furniture
TV / Mirror disguise A carpenter deepened the shelves at fireplace level and add doors. This took away the spot where a television had previously sat. Eventually, the TV was placed above the fireplace disguised behind a special mirror that becomes transparent when the TV’s on. Mirror television, Overmantels. Bookshelves painted in Stiffkey Blue, Farrow & Ball. Chandelier, Tigermoth Lighting.
Make it multi-purpose This clever window storage, beautifully designed by Sigmar, performs several functions. The central section features storage disguised beneath bench seating, while on the right there’s open shelving and on the left, a wardrobe. Having the open shelving visible from the seat but not the bed is a nice touch, as the view from the pillow will be an uncluttered look out of the window.
The hinged section folds out to form an additional casual dining space for guests, with the central leg rotating to hold it in place. The tabletop is a material called maple edge grain, which is bought in small sheets from plywood manufacturers and is made by laying long strips of solid wood together to create a patterned surface. It’s quite solid, so often recommended for a table, It’s 2mm thick, so can be sanded down and re-oiled when needed.
The vanity unit also has several USB ports, the last of the homeowner’s must-haves. “My client wanted lots of places where she could charge devices without her kids getting to them. We went totally overboard with the USBs – they are in just about every outlet – but that’s the way she wanted it,” Richard says. The wires for the drawer outlets are secured by mechanical arms designed to work with the opening and closing of the drawers. This is a safety feature that prevents fraying.
The sofa and armchair are curvaceous and inviting, contributing to the room’s cosy atmosphere. The verticals are sharp, so it’s nice to contrast softer elements. The room’s fabrics are tactile, with velvet upholstery and linen cushions. A wall-hung unit provides essential storage for the living space, but leaves the floor area clear. It also conceals the equipment and wiring for the TV that hangs on the wall above. The television appears to be a piece of art when it’s switched off. Ottawa sofa, BoConcept. Spazio wall unit; Bicoca table lamp, both Catalog. Frame TV, Samsung.
The height of the ‘bedroom’ has been kept to a “just enough room to sit up” minimum of 1.2m, which has left enough space underneath to fit in wardrobes. There are five cupboards in total, three of which hold clothes. They pull out on telescopic rails designed to hold computer servers, so they can handle plenty of weight. A door (not seen) allows access under the stairs to a space behind the sliding cabinets, which the homeowners see as a kind of ‘cellar’: they even store a bike in there.
Stack to max floor space Pull-out and fold-down beds make great use of space, but for something more permanent, check out this ingenious design. The couple who live in this small flat wanted it to remain as open as possible. The solution was this multi-purpose box, which incorporates a bed, wardrobes and even a ‘cellar’. The MDF-covered wood structure is around 2.5m x 1.6m x 2m, with a 50cm-wide staircase. The bed can be accessed via a small door at the top of the staircase. The doors at the front can be opened up for an airy feel or left closed, so the magazine shelves can be used for bedside bits and bobs.
By collapsing the table and pulling out the mattress beneath it, the owner has an instant bedroom, complete with bedside table. Brilliantly, she can also use the bed as a sofa by only pulling it out halfway. The slatted board that serves as a support for the dining table (which can seat six), provides a headboard when the bed is in use, as well as a back for the sofa.
A double bed which folds down from the cupboard when needed. The doors are covered in cork and bifolding, so they tuck in neatly.
wall bed behind cork doors
Spotlights have been integrated into the dropped ceiling over the headboard, while a 16cm-deep shelf offers open and closed niches that double as bedside tables.
On the other side of the office area is another set of units, again with cupboards at the bottom and a wall of plywood at the top. Birch plywood has good strength and its light appearance allows you to add your own colours. Here, the external wood is stained a natural shade and the internal areas are varnished.
Create divisions There’s more to this storage than meets the eye, as the large birch plywood unit hides a raised office area behind. The base of the unit is cupboards, but the area above conceals the desk platform behind. It has the same appearance as the cupboards to create a consistent look.
Colour in By adding colour to your plywood storage, you can make it a strong element in a room. The furniture is made from oak-veneered birch plywood with lacquered doors, and the sideboard has a Welsh slate top. . Opposite the left-hand open shelving, a sideboard sits beneath wall-mounted shelving, providing a feature where the original chimney breast had been removed by the previous owner.
Carve out a desk The designers of this space have also contrasted the texture of plywood with smooth white surfaces. Plywood was the main storage material in this house, designed by Slightly Quirky, and here it’s been used to build a desk space with cabinets below and shelving above. The team spray-painted the top of the cabinet and the underside of the shelf in white, and used laminate for the doors. The sleek finish works in harmony with the soft, curved shapes of the shelf and worktop.
to turn the cabinet into a nifty desk.
Emphasize layered plywood edges by contrasting them with a smooth material, like the white door here.
Plywood seating spot and utility. Floor-to-ceiling cupboards house stacked appliances and solar and rainwater pipes. The circular handles and flush bench seat doors. (Castors?) Plywood is durable, is easy to work with on-site, and doesn’t usually need to be fitted by a specialist carpenter. It doesn’t fade as quickly as darker timbers with stronger grains. NB A decent grade of plywood isn’t as cheap as you might think, and it’s important to check it’s from a sustainable source.
The Ercol dining table and chairs are second-hand finds. At the back of the space, a G Plan sideboard, which belonged to Stephen’s grandmother, provides useful storage for crockery. Dining table and chairs, Everything But The Dog.
The dressing area off the bedroom leads to an en suite on the left and a study area on the right. The bedroom is separated from the walk-through dressing area by a sliding MDF panel. Bookshelves at the end of the wardrobes add colour. Instead of looking at the end of the wardrobe, you’re looking at something interesting,
The décor is pale and simple, with cushion-backed vinyl on the floor. At the windows, there are Venetian microblinds the colour of aluminium, meaning you barely see them, especially from outside. The bedside table on the right slots into the side of the bed and slides up and down. It also folds over the bed when it’s needed as a table. Stripy cushions, Ikea. E1027 side table by Eileen Gray, available at Aram Store.
Furniture on castors The furniture is arranged to define and separate the living and dining areas. Behind the sofa is a bespoke plywood bookcase on castors – the same width and height as the sofa – to emphasise this separation and give diners something nicer to look at than the back of the sofa. Lots of the furniture is on castors – we change things around a lot. That’s the beauty of open-plan living – when it works, you can enjoy adapting the house as you need to.
The designers refurbished an old bed into a bunk bed shaped like a mini house, complete with a sloping roof, windows and a ladder.
A full wall of storage using sprayed MDF with hanging space either side of the chimney breast and shallow drawers in the centre. A row of recessed ceiling lights are angled towards the cupboards to make it easy to see what’s inside.
There’s a multi-purpose space with built-in joinery around the perimeter providing window seating, storage and a place to play. Large windows open the living area to the garden, strengthening the connection between indoors and out.
This sofa with a curved wooden back by Benchmark was also on display at 100% Design. As well as tapping into feel-good biophilic design principles, soft profiles in seating also aim to boost wellbeing with their ergonomic shapes.
The table lamp in the previous photo and this pendant, both at 100% Design, are by Lomas Furniture.
Curves and natural materials in furniture design Designer Tom Raffield was all over this idea back in 2016 and wooden curves have continued to grow as a trend, with soft lines and lots of gorgeous grains in abundance across the shows.
Light Green Lacquer Ladies Cabinet, Orchid.
The cabinets are from Roundhouse’s Urbo range, painted in a grey matt lacquer, with American walnut interiors and matching recessed handrails. “We chose this cabinet colour as it’s a gorgeous neutral,” Jane says. “The owners didn’t want white; they wanted something warm, but not heavy. And the soft grey suits the warmth of the wood – they loved the idea of bringing in the walnut details. It looks stunning with that particular grey, bringing a real handmade look to this space.” The worktop is a white composite stone. Urbo matt lacquer kitchen units, Roundhouse; painted in French Grey Dark, Little Greene.
Wave off your washing machine Does your washing machine have to live in the kitchen? Think of what you could do with that cupboard space if it wasn’t there.
sm*s stefaniamicottistudio The steel motif continues here in the bed frame and the covering on the step to the terrace. Birch storage containers have been fitted into the frame. Clever storage idea?
The etched-iron spiral staircase was already in the building. It’s covered in fabric by Kvadrat to make it more homely and less slippery.
Recessed shelf above headboard. Behind the headboard wall is a walk-in wardrobe.
The wall on the right has a built-in cupboard with sliding panels that never completely close off the space behind. In here, shelves and hangers, fixed simply to the wall, mean it can function as a large wardrobe.
Midcentury bed; Penelope bedside tables; Midcentury six-drawer chest of drawers, all West Elm
office on landing
office on landing
office corner on landing
Curve round the corner Soften the hard angles of a loft room with a curve in the desk, built in to the make the most of every inch of space. Here, the lamp lead can be tucked neatly away though a hole and a combination of pull-out drawers and shelves provides a good mix of storage options.
DesignSixtyNine In a stroke of genius, Malcolm constructed this unit from upside-down Ikea Billy bookcases and kitchen bridging cabinets. The whole thing was painted in the same colour as the walls, giving it a look of bespoke joinery.
The curvy sofa is minimal but soft. Sofa, Flexform.
l- shaped sofa doesn't block window
TV cabinet, Habitat.
Philippe Starck for Kartell Ghost Buster night table,
The central staircase (varnished concrete) provides additional casual seating when the owners have guests over.
This run of units had to serve the hall, too, so the first cupboard has space for coats and general outerwear, plus a drawer each shoes.
The floorplan shows how the end of the run of storage units (at the bottom) aligns neatly with the end of the appliance unit opposite, and the fridge-freezer mirrors the larder.
clever use of alcove
Storage and design tricks to deal with eaves and awkward spaces: Pull-out desks and shelves, beds in eaves spaces, fitted wardrobes under sloping rooflines, sliding doors to eaves storage boxes on runners for easy access.
Add some castors These multi-purpose benches-cum-storage-boxes score highly on the practicality scale, as the castors allow them to be wheeled around the space. Pulling them out gives access to the lush plants behind, making weeding and general green-fingered maintenance much easier. Or they can be reconfigured as a bench and table, pushed together or moved to the other side of the patio to add flexibility to the garden design.
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