Art buyer Doreen Hoff and her photographer boyfriend, Brandon Jernigan, relocated to New York from Minneapolis three months ago. They managed to move in and decorate in less than two days. After Jernigan secured the apartment—a 340-square-foot alcove studio on the UWS—Hoff drafted an obsessive floor plan, complete with painting placement, and determined exactly what would make the trip before they left Minnesota. “We’re both totally compulsive,” she explains.

The space feels twice as big as it actually is, primarily because the only furniture touching the floor is a bed, a small TV console, an armchair and an elevated bar table (an antique mirror set atop an Ikea base), with two stools bought on sale at Room & Board. They created a desk by laying a cupboard door atop two wall brackets.

Beyond an affinity for minimalism, the duo—who had never lived together before—shares a love for ’60s-era accents. “A cohesive color scheme really pulls it together,” Jernigan says. A spun-plastic orange pendant lamp hangs in the bedroom, and green-cased glass lines the kitchen cabinets. “My grandparents’ home was featured in Architectural Digest in the ’50s,” Hoff explains. “It was totally inspiring and ahead of its time: cork floors, brown and green shag rugs, copper appliances. I think I got my aesthetic from them.”

1. The couple takes tidiness and streamlining to an extreme level. They pulled the headboard out from the wall a couple of inches to hide unsightly storage boxes, and “buy only things that are displayworthy.”

2. The pair say that cohesive color schemes and keeping floor furniture to a minimum maximize space.

3. “We wanted to draw the eye up, so we chose green accents near the ceiling,” Jernigan explains. “It makes the place feel loftier.”

4. Quick fixes for the bathroom included: a new toilet seat ($5 at Home Depot) and brushed silver tub handles ($20)—and new covers for the outlets (50 cents each).