How do you split a studio between sleeping, eating and working?
Summary
The bed decides most of it. If the bed stays made up all day, the floor you can win back is the second table, so one surface does meals and work. OSHA's workstation guide wants the screen at least 20 inches from your eyes, and a dining table 26 3/8 inches deep can manage that.
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One table for meals and work
IKEA's SANDSBERG, one of the tables on this site's dining list, has a 43 1/4 by 26 3/8 inch top at 29 1/2 inches high, and IKEA says it seats four.
OSHA's computer workstation eTool puts the monitor directly in front of you, at least 20 inches from your eyes and preferably 20 to 40, with the top line of the screen at or below eye level. On SANDSBERG you get the 20 inches by pushing the screen to the back edge, and then there is not much table left beside the laptop for a plate. A gateleg table that turns into a desk with one leaf up, and an extendable one for nights with guests, are measured in the article on using one table for both.
What goes under the table
The same eTool gives minimum legroom under a work surface: 20 inches wide, 17 inches deep at the knee and 24 inches deep at the foot. A dining chair can do the job of a desk chair. OSHA's test for chair height is that the whole sole of your foot rests on the floor or a footrest, with the back of the knee slightly higher than the seat. If a dining chair leaves your feet hanging, a footrest fixes it.
A futon that folds one side at a time
If the bed has to disappear during the day, a futon is the usual answer. Best Choice Products' Curved Boucle Futon is 77.5 inches wide and 33 deep, rated for 500 pounds, and arrives in two boxes. Its back is split, so one side can lie flat while the other stays upright. One person can nap while another sits.
The listing does not give the flat dimensions, so if you plan to sleep on it every night, the length question goes to the shop before you buy. Another futon from the same shop comes out nearly 10 inches shorter than a twin mattress when flat; the small apartment article has the numbers.
A rug as the dividing line
A rug marks where the bedroom part of the room stops without building anything. IKEA's TIPHEDE is 5 ft 1 in by 7 ft 3 in, flat-woven cotton, and goes in the washing machine at 104°F. IKEA's page tells you to put its STOPP FILT anti-slip underlay under the entire rug, sized 5 ft 5 in by 7 ft 9 in and trimmed to fit.
Storage under the bed and up the walls, and anchoring anything tall, are covered in the small apartment article.
Sources
- IKEA: SANDSBERG table
- OSHA eTool: Monitors
- OSHA eTool: Work Space
- OSHA eTool: Chairs
- Best Choice Products: Curved Boucle Futon
- IKEA: TIPHEDE rug