9 Brilliant Small Space Organizing Tips to Steal from the 2021 IKEA Catalog
Making a small space functional, comfortable, and sophisticated is a challenge, and even the tiniest of design decisions can make a big difference. Luckily, the 2021 IKEA catalog is filled to the brim with small space organizing solutions that maximize areas while making them look mindfully designed. Here are nine of the best tips pulled right from the digital pages.
This year, homes have transformed into yoga studios, classrooms, offices, virtual social hangouts, and more. The photo above is filled with ways to help a room easily shift to accommodate all of those functions and more. The KRAGSTA coffee table, for example, complements the couch, but it also serves as a kid-friendly table (tiny stool and all). Movable pouffes and stackable chairs can easily add more seating when needed, and shelves that run across the width of the room can store supplies while taking up no valuable ground space.
This mounted trifecta creates a one stop shop for getting ready. The LINDBYN mirror has doesn’t take up any floor space, with a narrow design that even reduces wall coverage. Loose papers and small items can hang on the SÖSDALA memo board and sit on the top shelf. All this combination needs is a few bag hooks to easily throw everything in and head out the door.
This bedroom showcases the MALM headboard flipped around to become a room divider—so smart. If you want to dress your bed in the reverse way like the above, it’s best to have the bed frame up against the wall for pillow support. There’s also nothing stopping you from continuing to use your headboard for, well, your head.
The TJENA boxes with lids on top, the PARKLA cases underneath them, the shelves that makes space for shoes, scarves, and additional clothes—this is an organizer’s dream come true. In addition to genius storage planning and placement, this room uses curtains instead of wardrobe doors to avoid needing clearance, making the most of the space.
If you have a large plant family but are short on window area, use a plant stand like SATSUMAS to elevate your plants while taking up no additional space. You can utilize it for additional purposes, too, like as a side table for coffee cups or books in the living room.
This sheer sheet divider is an easy solution for separating your sleeping space from the rest of the room. Also, the NIKKEBY clothes rack is a great way to create a makeshift closet while adding a bit of sculptural art into your bedroom.
This office setup is a prime example of making the most of awkward features at home. What would have been unused real estate underneath the stairs is now a cozy WFH space that fits the HEMNES desk with the ODGER swivel chair, a narrow bookshelf to the side, and some basket storage. The height of each object perfectly matches the progression of the stairs, which is important to keep in mind when planning to fill these difficult architectural areas.
Make a table multi-functional by creating seating options that can slide underneath. This space above, for example, has a bench nestled against the wall that can be put away during the workday, then brought out when it’s time for a group dinner or game night.
This room is jam-packed with other space-saving solutions, too, like the IVAR shelving unit with a portable table in the righthand corner (which is folded away in the photo). Shelving spans the top of the room, where miscellaneous books and wall art is propped up like a picture rail.
Leaving a little bit of space between your bed and wall can open the gates to shelving storage opportunities. Install TRANHULT/SANDSHULT wall shelves behind the bed frame to create an alternative to a nightstand as well as hidden pockets to store smaller items, and add shelves above the bed to display plants and books.