Small furniture. Minimize clutter.

Also: make sure you take PICTURES of anything that is dirty or damaged BEFORE you move in. Have a walkthrough with the landlpord and have them sign a checklist of condition. KEEP this paperwork safe, with the lease.

2 bedrooms and 650 sq feet will be fine for one person. Maybe even 2 (we had 2 bedrooms and 850 sq feet--a second bathroom, though).

More than 2 people, it'll be a problem.
Here in NYC, we deal w/ tight spaces by building UP.

One thing to remember while getting shelving units together: nearly every shelf unit could use an extra shelf. So try to get shelving units that will let you add one (some will have a form you can use to buy an extra matching shelf).

And one completely unsolicited piece of advice about the boyfriend moving in: Carolyn Hax, the advice columnist for the Washington Post, thinks couples shouldn't live together unless they're engaged. Otherwise, it's too hard to break up, and until you've committed to the idea that you're NOT going to break up if you can help it, moving in together adds difficulties.

:) my first apartment was 400...which wouldn't have been so bad in a studio, but the walls made it seem even smaller...

double-duty pieces is a must- the coffee table you can store things in is a godsend, indeed. so is the thing that stands up over the toilet and gives you more storage in the bath!

are you sharing? or can you turn that extra bedroom into an office/walkin closet/whatever room?

and what's the closet/storage/built-in situation? I think the only way I survived that first place was that I had another 100 feet in the basement I could store my trunks in!