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Small white bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower and storage pieces – as well as orange towels and an ombre white/turquoise shower curtain.
View of a tiny apartment, looking from the sleeping area across the living space and into the bathroom.
View of a compact micro-apartment looking directly ahead to a workspace wedged between the sleeping area and bathroom.
A cosy sleep corner between a window and workspace. Storage in drawers below the bed, as well as wall-mounted cabinets and shelves.

Daren's safe haven

Designer
Daren Todd

Location
Portland, Oregon

Concept
A temporary home to make one's own

Daren Todd is a Portland-based artist and the founder of Art Larger Than Me: a creative firm focused on community engagement, teaching, and large-scale mural artworks. Daren's artistic style blends abstract geometry and graphic representation, resulting in pieces that are both cohesive and captivating.

This micro-unit, designed by Daren, is part of a larger transitional housing complex for people who are unhoused. The initiative focuses on providing a decent standard of living that fulfils the important human needs of safety and privacy, but also wellbeing, healing, and self-expression.

Tenants can make the place their own and express their personal style, for example, by painting the bathroom walls and wood furniture with their own design. When it is time for a new tenant to move in, the basic set -up remains the same while the look and feel changes with fresh paint, new textiles and other soft furnishings.

Spaces to inspire a healthier, more sustainable future

The sustainable collab series showcases ten rooms by ten creatives around the world, each telling a story of togetherness, conscious living or connecting with nature. At your local IKEA online store, you'll find even more ideas for living a healthier, more mindful life at home.

As capable as it is compact

Look no further than this tiny bathroom for proof that a little can go a long, long way. Its walls work hard to hold all the towels, bottles and other hygiene essentials, all neatly housed in shallow, narrow storage pieces that keep the room feeling open and clear.

The power combo of shallow shelves, rails and trolley maximises storage in the tight area around the toilet.

Storage within storage

A great way to keep things visually calm in a small space. Here, the file organisers and shelf-sized wooden chest of mini drawers hide away all sorts of little things, keeping surfaces clutter free and easier to clean.

The adjustable, wall-mounted work lamp works a charm in this space-crunched corner, where the desk and shelves already have their hands full.

A home to make your own

Daren believes people should feel proud of where they live, and being able to personalise their space is one way to achieve that. Keeping bigger basics neutral while focusing decorative touches on paintable pieces or soft furnishings makes frequent design updates easily doable for new tenants.

Just look at how different the whole space feels compared to the orginal design, simply by changing up the paint on the cabinets and switching the curtains from white to black. The transformation becomes complete with a new set of bedding.

A easily refinishable wooden cabinet like IVAR can take on ever-changing personalities and design preferences with just a new coat of paint.

Not just for windows

A curtain as a room divider can help in so many ways: for privacy, sound dampening – or even an opportunity to hide away an unmade bed! :)