Matroshka Furniture

I found this interesting multifunctional furniture set on YouTube when I was researching on different kinds of multifunctional furniture, be it individually or as a set. What I find interesting about this furniture is that everything is compacted into 1 set which is situated just in the corner of the room. I have to agree that the name actually suits because just like the matroshka doll, all the pieces fit together inside. The set of furniture can be used as a home office, a dining room, a lounge/living room and a bedroom.

The pictures below shows how people interact with the furniture:

The actual website for this is here: Matroshka furniture

Interior Design videos

Among all of the design videos that I've watched, the ones that had piqued my interest and inspiration in small space designing were those from faircompanies.com and "small eclectic amazing spaces". These two companies or channels focuses more into interior designing small spaces such as studios or micro apartments or other small housing areas.

faircompanies.com

 Videos from faircompanies.com features designers and what they can do with a small space. It doesn't necessarily mean studios, it could be as small as a ranch, a shed and other places that one might not even consider to be a housing area. Their design solutions are very simplistic and modern, and during videos they explain how their designs are utilized. The downfall is that sometimes, the furniture used are custom-made and built-in so it's pretty costly. Here are some sample videos:

SPACEStv
Another channel that I look towards to is "small eclectic amazing spaces" which is a reality show on SPACEStv channel in YouTube. The videos in this channel shows different people of different occupation from designers to photographers to businessmen, design their small space to suit their needs and at the same time show off their personality. The small space that they preview was not always a studio apartment, some are just certain rooms like a bedroom or even retail shop spaces. What I find interesting about their interior design is that they're all fitting their personality. Also at the fact that unlike faircompanies.com, the furniture used, are not necessarily multifunctional, they standard with only a single purpose and yet, they were able to fit everything in such a small space whilst designing to suit their personality. Here are sample videos:

Case study relating to my problem

In New York City, Manhattan, there are also citizens facing the same problem of having too small a space within the studio apartment. Like us, they want to conserve space, whilst at the same time have the room serve the usage of many different rooms; bedroom, dining room, home office, living room, kitchenette, basically everything one would want and need in an apartment. But because a studio apartment is only one room plus bathroom, it is very hard to fit all those into one room without making it too cramped and stuffy. Whilst some would only have to suffice with a room that can only serve basic needs, there are others who have found solutions to get a room to act as almost 6 different rooms.

Techline Studio is one of those smart ones.

Techline Studio is a company that designs custom furniture and by using that knowledge, they were able to design a studio apartment that fully optimizes its space. This company follows a style that is both functional and versatile, so their furniture is rather multipurpose. For example, in this case study, they built cabinets, around 16" to 24" deep, along the walls that can open up to bedroom, living room, wardrobe, dresser, home office, and dining room. 

This is what the cabinets look like in the apartment. And when they open, you get...

a home office, with some storage for printer or files...or...

 

a dresser with a sliding table, and storage for shoes, jewelry and other miscellaneous items...and when opened even further...

you get a dining table that could serve 2-3 people...

 

it can also open up to reveal a wardrobe with plenty of storage for clothes and shoes and whatnot...

the cabinets can also open up to reveal a bed!

So you can see how Techline Studio makes use of the small living space area. And I believe that the same concept can also be used in Singapore studio or 'shoe-box' apartments to fully optimize its living space...

reference and image source:

Techline Studio: Case study, studio apartment