In a small apartment, every centimetre counts, and loose furniture rarely uses them well. Built-in pieces made to measure can hold far more while making the room feel calmer.
Go to the ceiling
Wardrobes and shelves that stop short of the ceiling leave a dusty gap and waste the most useful storage you have. Run them all the way up, and keep the top shelves for things you use once a year.
Use the awkward places
- Under the bed: deep drawers instead of a bed frame
- Around the window: a seat with storage below
- Behind the door: a shallow cabinet for shoes or cleaning things
- Over the desk: a shelf at eye level, not above it
Keep the fronts quiet
Plain doors in the same colour as the wall make a wall of storage almost disappear. Handles set into the edge, or push-to-open doors, keep the surface calm.
Plan the inside
Decide what goes where before the cabinets are made: hanging height for long and short clothes, drawers for folded things, a slot for the vacuum cleaner. A built-in only feels good when its inside fits your life.
