For our latest lookbook, we’ve collected eight homes that make the most of space by using storage units and shelving as room dividers.
The examples below show how much-needed storage space can be integrated into a home’s design to form partition walls between rooms or create different zones within one space.
Many of the designs feature different storage arrangements on either side of a wall to suit the rooms it is functioning, such as kitchen cupboards, hallway shelving, dressing area wardrobes, desks and fold-out tables.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring wood-lined kitchens, board-marked concrete living rooms and interiors that pair together red and green colours.
Loft in Poblenou, Spain, by NeuronaLab
Local architecture studio NeuronaLab inserted a blue unit with wardrobes into the centre of this renovated Barcelona apartment, separating a bedroom, study, and open-plan kitchen and living area.
As well as dividing the ground floor spaces and providing storage, the unit also has built-in stairs leading to a second bedroom on a mezzanine level.
Find out more about Loft in Poblenou ›
Yamaguchicho House, Japan, by Slow
A black wood storage unit creates a dividing wall between the living area and the skylit entryway at Yamaguchicho House, which was designed by Japanese practice Slow.
The unit was elevated from the ground to help spread natural light through the space, and a television was mounted on its side facing a sofa.
Find out more about Yamaguchicho House ›
Sterling Place apartment, US, by Light and Air Architecture
This two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn was transformed by New York studio Light and Air Architecture to have an open-plan layout with ample storage.
Custom-built shelving and cupboards made from Baltic birch form opaque and see-through dividers, separating the kitchen, bathroom and living room.
Find out more about Sterling Place apartment ›
House in Nakauchi, Japan, by Snark
Architecture studio Snark created a timber-framed home in Maebashi, Japan, for a family of four, adding a shared children’s room on the first floor.
Wooden built-in storage was designed to separate the room into two private spaces, with ladders leading to individual sleeping platforms above.
Find out more about House in Nakauchi ›
Studio studio apartment, Australia, by Catseye Bay
Designed by local design firm Catseye Bay, wood storage solutions were added to this studio apartment in Sydney to create informal space dividers and replace bulky furniture items such as wardrobes and bookshelves.
The largest unit in the home conceals a bed, providing bedside shelving on one side and clothes storage on the dressing area side.
Find out more about the Sydney studio apartment ›
La Tournette, France, by Freaks Architecture
An arched storage unit sits at the centre of La Tournette, a Parisian workshop that was converted into an apartment by French studio Freaks Architecture.
The mobile unit separates the kitchen and living areas and can be adjusted to accommodate different living arrangements. It has shelving on one side and a fold-out dining table on the other, which can be turned to form an extra kitchen counter.
Find out more about La Tournette ›
Palma Hideaway, Spain, by Mariana de Delás
A diagonal partition wall with shelved storage cuts across the Palma Hideaway apartment in Palma de Mallorca, which was transformed by architect Mariana de Delás.
The angular shape of the storage wall separates the hall and kitchen on one side from the bedroom on the other, where it features a built-in desk and wardrobes.
Find out more about Palma Hideaway ›
Flinders Lane Apartment, Australia, by Clare Cousins Architects
Local studio Clare Cousins Architects aimed to create extra bedrooms without losing living space when renovating the Flinders Lane Apartment in Melbourne.
The studio created a hoop-pine plywood platform and storage wall with cupboards and shelves, forming two separate bedrooms boxed off from the open-plan living room and kitchen.
Find out more about Flinders Lane Apartment ›
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring wood-lined kitchens, board-marked concrete living rooms and interiors that pair together red and green colours.
