Micro Apartments with IKEA Furniture

When the budget is severely limited, designers also turn to discount stores. Just look at what stylish spaces they create! We've selected the most interesting projects from recent times.

A Small Studio with European Flair

For a young client, designer Elena Sorensen created a monochrome studio interior in European style. IKEA furniture helped to stay within the tight budget.

In one room, several zones were organized at once: for rest, a double bed and a fold-out sofa, a dining table for six people, a storage system with deep wardrobes, a full kitchen, a wardrobe, and a laundry area.

The kitchen was made island-style in the place of the former hallway, and the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator were moved to the dining area. All furniture, appliances, sink, and faucet are from IKEA. Storage in the wardrobe was chosen from the ready-made PAX range, and the bathroom was also decorated using Swedish brand products.

Design: Elena Sorensen. View the full project

Studio of 29 Square Meters

They spent 900 thousand rubles on renovating this studio, and even with such a small budget, they created a stylish and functional apartment that is planned to be rented out in the future.

For the client, it was important to create a full sleeping area, so designer Lyubov Utkina decided to zone the apartment in a stretched shape using an IKEA bookcase. On one side, there was a bedroom with a double bed, and on the other side, a kitchen with a dining area.

The project includes a small IKEA cabinet in the room and a large wardrobe in the hallway. Originally, a round mirror without a cabinet was planned for the bathroom. In favor of storage, it was replaced with a rectangular mirror-cabinet.

Design: Lyubov Utkina. View the full project

A Small One-Room Apartment for a Designer

Designer David Aksenov decorated this small apartment for himself. To create an illusion of spaciousness, he divided the kitchen and bedroom with a wooden partition and curtains. Additionally, they highlighted two zones using wall color and floor covering – in the bedroom, a carpet was laid down.

The kitchen cabinet is compact and was bought at IKEA, as were the transparent chairs whose legs were painted in a bright blue shade. Furniture, lighting, and decor in the bedroom are almost entirely from IKEA.

Design: David Aksenov. View the full project

Vibrant Studio from a Standard One-Room Apartment

Designer Svetlana Svetlitskaya helped the client transform a standard small apartment into guest-style apartments with interesting zoning and vibrant design.

In the apartment, they opted out of partitions and divided all space into three functional zones: living room, kitchen, and bedroom. The sleeping area was placed by the window and separated with curtains. Next to it is a relaxation and guest reception zone, opposite it – the kitchen-dining area.

Most of the furniture was purchased at IKEA and supplemented with interesting accents. The focus was placed on textiles and lamps made by hand.

Design: Svetlana Svetlitskaya. View the full project

Stylish Apartment with Convenient Relocation

The homeowner wanted to create a fresh yet geometric interior and make plenty of storage spaces. Designer Marina Karalkina helped with this. First, they removed partitions in the small one-room apartment, moved the bedroom to the window, and created a shared kitchen-living room.

The main part of the kitchen cabinet was arranged linearly, and tall storage cabinets and built-in refrigerator were placed in the niche. The bedroom is small but has enough space for a double bed, a spacious chest of drawers, and a couple of bedside tables.

The main storage systems are located in the corridor, living room, and balcony. In the corridor, a niche was designed to fit a storage system 2.7 meters high. All wardrobes and the chest of drawers in the bedroom were chosen at IKEA – this significantly saved on the budget.

Design: Marina Karalkina. View the full project

Compact Apartment with Wardrobe

The designer Elena Zinger had to transform an apartment of irregular trapezoidal shape into a comfortable space with a well-thought-out storage system. It was also important to stay within a small budget.

Without reconfiguration, it wasn't possible: the storage room was converted into a wardrobe with an entrance from the bathroom, a sleeping area was placed in a niche, and the central part and area near the balcony were dedicated to the living room, with just enough space left for the kitchen.

For storage systems, everything was chosen at IKEA. Two wardrobes were placed in the wardrobe, a white cabinet in the corridor where the standard handles were replaced with elongated gold ones. In the bathroom, a stylish cabinet made from two of the most budget-friendly IKEA cabinets was created, which were painted black.

Design: Elena Zinger. View the full project

On the cover: design project by Lyubov Utkina.