I’m back today with another client project. This one hits every single, tricky, awkward, and small space dilemma ever. It has a door smack in the middle of a shared wall between the spaces, awkward little bump-ins for narrow radiators- the only heat sources in the room, and both rooms are narrow and long, which is always a challenge for finding the right fit.

Now, this “case study” design project has a few caveats, like including specific furniture that was purchased before, that were non negotiables. (I will get to those in a bit.)

What I’d like to show you is the reality of this space so you can see how you can work with rooms that have similar features.

It happens to be one of my favorite projects that I’ve had the chance to work on because it was quite the challenge. It required me to noodle through nearly every possible way to arrange the rooms before I tried to make it pretty. (And you’ll also see the pretty parts too!)

So, if you have a small studio apartment, or a micro apartment in a city where everything you bring in must serve a function or different functions, and you want honest, real-life advice for what can work, this one is for you!

Also, I’m going to break some design rules with this one, so be forewarned… You gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet!

Let’s get into how I solved a shared-wall living/bedroom layout in a tiny German apartment.

The goals for the space

My client wanted each space to be relaxing and comfortable for sleeping, reading, lounging, and conversation. The mood needed to be “cozy, conversational, and neutral.”

The items needed:

A comfortable couch needs to be a sleeper sofa.
Possibly an ‘L’ shape sectional, if it works?
Small narrow console table
Small stacking side table, nesting tables.
Lighting, (Floor lamp(s) and Table lamps)
Abstract art
Gallery wall or three art pieces side by side prints behind sofa?
Area rugs: Reproduction
Drapes: Blackout lined.

Items already purchased:

A full-size bed
A Murphy bed with a cabinet (Not wall recessed)

My client has a family, and she works part of the month in Germany and then she goes back to her home – in another country- when she’s not required to be onsite. (This small apartment is essentially a pied et terre.)

Sometimes her husband and small children come to stay at that apartment with her on longer stints, hence the larger bed, murphy bed, and sofa sleeper requirements.

The Room’s Challenges

The two rooms are divided by a wall with a center door. This makes placing furniture tricky.

(Ideally keeping full access through this door on both sides would be best, but you’ll see why that can’t happen in this case. But fear not, I will show you my recommendation for a more universal layout that will keep the door unobstructed and accessible on both sides.)

Both rooms are long and narrow, so pathways and function must be planned carefully. Unfortunately, that means the small sectional would be a very hard item to find. (Most, commonly sourced, small sectionals are at least 90” long on both sides. That’s over 7’ and would eat up all the pathway floor space in the living room.) So, we let go of the small sectional idea early on.

The radiators can’t be blocked because they are the only heat sources for each room. The nice thing is that each radiator is niched back because of the small bump-ins in each room. The bad part is that bump-ins eat up some of the floor space. (In a small place like this, literally every inch counts.)

I had to keep pathways clear to navigate and access the two remaining doors. The living room main doorway leads to a small passage hallway that connects the small entry foyer, bathroom, and kitchen. It also ties into the 2nd “main” door of the bedroom as well. So, keeping this main artery hall of the home accessible was the key to making the entire design work.

The bedroom lacks a closet, so storage for clothing had to be considered.

The issue with the bedroom is that it is very narrow, only 7’ wide. So, there was no way to fit standard bedroom furniture like dressers, chests, and nightstands in the room. (This is where some “less common” furniture choices came in handy. More on that in a moment.)

The furniture layout for this narrow living room and bedroom

Let’s get into the specific choices that made these two spaces work for my client. One of the most important first considerations is flow. This is not only about the furniture choices. It’s also about the size and scale of the furniture as well, and how the specific pieces work together to make the available space passable, comfortable, and functional.

Flow also means you must think about how things look, if the sightlines are open and visually unobstructed. (Remember, big bulky furniture that blocks views always make a small space fell smaller.)

The pathways

The pathways are clear in both rooms. Unfortunately, the center door, between the two rooms, is blocked in favor of furniture placement and optimizing function on both sides.

Even though there’s a clear path into each room, the walkable space becomes tighter in both rooms. (This is where careful consideration of the size, shape and scale of the furniture choices becomes very important.)

Whenever possible, I will position furniture to not obstruct the view through the space in any direction, but if furniture must be placed in sight lines, I will make sure it is purposeful and functional. (There’s always a reason why.)

Door placement ruining room layout?

On the living room side, the pathway is completely clear inside the doorway leading to the hall.

As you progress into the room, the sofa is against the longest wall and positioned toward the corner of the room. This is so that the focal wall – the TV wall, can be viewed straight on from the sofa, which is the main seating in the room.

Fixing flow in rooms with multiple doors

That focal wall is comprised of two narrow, but long floating shelves- one placed low and the other placed high.

The TV is sandwiched between the shelves. I did this because I wanted to keep the space as open as possible and I found that placing a TV cabinet or credenza looked and felt very heavy in the space. Even something narrow, like a 16” to 18” deep cabinet felt imposing because most TV cabinets have boxy construction and closed storage. I found that the shelves felt purposeful, and the openness helped to keep stuff edited down so that the wall didn’t feel cluttered.

I chose two visually open chairs for the secondary seating.

The chair beside the sofa had a leather seat and back, much like a “director’s” style chair. The openness of it allows you to see through to the sofa, which keeps the room from feeling too full or heavy.

The other chair, which is a wire frame chair, is placed in front of the door in the center of the wall and angled opposite the sofa.

A chair in this position allows for the room to function as a gathering space for conversation, which is this chair’s primary function. (It’s not meant to be a TV viewing chair, although it can be moved to the window wall for viewing if necessary.)

The murphy bed is on the wall beside the center door. (Here’s where I break a design rule, “never obstruct a doorway with furniture.” This could not be avoided on either side…)

Now, the murphy bed is in a cabinet that folds down horizontally, instead of vertically. This fits the space better than an option that would pull down vertically because that would eat up more of the width of the room. So, when the bed is down, the chair beside the sofa can be pushed back slightly to make room for the bed (which is about a twin to full size.) Best of all, you can still squeeze through the hall door, even with the murphy bed down, which isn’t ideal, but the doorway is still passable in a pinch.

Tiny bedroom circulation problems?

On the bedroom side, I broke the “never obstruct a door with furniture” again. This time, I placed the full-size bed against the shared wall, and against the door, because it was the only spot it could go.

This is because the bed would block the recessed radiator if it was placed on the opposite wall, and it is too long to leave any walkable space if it was placed across the room.

So, breaking the rules is sometimes necessary when having flow and functionality is more important.

Furnishing a bedroom with no closet

The issue of storage was a big consideration because the bedroom does not have a closet. To remedy this, I placed a double-door armoire wardrobe with some hanging storage and a few drawers inside.

(It’s a good choice because it consolidates clothes storage into one compact space but still allows you to have the versatility of drawer and hanging storage.)

At the foot of the bed, I placed a storage bench, that can be outfitted with smaller totes or boxes inside for sorting anything else in a neat and tidy way. The bench adds the versatility of a place to sit with storage – what small room couldn’t benefit from that, right?

Last, the small bedside table in front of the radiator is completely open. It has shelves instead of drawers or closed storage so that the warmth from the radiator can flow freely into the room.

I chose a round shape table because round is easier to move around – you won’t bump corners when making the bed. (A glass table lamp fits on top, or a hanging ceiling light will be a great alternative in the corner near the window.)

Solving layout problems in small European apartments: My recommendation for a more universal layout

Now, there are a few things in this design plan that would most likely not work for some people. Let’s get those things addressed.

First, let’s address that pesky door on the wall that divides the bedroom from the living room… It is in a very awkward place and that door placement will absolutely still dictate the size and scale of the furniture in both rooms.

(An idea that I floated to camouflage the door was to place a large piece of art on it or to hang a large tapestry over the entire thing to cover it. In the end, painting the door and the surrounding frame the same color as the wall was enough to disguise it.)

To avoid blocking access on the bedroom side, a smaller size bed, a twin size, would need to be used and the bed would have to be placed in the center of the room, lengthwise. The reason for this is because even a standard twin would be too long to place across the room horizontally.

A smaller size bed placed centered in the room would allow for the door in the middle of the wall to be accessible on both sides. (The twin size bed would also be accessible from 3 sides, which would be ideal for making the bed and getting out on either side.)

The “walkable” space next to the bed on the shared wall side is tight but passable.

I placed the same open, round table beside the bed and in front of the radiator.

I also removed the bench. It would’ve been too wide for the foot of the bed. The wardrobe remains in the same spot.

On the living room side, I removed the rounded back, metal chair from in front of the door to angle beside the sofa.

I left out the second chair because I wanted the space to feel open and putting another chair next to the sofa on the window wall side would feel awkward. (A good option for an occasional chair would be something that could fold up and be stored away until needed. Then it could be placed on that window wall next to the sofa for overflow seating.)

I also flipped the murphy bed to the opposite side, now on the shared wall between the two rooms. Everything else is the same.

These couple of small changes have now made both rooms more universally functional and that pesky door accessible from both directions.

This little apartment came with every layout challenge in the book — narrow rooms, no closets, bump-ins, and a shared-wall door right where you don’t want one. But those constraints forced the kind of creative problem-solving that leads to truly personalized design.

With flow and function leading every decision, I worked through furniture limitations, broke a few design rules when it made sense, and carved out space for sleeping, lounging, hosting, and storing—all without making the rooms feel overstuffed.

This is proof that tricky floor plans can still deliver comfort and style, even when you have to cheat the layout a little to make it work.

So, what do you think? Tell me if you have super small, tricky spaces like this in your home and what worked or isn’t working. Does anything I mention here resonate with you? Is there another design “rule” that you’ve broken in favor of getting better function and flow? Tell me all about it below!

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The goals for the space

The furniture layout for this narrow living room and bedroom

Solving layout problems in small European apartments: My recommendation for a more universal layout

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