Small Apartment Uses Movable Shelving to Create Endless Design Combinations

While we have featured many apartments of late that make creative use of small spaces, none of those have gone to quite the creative lengths that you will see in this Spanish apartment from PKMN Architectures.

Rather than shrink down every separate room - from dining to bed to closet - to fit into a small space, this design turns one big space into everything the resident designer needs. It does so through the use of amazing moveable shelving units.

The designers have separated this apartment into two spaces. The first remains open all the time and is set up for formal dining as well as work. But the second half of the apartment is where the magic happens.

In one iteration, the kitchen cooking space is left open and inconspicuous furniture allows for a small business meeting.

It was important in the design phase that the occupant be able to easily and quickly move the shelves around, since she would be doing it every day. The units when full weigh upwards of 500 kg, but the tracks and casters, which were inspired by library shelving units, make it easy for the owner to move them with just one hand.

The designers built custom shelving units from OSB (oriented strand board), which is an inexpensive but durable material made from pressed wood flakes. The wood is then finished in a laminate that smooths the surface and makes them water resistant.

As one shelf slides over, it reveals kitchen table/dining area that folds down in a snap. Hidden behind this folding table are dishes, cookware, and other kitchen essentials.

In yet another option, the central shelf folds out to become a bed. Across from the bed is the closet shelving area, which opens into a private dressing space that fronts the bathroom. A wooden panel can be pulled across the “entry” to the bedroom for increased privacy.

The back space of the apartment opens up into a spacious garden that would never betray the wonders of storage that lay just beyond the sliding glass doors.