Even the smallest, ugliest and most awkward space can become a comfortable apartment when creative custom built-ins are integrated into a brilliant renovation by a truly talented architect. Undeniably the most effective way to save space and reorganize interiors without cutting them off from each other, bespoke built-in elements like storage staircases, bookcases full of beds, transforming self-contained volumes, panel systems and custom cabinetry transform spaces like dingy garages, formerly abandoned slurry pits, historic flats and average urban lofts into highly livable homes.

A Floating Mezzanine & Storage Staircase in London

At Syte Architects’ Studio on Greville Road, a historic building occupied by the same artist for twenty years gets dramatically brighter, lighter and more organized with the addition of double-height glass doors facing the garden, a bespoke wooden staircase packed full of storage customized to the artist’s needs, and a floating mezzanine. The storage, including vertical cubbies that can accommodate oversized paintings, slots right beneath the staircase leading to the second floor, which stops short of the perimeter walls and inserts weight-supporting glass instead. This feature combined with new skylights ensures that plenty of all-important daylight floods into every corner of the space.

‘Sleeping Bookcase’ for a Paris Pied-a-Terre by

French architect Pierre-Louis Gerlier completely reorganized the interior of a Paris pied-a-terre to create a much larger living room and a bedroom with private cubbies for multiple children. This require a whole lot of custom built-ins, which maximize storage for each room and create fun features like window seats. But by far the coolest element of this renovation is that wall of bed cubbies interspersed with storage.

Aluminum Island in an Industrial Loft

What was formerly a 1920s industrial building in Paris’ 11th arrondissement has become a striking apartment in the hands of SABO Project, with a renovation that emphasizes the native character of the space. The concrete walls are aged and highly textural, contrasting with melamine cabinetry and an unusual aluminum island containing the bedroom and bathroom. Cut-outs allow daylight to filter into these more private spaces by day, and diffuse artificial light into the living room at night. There’s a guest loft hidden on top of the island, too.

A Modern Trocadero Apartment in Paris by François Champsaur

Myriad custom surfaces completely transform this Paris apartment in a high-end renovation by François Champsaur, giving it a modern edge with lots of curves. He removed false ceilings installed in 1970 and replaced the parquet floors with extra-long pine boards. The dining room is lined with marble, and the bathroom adds slatted wood to soften it. Custom panels are used extensively to disguise potentially busy-looking elements like televisions and kitchenware.

Renovated Family Duplex in Denmark by Spacon & X

It’s plain to see how custom built-ins can make a tiny space far more usable and enjoyable in this apartment renovation in Denmark by Spacon & X. Created for a family of four, the new living space integrates a staircase full of storage into the kitchen that doubles as a room divider for the living room, a guest bed that folds up into the wall beneath elevated textile storage, a window seat, a fold-down office stations and a super cute kid room full of slide-out closets, desks and play areas.

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Built In Bonanza 13 Mega Apartment Makeovers Packed With Custom Features

A lot of the most impressive space-saving ideas really only work for wealthier urbanite apartment owners who can simply hire a contractor to design a bunch of customized built-ins. The results – like beds that lower from the ceiling at the push of a button – are often undeniably cool and effective, but not exactly accessible to most of us. For the renter with an average income, tiny space hacks need to be cheaper and way more portable. Here are 15 ideas that are either commercially available for less than the price of your first-born child, or could serve as inspiration for something to build yourself.

Fold-Up Walk-In Wardrobe

How luxurious must it feel to have the kind of walk-in closet full of beautiful wooden built-in shelves and drawers, with space to organize all of your shoes, accessories and clothing? Hosun Ching applies this concept to a fold-out wardrobe with additional storage in the doors, transforming into a sort of portable walk-in. There are mirrors on both sides, too, so you can see your outfits from every angle.

“The depth of a standard wardrobe is 60cm,” says Ching. “That is simply not practical, because it means that you literally lose sight of your clothing; and what you don’t see, you don’t wear. The Walk-In Closet is a small storage unit designed to solve this problem. The focus is on organization and visibility. There are drawers for accessories and the reduced depth does away with those ‘hidden’ stacks.”

DIY Breakfast Nook with a View

Turn any available window in your space into a cafe table with a view simply by adding a shelf and a chair or a couple bar stools. It takes up practically zero space, installs in mere minutes and makes a big impact.

The Hobby Box Craft Cabinet

Got a lot of crafting materials or art supplies? The HobbyBox by The Original Scrapbox Company has space for everything, keeping papers neatly organized, protected and individually visible. In addition to a whole lot of internal shelving, this craft cabinet features a small wall of magnetic storage and some hooks for hanging certain items. It also comes with a fold-down work table, a daylight LED light, 22 clear acrylic totes and 7 clear zipper pouches. The company has other versions of this cabinet that are customized for other activities, like sewing, as well as narrow storage towers and storage desks with clear tops so you can see all your supplies from above. Being able to closet it all up when you’re done eliminates a whole lot of visual clutter in a small space.

Space-Saving Living Cubes

Few things make more of an impact in a small space than the ‘all-in-one living cube,’ a freestanding piece of mega-furniture that typically incorporates a bed, storage and perhaps a desk or couch into the same unit. This one, the Kammerspiel by Nils Holger Moormann, is designed to stand in the center of a studio apartment, dividing up the space and offering just about everything you need. It even has a mini kitchen and a walk-in wardrobe.

“At a time when affordable living space is becoming scarce and the grand opera is not always possible, a Kammerspiel – or intimate theater – can be a fitting alternative,” says Moormann of his creation. “It’s a room within a room, condensing enough features and space to take the airiness of the rest of the apartment into consideration.”

Endlessly Customizable Peg Board Walls

Spotted here at a compact Budapest AirBnB designed by local firm Position Collective, pegboard walls prove they don’t have to be relegated to dirty garages to be handy. This one is made of a smoother-grained plywood, with pegs supporting custom shelves. You could mount these to the wall and have an endlessly customizable shelving arrangement without drilling a bunch of holes in your rental.

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Portable Walk In Closets 14 Other Ways To Make A Studio Feel Like A Mansion

Work, school, rapidly changing cities and declining home ownership rates have us moving more often than ever, so the kinds of heavy antique furniture favored by older generations aren’t exactly practical in the modern world. In fact, we might become even more mobile in the future, our sense of ‘home’ tied more to a handful of physical objects and intangible feelings within ourselves and our loved ones than to a particular structure. For this nomadic future, designers envision minimalist, portable furniture systems that can be packed up at a moment’s notice, but retain the ability to make us feel comfortable, cozy and cocooned.

Hannabi Urban Nomad Sofa

Sofas are often among the biggest, bulkiest things we have to lug up and down stairs and cram through small doorways when we move, and they don’t usually disassemble in a way that we’d want to deal with at our destination. Enter the Urban Nomad Sofa by Hungarian furniture brand Hannabi, a modular setup consisting of stacked cushions that can be used together or separately in various configurations. Two long rectangular cushions create the base of an average-sized sofa when used together, or comfy mats when used apart. Triangular supports can be used as pillows or backrests.

Transformer Furniture 2.0 by Povilas Danius

Designs like this bedroom in a box by Povilas Danius make us wonder why IKEA isn’t already selling similar offerings. The Transformer Furniture 2.0 set packs down to the size of a bookcase but contains a twin bed, shelves, lighting, underbid storage and a closet system with a built-in shoe organizer. Packing it up takes seconds thanks to a few hinges.

Nomadic Life Set by Gerardo Osio

The concept of taking the feeling of home with you wherever you go manifests in beautifully simple physical objects with Nomadic Life by Gerardo Oslo, a collection of comforts that can make all the difference when you’re in an unfamiliar environment. It includes a pillow, tatami mat and a wooden box with a lid that doubles as a tray containing copper tableware, a candleholder and a flower vase.

Sweet Seat by Dear Human

Sweet Seat is a modular furniture system by Dear Human that can be a squishy chair or an extra bed for houseguests, all in a simplified minimalist package. The upholstered cushions are held together by elastic bands when stacked, and you simply remove them when you want to stretch out.

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Nomadic Futures 12 Home Design Solutions For Changing Urban Lifestyles