Downsizing: from house to apartment
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While many people dream of a bigger home, Günther and Ingeborg Dellanoi did the opposite – they downsized from their family home to a smaller apartment. There’s no sign of regret when the retired couple talk about their new home. Quite the opposite: they can’t say enough good things about it. They sat down with Blum Inspirations to share how it all came together.
Blum Inspirations: Günther and Ingeborg, what gave you the idea to relocate from your large family home to a smaller apartment?
Günther Dellanoi: We’d been thinking for a while about getting a place for our retirement. Then chance played a hand – an apartment next to our daughter’s became available. The location in the town centre was another big plus.
Ingeborg Dellanoi: You never know how old you’ll get – or what ageing will look like. That’s why we wanted a smaller, step-free home for the future. In our family house, for example, both the bathroom and bedroom were upstairs. Although we could still manage that at the moment, you never know what the future might bring.
Blum Inspirations: Did you find it easy to move?
Ingeborg Dellanoi:We were lucky enough to keep our house as a kind of family home, so it’s still used by us and our children. Because of that, there was no pressure to rush when we moved.
Günther Dellanoi:Settling in was actually very easy. We have a small but close circle of friends here in our new neighbourhood, and another advantage is that everything is within walking distance. We hardly need the car anymore – basically only to pick up the post from our old place or when I drive to my chess club.
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Blum Inspirations: You worked closely together with Blum’s requirements research team when furnishing your apartment. What difference did that make to the finished space?
Günther Dellanoi: We had the opportunity to explore ideas together with our cabinet maker and interior designer in Blum’s test kitchen. That’s where we discovered some really exciting possibilities that we could use for our apartment. We were especially impressed by Blum’s space-saving ideas and we ended up implementing many of them in our own home.
Ingeborg Dellanoi:The space itself can’t be made any bigger. You have to work with what you’ve got and create as much storage space as you can. That’s especially crucial in a situation like ours, when you’re downsizing from a larger home to a smaller one. After all, you can’t leave everything behind – though, of course, you do have to think carefully about what you really need.
Blum Inspirations:Which specific solutions did you choose in the end?
Günther Dellanoi: We ended up using several of these solutions in different areas of the apartment. For instance, we made a point of using lift systems instead of doors in our wall units. With the drawers, we tried to make full use of both the length and depth of the furniture. In the kitchen, for example, we installed very large drawers – around 70 centimetres deep – to get more storage space. We also made use of hidden spaces.
Learn more about lift systems in wall units
Ingeborg Dellanoi: We also implemented theSPACE STEP plinth solutionThat way, we have extra storage in the plinth as well as a safe step to access the higher levels of the cabinet when we need to get something down. We were among the first to have a SPACE STEP installed and someone from Blum even came to visit us to hear about our experiences.
Find out more about Ingeborg’s and Günther’s experience with SPACE STEP
Blum Inspirations: Apart from SPACE STEP and the lift systems in the wall units – what else did you implement in your kitchen?
Ingeborg Dellanoi:The real standout feature in the kitchen is the dual-purpose use of the cabinet "wall" – kitchen on one side and hall cabinets on the other. The extra-long drawers allowed us to make full use of what would otherwise have been a blind corner in the kitchen, with the storage accessible from the hall side.
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Practical kitchen on one side, spacious cabinets on the other: Ingeborg and Günther made every inch of their apartment count.
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With the SPACE STEP plinth solution, Ingeborg can reach the wall cabinet without difficulty.
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A practical inner dividing system keeps everything tidy and organised in the deep kitchen drawers fitted with BLUMOTION soft close.
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To make up for the blind corner in the kitchen, the cabinet is fitted with extra long drawers on the back of the kitchen.
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The cabinet on the back of the kitchen also provides the perfect place to store a range of bulky cleaning utensils.
Blum Inspirations: Did you also install any practical applications in your living and dining area?
Günther Dellanoi:Our large living room unit has hidden storage throughout. The upper sections are fitted with fronts, and the lower sections include some very long drawers. There’s even room for a big drawer to keep our grandson’s toys and art supplies. We also built a clever feature into the dining table – it can be extended when needed thanks to the MOVENTO runner system.runner system.
for many guests...
... or a small gathering.
Blum Inspirations: What other solutions did you implement in your apartment?
Ingeborg Dellanoi: We didn’t waste an inch. That principle informed the design of our entire apartment.
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The dining and living area features a variety of smart solutions, some of them are cleverly out of sight.
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Ingeborg and Günther also made use of practical fronts and drawers in the living room space.
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A built-in bench conceals a large drawer – their grandson’s favourite box.
Blum Inspirations: Have you done anything in your bedroom, too?
Günther Dellanoi:Yes. For instance,we slightly raised our bed. This means it’s not only easier for us to get out of bed, but we also have extra storage space under the bed for long drawers.
A comfy bed...
...with storage magic
Blum Inspirations: Looking back, if you compare the house you built then with your current apartment, would you have done anything differently?
Günther Dellanoi:Not really. At the time, the house suited us perfectly. After all, we were starting a family, and over the years we kept extending the house as our needs grew. In hindsight, we might have changed one or two things – putting the bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor, for instance – but overall that wouldn’t have changed the bigger picture very much. The house simply no longer fits our needs today.
Ingeborg Dellanoi:The key is to keep an open mind. We had to let go of what we had before and make a fresh start in the new apartment.
Blum Inspirations: What advice would you give to people in a similar situation?
Günther Dellanoi:Our advice to anyone would be to start thinking about your future living situation sooner rather than later. You want to give yourself plenty of time to settle in properly.to settle in properly. The longer you put it off, the harder it gets.
Ingeborg Dellanoi: I’d also advise anyone considering downsizing to remember that you’ll be sharing a smaller overall space. We’ve talked a lot about storage space, but it’s also important that everyone has a personal space to retreat to – and that should be factored into the planning.
Blum Inspirations: Thank you for talking to us!
Find out more about creating future-proof spaces
The interview at a glance:
Günther and Ingeborg Dellanoi swapped their family home for a smaller, age-friendly apartment in a central location – the perfect base for enjoying retirement
When downsizing from a bigger space to a smaller one, storage planning is key
Drawers that make full use of acabinet’s depthcabinet's depth, or niches add valuable extra space
Lift systems in wall units bring ease and convenience to every living area
The SPACE STEP plinth solution provides an extra drawer in the plinth, along with a safe, built-in step.
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