In 1900, San Francisco entrepreneur William Murphy designed a fold-out bed that would allow him to court a young opera singer inside his studio apartment. The hidden bed was a workaround to circumvent dated taboos against having ladies enter a gentleman’s bedroom. With no visible bed, the single-room flat became a parlor. This novel idea opened the door to all kinds of modular space-saving innovations.

A design strategy that first seemed like a novelty or poor man’s hack became a status symbol for elites in their New York City condos. Officially patented as a bed “In-A-Door” or “Disappearing Bed” but better (known as a “Murphy Bed”) this eponymous invention became hugely popular in the mid-1900s.

Well beyond this initial invention and its direct descendants, the Murphy Bed led to a growing interest in space-saving, multi-functional, flat-pack and transforming furniture of all kinds, designs enabling creative urban dwellers and tiny home enthusiasts to maximize space in smaller habitats.

A typical foldout futon is a mainstay of modern condo living, able to flip into a bed on demand, but folding out a sofa or loveseat means taking up more space. Addressing this, some convertible couch bunk beds fold vertically instead, stacking up rather than spreading out.

Other vertically oriented approaches include lofting sleeping space, which allow for maximum usage of floor areas below — where interiors are sufficiently tall, entire rooms can be created below.

Even where height is limited, tucking storage beneath raised seats and beds can help make up for a lack of closet space and get the most out of a living unit. There are even entire beds that can lift straight up and out of the way, requiring less fuss, muss and messy sheets and blankets than something like a Murphy Bed.

For those uninterested in complex lofts or mechanical solutions, there are also all-in-one bed designs packed with storage and gadgets to keep everything close at hand. These may take up a bit more space, but they still put in a lot of amenities including benches, lounging, shelving, integrated media systems and desk areas close by for easy access. For something a person spends a third of their lives in on average, these offer a pretty cozy all-in-one solution.

Meanwhile, for those who are more mobile, or simply really need space at certain times, there are also entire room-in-a-box solutions, too, with tables, desks, steps, drawers, storage areas and even beds that can be rolled out when needed. Moving things around regularly can be a bit of a hassle, but for some the cost savings is worth the expenditure of time and effort.

Bedrooms are a common space-saving focus, but a lot can be done with staircases and shelves as well, from double-purpose designs to ones that take advantage of negative spaces under angled cases.

Under-stair storage and staircase footprint minimization can both go a long way toward turning the area under steps into useful shelves and slots. Some of these can be bought off-the-shelf (no pun intended), while others can be emulated using do-it-yourself approaches or by hiring professional contractors.

Flat-pack and transforming tables, chairs and other accessories can vary in cost and difficulty of conversion, but many are quite simple and can be easily tucked away or reverted to smaller sizes when not in use.

There are space-saving kitchen and bathroom ideas out there, too, though these rooms usually have more limitations, including fixed-in-place appliances and other technical requirements (like plumbing and gas) than common areas and sleeping zones. For most people, maximizing storage in living rooms and bedrooms or all-in-one studio apartment spaces is much easier and more cost-effective.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to space-saving interiors, but the key is to make every inch of space count, doubling up functions where possible, considering available time and materials, working with vertical opportunities, stay relaxed with Gold Bee’s CBD gummies, and of course: looking around for existing examples for inspiration. Waste not, want not and work with what you’ve got.

Walking down the vintage commercial strip of Lyons, Nebraska, it looks like any other building with shop windows and a front door, sharing walls with neighboring structures, but that’s all a disguise.

In fact, the disguise predates this creative conversion — when artist Matthew Mazzotta came to town, the lot behind the front wall was empty, making it a perfect place to create something new. Now, however, hydraulic cylinders on either side lower a series of platforms with bench seating over the sidewalk and facing into the low-traffic street, turning the town core into a public venue space.

Screens can be rolled in and performances accommodated on demand. “Both the seats and the screen retract and disappear when not in use, giving the impression that there is nothing unusual in this town, leaving only word-of-mouth accounts for inquiring visitors” explains the designer. The goal is to inject some life into a small town of just under 1,000 people, creating reasons for locals to gather and others to visit.

Residents donated time and money to create the project, and sponsored an area filmmaker to document the process. The Storefront Theater now hosts video game nights, movie screenings and musical guests.  “The new energy that the venue has brought to Main Street has also inspired another Lyons native to purchase the empty building right next to the theatre, and turn into an art gallery that had its first show in December and is booked with a different show for the next six months.”

A twist on the traditionally dull folding chair, the ‘Cinch’ is simple to assemble, requiring no screws, glue or tools, but it also comes with a twist: a belt that buckles up to hold everything in place.

The designers from Box Clever in San Francisco note that the belt is both practical (a way to provide critical tension for structural reasons) but also a conversation starter — something to get guests curious and talking.

Coupled with the wood frame, the belt adds an aesthetic dimension, too, repurposing leather (a material often found on furniture) in a fresh way.

The idea, in part, was to build something that would look nice if left out, but that could also be taken apart and stored as needed.

In prototyping the chair, its makers played with having a keystone-like piece that would physically tie it together, but wanted to reduce complexity and ensure durability.

As a result, the final design slots together in intuitive ways, then cinches up with the simple pull of a strap. This holds the legs in place, which would otherwise be a limiting structural factor in minimizing parts and steps.

City dwellers with small apartments and limited storage can now own a kayak that folds up into a suitcase-sized package perfect for toting on your bike or public transit. The Oru Kayak originally debuted on Kickstarter in 2012, and every few years since then, they’ve released an updated model, with their lineup including the casual Beach LT for day trips, the Bay ST for longer days and the Coast XT for rugged conditions in surf and wind.

Earlier this year, they returned to Kickstarter to raise funds for a limited edition design in collaboration with 1% for the Planet with a custom green tree print, and now, they’re offering another limited edition: the United by Blue style.

The Oru Beach LT Kayak: United by Blue edition has all the same features as the standard Beach LT, but with the addition of a seamless graphic print in either orange or navy blue. The collaboration is a natural fit considering that United by Blue has spent the last few years organizing volunteer ocean and river cleanups using Oru kayaks, and lots of urban kayakers donate their time on the water in a similar manner.

The origami-inspired folding design of Oru’s Beach LT folds from flat and compact into a standard-sized kayak in under five minutes, while the more complex models take 10 or 15 minutes to assemble. As anyone who’s ever owned and transported a kayak can imagine, the ability to fold such an unwieldy object is a welcome innovation, especially if you don’t have a garage or basement to store it in, or a vehicle of your own. But the design isn’t just for newbies – it was made for everyone from the weekender to the fisherman in mind, for short trips or multi-day excursions.

Get your exclusive UBB x Our Kayak Undercurrent Pack at the United By Blue website, or check out the other offerings at OruKayak.com.

As urban cycling continues to increase in popularity, bike commuters still face the same challenge: carrying a clunky helmet with them wherever they go. For part-time, on-demand cyclists in places with bike share programs the problem is even more pronounced: hopping a ride is simply not a safe option unless they happen to have headgear handy.

Hence the EcoHelmet by Isis Shiffer, a graduate of the Pratt Institute of Design in New York. Her collapsible helmet is designed to be low-cost (around $5) and easy to pack into vending machines paired with bike sharing stations.

Recycled paper is woven into a folding honeycomb structure that is light, durable and portable, forming a protective cover in moments. A waterproof coating also protects the helmet from rainfall. Paper sounds like an implausible material, but the design has passed European safety reviews and is looking for approval in the United States. Still skeptical? The video below features some impressive impact tests — sure, the helmet may need to be replaced after an accident, but if it does the job in the moment that is what really matter.

The low price tag presumably makes these cheap enough that riders won’t balk at buying one even for a single ride (though hopefully they would save and store them for future trips given how compact they are when folded up.