Our home away from home: a stylish shared apartment

It started with an ad online: “Two young professionals seeking a third flatmate to share their delightful two-bedroom apartment.” And here they are now: three women from different corners of the globe, exploring a big, new city with their eclectic, colourful one-too-few bedroomed apartment as their much-loved home base.

Meet the friends

While they only met just over a year ago, you’d never say so. Thick as thieves, they share many things, from their clothes, to their love of colour, flowers and art. Their living room has become an ode to their friendship: lively and layered with the things that bring them together.

And then there were three

Whoever said a bedroom needed to be a room at all! Certainly not their third flatmate. Once just a bay window, together they transformed the recess in their living room into a cosy sleeping nook. With her books above and storage below, all she needs is to pull her textile curtains across and the space truly becomes her little queendom.

What’s mine is mine

Some well-founded advice for less tension in a small, shared space: use separate solutions for everyday storage. Things get messy when more personal items get mixed up, but with a bit of planning, designated shelves and hooks can be the peacekeepers you need.

Living together beautifully

Combining households? IKEA interior designer Hans Blomquist has some tips to share when it comes to making an attractive, cohesive shared space by mixing, matching and finding common ground.

Deal me in

The dining table is their stage, where they lay out delicious meals, deal another round of cards and regale one another with first date tales. Really, there’s nothing they love more than piling in through the front door after a long day at the office and flopping down here for a giggle together.

The melting pot

They eat simply for the most part, but when they need a little home-cooked comfort, they have all the traditional spices and staples on hand to whip up a meal that takes them back to somewhere familiar, while letting the others discover something new.

Hello work-life balance!

The dream job comes with long hours, so this is a space where she can enjoy the other parts of herself. She’s dressed her bedroom in soft pink, dark grey and calming blue – a welcome contrast to the inevitably busy workday.

All you need is love and a strong WiFi connection

While some may think she drew the short straw, the smaller bedroom is exactly what she wanted: space for a single loft bed and a small sofa, but most importantly, room for her superfast CPU and screens.

A moment for me

It’s an unwritten rule that they all respect: the need for a little alone time and space is real, and the bathroom is where it’s all yours. So, close the creaky door, draw yourself a deep, hot bath and let that face mask work its magic.