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One wall to store it all: storage in an open plan kitchen

As a family of board game enthusiasts, fitting enough storage into their loft apartment has been their greatest puzzle yet. Using every inch of vertical space, they’ve created multiple storage solutions throughout, with their open plan kitchen and storage wall doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

An open plan apartment with a KALLHÄLL gateleg table with storage and a white METOD kitchen with floor to ceiling cabinets.
An open plan apartment with a KALLHÄLL gateleg table with storage and a white METOD kitchen with floor to ceiling cabinets.

Storage to keep things quick and easy

They’re always on the move, so most important is access to the things they need, when they need them. A floor to ceiling wall of storage does the trick, making a neat and ordered home for all their equipment and dry ingredients.

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A black BEKVÄM stepladder with 3 steps on a wooden floor.
Tea towels, a stack of bowls and a coffee percolator in a brown/stained ash VADHOLMA open storage section in a white kitchen.
A folded black BEKVÄM stepladder with 3 steps against a wall, next to a black NISSAFORS trolley holding pots, pans and bowls.
An anthracite UPPDATERA pegboard drawer organiser inside an open drawer, holding a collection of side plates and bowls.
A white METOD kitchen with a beige stone effect/laminate SÄLJAN worktop and a stainless steel SMAKSAK forced air oven.
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    Prepping ahead

    For a family of four who treats food as fuel, meal prep is vital. Look inside their fridge and you’ll find easy, healthy lunches, smoothies and snacks, ready for everyone to take away on their next trip into the great outdoors.

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    Shelves inside an open fridge, with bottled preserves, salad in square 750ml IKEA 365+ food containers and fresh vegetables.
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      Optimising every inch

      Right beside the kitchen is an integrated breakfast area, with shelves above to keep dinnerware and cutlery in easy reach, while the high cabinets at the very top hold things they need less often.

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      Four chairs around a KALLHÄLL gateleg table with storage set for breakfast, with crockery on the shelves above.
        Plated breakfast food and juice with coffee being poured into a matt green FÄRGKLAR mug atop a seagrass IHÅLLIG place mat.
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          Waste not, want not

          While food isn’t their main priority, they would never like to waste or forget about it. Open a cupboard door and you’ll find a shallow-depth pantry, where everything can be seen and used up, so they never double up on ingredients unnecessarily.

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          A selection of grains in transparent/white 1.3 l IKEA 365+ dry food jars with lids on a shallow, white shelf.
          Shallow white shelves holding an assortment of crockery, including a stack of six matt green FÄRGKLAR bowls.
          A brown dish on a surface, holding a black BLOMNING coffee/tea tin, a glass jar of matcha and a matcha whisk.
          A stack of eight 26 cm matt green FÄRGKLAR plates on a wooden surface with a hint of a tea towel in the foreground.
          White shelves with an assortment of plates, tea towels, green KALLNA glasses, GLADELIG mugs and matt green FÄRGKLAR bowls.
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            A folded up white/light grey KALLHÄLL gateleg table with storage against a wall, next to an anthracite ODGER chair.

              No walls needed

              An open plan apartment can be the ideal home for a family. According to interior designer Annette Ydholm it all comes down to multi-functional zones, smart storage, and creating much-needed privacy.

              Design a studio apartment for a family

              One table to rule them all

              While they love many aspects of their kitchen, they all agree that their gateleg table steals the show: great for everything from breakfasts to an extra workstation, with storage for two folding chairs, space for cable management and storage pockets on the sides for devices of all sizes.

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              An anthracite ODGER chair and ash LISABO chair at a KALLHÄLL gateleg table with storage, set up as a workspace with a laptop.
                The under-table storage of a white/light grey KALLHÄLL gateleg table, holding a newspaper and mobile phone.
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                  A person putting away a folded chair under a white/light grey KALLHÄLL gateleg table with storage against a wall.
                    “
                    When living in a smaller space, try to find pieces that serve more than one function or are easy to pack away – or ideally do both!
                    ”

                    Annette YdholmInterior designer