Cabinets for micro-living: narrow and multifunctional

5 minutes

Feldkirch, Austria

It is essential to make the best use of the space available irrespective of the size of your home. This applies in particular to small apartments and kitchens. When planning layouts, consider using narrow cabinets. They can turn tiny spaces into valuable storage. To prove our point, we built storage WOW effects into a 22-square-metre flat and asked a celebrity to find the hidden storage solutions.

Presenter searches test apartment wearing VR glasses

Belinda Gasser from Blum’s Requirement Research Department had a surprise in store for presenter Eric Schroth. The fun-loving 30-year-old was equipped with virtual reality glasses and told to find extraordinary storage space solutions.

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New role

We turned the tables on the presenter and put him to work in a new role: answering questions. “I hadn’t reckoned with this. I didn’t think they’d get me to be their guinea pig,” chuckles the young man from Cologne. “But it was really exciting to be guided by Belinda’s voice in my ear. Normally, I’m the one who asks the questions or presents the show; it was the other way round today. But Belinda was a very charming host,” adds Eric.

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“I’ve got Blum products in my kitchen at home. I’d heard of the sink pull-out before but it was something else to experience it. The solution for narrow cabinets was completely new to me. It uses every inch of space available − I think that’s brilliant,” says Eric, who loves to cook in his spare time.

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Thanks to SPACE TWIN, even groceries can be kept in tiny storage spaces.
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Narrow cabinets also complement living room furniture perfectly.
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They even deliver smart storage solutions to bathrooms: SPACE TWIN by Blum.

SPACE TWIN, the practical solution for small storage spaces by Blum, is implemented with diagonally offset runners to create additional storage space. The ideal place for storing bottles, chopping boards and spices in the kitchen or, if planned appropriately, also suitable for books in the living room or for hanging washing in the bathroom – like in our 22-square-metre apartment. We adapted the size and inner dividing system of the narrow cabinets to the storage items in the flat.

“The intelligent use of storage space makes the apartment look far bigger than it actually is.”
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Efficiency and convenience in a compact space

Although the narrow cabinets take up little space, they deliver top quality motion. Equipped with SERVO-DRIVE and BLUMOTION, cabinets open electrically at a single touch and close softly and effortlessly with the soft-close system. They also have the feather-light glide you’ve come to expect from Blum. “I really like the fact that the narrow cabinets can be fully extended so you can easily access all the contents,” says the presenter.

Experiment a complete success

“The aim of our experiment is to create as much storage space as possible using smart solutions and then watch how people respond to the storage ideas we’ve hidden in the 22-square-metre flat,” says the Requirement Research expert and adds: “Eric did very well. He found a great deal.”

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The ultimate highlight

Belinda has a final surprise for Eric: a SPACE TWIN unit built into the presenter’s couch. “I was completely flabbergasted by the narrow cabinet in the armrest of the couch. What a beautiful surprise,” says Eric and adds: I’m a film buff and that cabinet would be really nice to have when watching films. It would certainly impress guests. It’s right at the top of my wish list.” The cabinet is truly something else. Our Requirement Research Department teamed up with an upholsterer and pulled out all the stops to create the special solution.

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No matter whether you opt for a standard or customised SPACE TWIN, it is essential to make the best use of the space available when planning your kitchen and living space. Blum’s solution for narrow cabinets allows you to get the most out of the storage space available and say goodbye to wasted space in your kitchen.

All advantages at a glance

  • Turns tiny spaces into valuable storage

  • Can be implemented with all box and runner systems by Blum

  • Can be combined with an electrical or mechanical opening support system

  • Easy-to-plan standard solution

  • Minimum width of 150 mm required

  • High load bearing capacity of up to 20 kg per cabinet

  • High lateral stability thanks to diagonally offset runners

  • Feather-light glide even when heavily laden

  • Can be tailored to storage items

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