A studio with soul: a small apartment with space for it all

“When I moved into my small apartment with my piano and vast record collection, I wondered how I would fit it all in. Thankfully, all it took was some time and imagination. A busy mind doesn’t have to mean a messy home, and this little space holding my life and work is proof of this!”

A green-walled living room with a dark-grey PÄRUP three-seat sofa with chaise longue, and a BORGEBY birch coffee table.

My living area isn't the usual crash-on-the-couch-after-work experience

“This is where I work. Sometimes I get so deep into my flow that I work far later than I should. In my quest to get closer to that elusive work-life balance, I've programmed my lights to dim at the end of the workday – a subtle (but effective!) reminder that it's time to step away from the piano and into the evening.”

See the full living room

A schematic drawing of the layout of an apartment.

A cluster of textiles, including anthracite HILLARED and grey GULLKLOCKA cushions, on the chaise-longue end of a PÄRUP sofa.

Grey-turquoise EKET wall-mounted shelving units on a living room wall. They hold, and are framed by, books and decorations.

Multiple EKET cabinets, in different colors and types, that together form a column of storage, decoration and empty space.

A piano and a column-shaped combination of EKET cabinets stand side by side. Free surfaces are dotted with decorative items.

See the full living room

Take a look at how this music composer fits her lively, layered life into a tiny apartment, without having to cut back on all the objects that bring her joy.

A woman with long, dark hair sitting by a piano, her hands on the keys.

"

Music lies at the center of my home – whether I'm making it, picking out a record, or playing my new favorite song with just the touch of a button.

"

Never underestimate the power of a small kitchen

“While I would never say no to an evening spent exploring the city, so many of my favorite nights have been in my little kitchen. It’s true! Because I don’t have a dining room, I’ve added seating in here, inadvertently turning my kitchen into my home’s social hub. In fact, many of my musical collabs have begun right here – drummed out on the worktop.”

See all bar stools & chairs

A kitchen where a worktop juts out to form a peninsula lined with BERNHARD bar stools and lit with JAKOBSBYN pendant lamps.

A TYNGDLÖS tray with three bowls filled with snacks on a terrazzo-style worktop. A white RUNDLIG serving bowl stands nearby.

See all bar stools & chairs

There's a deceiving amount of closed storage in here

“I thought I’d have to trim down my appliance collection, but I’ve found a convenient spot for everything. It also means everything always looks tidy with minimal effort – super convenient! My two little spice racks are the only exposed storage, giving me easy access to all my favorite flavors and aromas.”

See all jars & tins

A terrazzo-style worktop with an APTITLIG butcher's block, on which lie a blue SANDVIVA tea towel and a black VÖRDA knife.

A pair of BEKVÄM aspen spice racks which are filled with condiments and mounted on a green kitchen wall next to a window.

See all jars & tins

I often find it tricky to switch off at night

“Maybe it’s because I work from home – maybe it’s the nature of my career. But since installing my smart, block-out blinds my sleep has changed, all for the better. They don’t just block out any glare from outside, they also open on their own in the morning, so I don't have to set an alarm. The magic of technology!”

Parted glass doors open onto a bedroom with a BJÖRKSNÄS birch bed, dark-blue KOPPARBLAD bed linen, and a desk and chair.

A BJÖRKSNÄS birch bedside table with a white DEJSA lamp on it stands beneath a picture ledge with art, and beside a bed.

Tones on tones

Skip listing

Can we have a moment for my adorable sink?

“It might be small, but it has just enough space below to fit my footstool when I'm not using it to grab a nail file from a top shelf of my cabinet. And in case you hadn’t noticed, smart light bulbs are my new best friend. Now the lighting in here is always perfect – whether I'm winding down or glamming up.”

The washbasin corner of a bathroom, with a GODMORGON/TOLKEN cabinet combination and a round, dark-grey LANGESUND mirror.

A narrow cabinet with its shelves filled with beauty paraphernalia, some of it in a smoked-plastic GODMORGON mini chest.

Three hooks on the wall of a green-tiled bathroom hold light-pink VIKFJÄRD hand towels and other bathroom accessories.

A section of a tiled bathroom with a dark-grey GODMORGON high cabinet and light-pink hand towels on a BROGRUND towel rail.

A windowsill in a bathroom holding a SAXBORGA storage box with mirror, filled with and surrounded by make-up accessories.

Last minute lipstick check in the mirror and off I go!

“In my heart of hearts, I’m a full-blown maximalist. Thanks to these tall cabinets, my hallway is now a well-utilized home for all the things I've held onto, like my coveted handbag collection. Night on the town, here I come.”

See the BILLY series

Two stacked, turquoise KUGGIS storage boxes holding notebooks and paper stand on a rug beneath a BILLY glass-door bookcase.

Rows of gold-color LASSBYN mirrors hang on a green wall amid coats on hooks and a lit wall-mounted lamp.

A section of a grey-turquoise BILLY glass-door bookcase with its shelves filled with frames, decorations and artful objects.

Two beige STRANDMON footstools line a hallway. Beneath them lie a pair of boots on a beige zigzag-patterned BREDEVAD rug.

A living room wall taken up by side-by-side, grey-turquoise BILLY glass-door bookcases filled with storage and decoration.

See the BILLY series

Living room with grey-turquoise EKET wall-mounted shelving units which hold, and are framed by, books and decorations.

Do you love your things but are short on space?

IKEA interior designer Joseph Abbott has some marvellous tips for how you can hold onto all the things that bring you joy by taking full advantage of open, closed and hidden storage – even in a small space.