Three rooms for fitted furniture

Designing a home to the last detail is a tricky decision – regardless of whether you’re designing your own home or home for a client.

Although we love to see all the amazingly designed apartments (some of which we featured here), we are fully aware of the fact that the amount of money and period of time invested in those homes, most of us can’t afford.

Even though it would be nice to have perfectly designed shelves or an entire wall covered with fitted closet which is a breeze to organize, the truth is – those types of units probably wouldn’t have a significant impact to the quality of your everyday life.

If you follow us for a while now, you might have noticed we think of home renovation as a tool for improving everyday life. And it is possible to do that with fitted furniture, you just have to choose wisely where to invest.

To simplify: when you have to compensate for the lack of space, fitted furniture is probably a solution. Which means it’s definitely a good idea to consider it for your entryway and the bathroom.

And maybe a kitchen.

Here’s why:

Entryway

An entrance space needs to have a place for:

Some kind of storage space – usually for shoes – especially those you wear most of the time
Rack or hooks – for your guest’s coats and jackets (you might keep your own here, or in some other closet in case you prefer ”empty look” – whatever works for you, just make that decision before buying a rack that will be too small)
Mirror – because you want to take a final look at your ootd before you go out of the house
Bench, chair or stool – it’s obvious why

And this ‘some kind of storage space’ should be designed (or bought) to fit your needs the best.

Apartment remodel in Zagreb | closet | storage | bookcase | lexan door — Apartment remodel in Zagreb // photo: © upgradesign

Home inspiration | single family house | design ideas | entryway organization — Entrance space // i.s.m.architecten – TDH // photo: © Luis Diaz Diaz

If you’re like most of us and like to keep everything in this storage space, like a vacuum cleaner, cloth rack etc., you should think about a piece of fitted furniture that will store everything you don’t have space for in the rest of your home.

Home renovation in four steps - step four: NiM storage space | upgradesign — NiM apartment – built-in storage // photo: © upgradesign

Because you really don’t want to come home every day only to step into the messiest room in the apartment.

Bathroom

Isn’t it impossible to find the perfect vanity unit?

We all have different habits, use different products, and need a different amount of personal care products.

Dan Gayfer Design - High House | colour tiles | colorful bathroom | clean bathroom — Dan Gayfer Design – High House // photo: © Dean Bradley

Plus, in the most apartments, bathrooms are initially designed in relation to bathroom fixtures – not much thought is usually given to the fact there’s a lot of stuff to store in there.

It often happens that a bathroom furniture you bought is a little bit smaller than a wall it goes to and it doesn’t store everything you need in it, so you’ll buy a utility cart for everything else and before you know it everywhere you look is a big chaos.

Nice scene for Monday mornings, right?

During my bathroom remodel, I insisted on fitted storage units, and I love them. At any point of my day, I’m just two simple steps away from the minimalistic bathroom – all I have to do to is move few shampoo bottles to the cupboard (Maks still refuses to do it), and neatly place two towels on the ladder.

bathroom reveal | before and after | renovation | powder room | minimalistic

bathroom reveal | before and after | renovation | powder room | minimalistic | plywood furniture

I wish my not-so-secret room of shame (filled with soooo much stuff I still didn’t find a specific place for) worked like this.

Kitchen

Well, if you think about it, almost every kitchen has fitted pieces of furniture in it. Kitchens, when designed right, have dimensions that allow you to go to a furniture store and just pick the kitchen of your dreams. WHEN DESIGNED RIGHT! But sometimes those dimensions are off, or sometimes your ceilings are just so high and you want to have as much storage space as possible.

You probably know we’re crazy about Ikea kitchens over here, but if you have to compensate for the lack of space, then a custom made kitchen is something to think about.

IFUB - Apartment S | kitchen | kitchen island | steel details — IFUB* – Wohnung S // photos: © Sorin Morar

Larissa Johnston Architects - Islington Maisonette | plywood | plywood in interior | plywood kitchen — Larissa Johnston Architects – Islington Maisonette // photos: © Rory Gardiner

But keep it somewhere in your mind that a lot of working hours of many very talented people was invested into those Ikea kitchen solutions – let them inspire you.

Apartment for daily rent | interior design | kitchen | light kitchen | white tiles | black grouts | neutral palette — Apartment for daily rent // photo: © upgradesign

Of course, there are exceptions. Bed and nightstand in a super-small bedroom. Dining table in a small kitchen of an apartment where dining room doesn’t exist.

Trust us, lack of space is always a good reason to invest in fitted furniture.

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