many extra things you have in your apartment.

If you're able to find a studio apartment within walking distance to a grocery store, you won't have to stock up on as many groceries at once. For example, instead of going grocery shopping once a week and purchasing seven days worth of food, you can go to or three times a week and only get enough food for a few days. Since you live near the grocery store, going multiple times in a week won't take that long.

If you're used to stocking up on large quantities of items when they're on sale, purchasing smaller amounts of staples may increase your grocery bill slightly. With this strategy, you can take advantage of volume discounts. The increase on your grocery bill, however, will be insignificant when compared to how much you're saving on rent and utilities by living in a small studio apartment.

Look for Studio Apartments Near Public Spaces

Everyone eventually needs a change of scenery. In a studio apartment, however, you can't move from one room to another. To compensate, look for a studio apartment that has lots of public spaces around it and turn the surrounding area into your living room. You might look for apartments that have the following nearby:

• parks or benches
• cafes or bars
• museums

All of these can be affordable places to spend time. Parks and benches are free, of course, and a coffee or a beer only costs a few dollars. Museums may charge for admission, but many have affordable annual membership options that you could take advantage of.

Look for Studio Apartments on the Southwest Corners of Buildings

When considering a studio apartment's location within an apartment building, the southwest corner of the building is often the best spot in the building to live in. Not only do corner units have fewer neighbors, but they also have more windows -- and units on the southwest corners of buildings have windows that get lots of sunlight.

Anywhere in the United States, south- and west-facing windows will maximize how much sunlight enters a studio apartment. The sun is always on the south side of buildings in the northern hemisphere, and west-facing windows are able to take advantage of afternoon sunlight. Thus, apartments on the southwest corners of buildings, which usually have both south- and west-facing windows, will get more sunlight than those on other sides of the buildings.

Bringing in natural light will brighten up a studio apartment and make it feel larger. So that you don't block sunlight from coming in windows, Freshome recommends either using sheer window coverings or pulling your window coverings all the way back during the day.

Studio apartments may not be huge, but you can make them seem big by selecting one that's in the right location. With a grocery store near by, lots of public spaces to go to, and sunny windows, you'll create the illusion of having much more space than the actual square footage of your apartment.