We believe the bedroom should be a sanctuary (see 10 Secrets for a Better Night’s Sleep). Thankfully, architects have long known that creating calm—read: killing clutter—in your sleep space is simple and efficient with built-in storage. Here are 15 favorite examples of architectural built-ins in the bedroom, from shelves to cabinets to drawers:
Above: In a brownstone in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, a birch ply wall divides the room, creating a closet space behind the bed, and serves as a headboard with storage niche. See In Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, a Renovated Brownstone with Inspired Solutions for more.
Above: Built-ins add ample storage space in English Translation: A Compact Victorian Gets an Eclectic but Cohesive Makeover.
Above: Low, built-in shelves line the Paris bedroom of French style-maker Lucile Demory. Photograph by Claire Cottrell for Remodelista. See Modern Thrift: Lucile Demory’s Architect-Designed Rental in Paris for a look at the full apartment.
Above: Custom built-ins surround a window in the all-white Pasadena bedroom of designer Michaela Scherrer, creating plenty of concealed storage, plus a ledge for artful displays. See World’s Tiniest Spa Bath: A Grecian-Inspired Guest Suite in LA for more; photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.,
Above: Architect Jerome Buttrick carved out vertical shelving,
complete with accessible light switches and outlets
on either side of Remodelista editor Julie Carlson’s bed
.
Photograph by Maria del Rio, from Refinery 29‘s feature on Julie’s Mill Valley, California, house
.
Above: In my own bedroom, my husband and I maximized space by building our bed into an awkward niche and creating built-in storage above and pullout drawers below. More of our space-saving solutions can be seen in Living Small in London.
Above: Architect Otto Henkell kitted out the bedroom in a tiny cottage in Melbourne with plenty of storage, courtesy of white cubbies of various sizes and shapes. See Before/After: 11 Ideas to Steal from a Tiny Melbourne Worker’s Cottage for more.,
Above: In another extra-tiny Brooklyn apartment, built-in cabinets and shelves make the most of the space around a pull-down Murphy bed. See Living Large in 675 Square Feet, Brooklyn Edition for more; photograph by Matthew Williams.
Above: A platform bed by Studio Oink doubles as storage. See Happiness at Home with a German Design Duo for more tips from the designers.
Above: San Francisco architects Turnbull Griffin Haesloop incorporate bedside tables and a dresser into the headboard of a bed, which also acts as a room partition. Photograph by David Wakely, courtesy of Turnbull Griffin Haesloop.
Above: A loft-like bedroom in a Brooklyn apartment is built out with white oak plywood shelving and cabinets and a custom-built bed, to maximize space. See An Eclectic Apartment Inspired by Japanese Storage Chests in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn for more ingenious storage ideas.,
Above: In a compact apartment by New York-based Workstead, custom oak millwork creates a desk/vanity, clothes storage, and countertop, all in one. Also included: built-in nightstands with drawers. See The Artful Shoebox Apartment, Workstead Edition for more.
Above: A bureau that takes up no real estate: In a tiny Brooklyn Heights bedroom, the owners needed clothes storage but didn’t have the floor space for a dresser, so firm General Assembly built a full-depth bureau recessed into the wall. Photograph by Joe Fletcher. See Before & After: In Brooklyn Heights, a Petite Flat Transformed for more.
Above: In a project in a former hayloft in the North Sea, the architects took inspiration from “bed boxes,” small, dark bedrooms with lots of built-in storage, like the under-bed cabinets and shelves shown here. See Frisian Style: An Otherworldly Former Hay Loft Transformed in the North Sea for more bed box storage ideas.
Above: A built-out wall of cabinets creates a nook for a bed—and hidden shelves within reach. See A Darkly Romantic House in Sweden by Skälsö Architects for more.
More storage and organization in the bedroom:
- 10 Easy Pieces: Storage Beds
- Small-Space Solutions: 5 Tiny Bedroom (and Dorm) Ideas to Steal from Stockholm’s Hobo Hotel
- Steal This Look: Moody Monochrome in the Scottish Highlands
N.B.: This post is an update. The original ran in October 2014 as part of our Genius Storage Solutions issue.
