Ikea's Small-Space Solutions: Bedroom

American retailers have started to climb aboard the small space wagon these days (DWR, C&B, West Elm, and Pottery Barn all now have small-scale lines or categories, at leat in their printed catalogues). But in Europe they've been working the small space challenge for several centuries, and so many of the best solutions hail from those far shores.

With this in mind we're rounding up the best of Swede giant Ikea's small space solutions, starting with the bedroom.

Pictured at top, the new Malm Queen Bed with "Vanishing" Headboard shelves, $189. The headboard unit contains two banks of retracting shelves. A nifty trick for hiding visual clutter, though the unit does still occupy some floorsplace, behind the bed.

The bent wood-framed Anes Mirror, $89.99, is a dramatic way to bounce and maximize light in a small space

The Hopen Bedside Table, $79.99, gives you easy access to underbed storage: just swivel around to retrieve whatever lurks beneath your bed -- as long as you placed it on the platform.

Brekke (twin) bed with storage boxes, $149, is a twin bed with built-in storage boxes

The recently discontinued Hemnes Daybed, $379, extends into a double bed and also has storage underneath. Re-invented as a banquette, it won Ikea Hacker's Hack of the Year award in 2006. Sadly, found now only via craigslist.

Comments (13)

Does anyone knows how the back of the Malm headboard looks? I want to put a bench against it but don't know if looks ok?

It's the same finish as the rest of the headboard.

I thought of getting the vanishing headboard shelves, but for some reason, they put glass shelving inside, which made it feel clunky and weighed down.

I have the Malm headboard but not the malm bed (just two thick matresses on the floor) I just turn the headboard around. The back looks fine, it's the same color as the rest of the unit, the top piece goes over the side piece so you get a line near the top.

I have two problems with using it backwards though.
-You have to put heavy stuff in it or otherwise it will move when you lean against it (at least in my bedroom since the skirting prevents it from going all the way against the wall). I guess you could also fasten it to the wall somehow if that's a problem for you.

-Mine is white and I got it on easter saturday and it is already discolred, e.g. the top piece is whiter than the front ("back"). I dont know if I was unlucky or if that's the quality. But if you get it in some wood I guess you wouldn't have that problem.

Ikea's painted finishes are always mismatched like this because of the way it is manufactured. All the tops were sprayed at one time, in one part of the factory. Then the back (sides, doors, drawer fronts etc) was done at some other time, with a different batch of paint. Then the pieces are gathered together in the packing area where they are boxed by a robot and distributed.

Now they manufacture outside of Sweden, there is no quality control. They trade heavily on their (also) long ago reputation.

I had the same problem with a (long ago) Boj cabinet - the doors never matched the rest of the cabinet, and the shelves were slightly off too - but inside so it didn't matter.

I had a Malm bed for two years and it was great. No issues with discoloration or anything. Keep in mind though, it sticks out about three inches on either side (and the foot) of the mattress. So, while it's low and sleek, it is a little heavier than you'd expect visually. Or I found it so. Either way, its an excellent piece.

I'm using the Malm unit as a liquor cabinet behind a loveseat in my apartment. It's right next to my bar, so it's very handy. I have the shelves facing outward into the room, which is what's pictured up above but NOT how the unit was designed to be used. The shelves are supposed to face a wall and the plain, solid backside of the unit functions as a headboard. The shelving units themselves are two independent pieces on rollers - they probably wouldn't work well on heavy carpet.

I had to hack the piece to get it to work the way I wanted it to, adding two adjustable legs from IKEA to the open side, which keeps the top and back piece from tipping over. I would have gone with some other solution, but I couldn't find anything that was a better fit with better functionality or better looks for less money - the whole thing still only cost me about $210.

The only downside is my booze is always out on display, but given that I have a party pretty much every weekend it's not like that's impractical. And at least now it's a nice orderly display . . .

IKEA also sells a metal-framed mirror similar to the Anes Mirror pictured up above. If I recall correctly, it's even less expensive. I have one hanging in my tiny hallway, and it never fails to get a compliment.

This past weekend I had the unfortunate experience of helping to move my roommate's queen Malm bed, and I strongly recommend against this purchase, as does she. We have both lived our entire adult lives at the low-end of the Ikea range, and neither of us has ever seen a flimsier piece of Ikea design. It barely made it through this move, definitely needs some kind of reinforcement before she gets busy on it again, and it will not survive another move for sure. The back of the headboard looks nice, but the bed is a piece of crap.

mjoe, did you try to move it in one piece? I wouldn't expect it to fair so well in that regard. But given how easy it is to put together, it's also not a huge concern IMO. I moved mine when I owned it and the biggest problem I had was losing a bolt (my own fault). Went together even easier the 2nd time because most of the pieces were already bolted, dowled, etc.

Day bed is still available in our store...

does anyone know if the vanishing headboard fits the full size bed? or is it only for a queen?

but the one shown is the malm platform bed which stucks out around 6 inches wider than a divan or other frameless bed?