Decor

Multi-functional Furniture for Small Space Living

These transformational pieces are a funky (and space saving) way to decorate your home

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When it comes to multi-functional furniture, every square inch is an opportunity

Second bedrooms that morph into the home office. Coffee tables that transform into a dining spread for 10. Vancouver condo-dwellers take heart – it’s not the size of the space that counts, but how you choose to use it.

Click through to see how Resource Furniture, Expandfurniture and BoConcept are part of a growing group of retailers fighting shrinking square footage with space-saving multi-functional furniture



BoConcept

With its roots in urban Danish design, global brand BoConcept has been perfecting streamlined, minimalist and multi-functional furniture for more than 60 years.

The latest 2015 collection features a wide variety of multi-functional pieces that have been scaled down to fit the urban condo.

Smart Sofa Bed (Above)

What makes the Madison stand-alone sofa bed so special? During the metamorphosis from couch to bed, the cushions stay attached so you don’t need extra storage for them somewhere else. Designers also wanted to make sure this sofa bed didn’t look like a sofa bed, so they opted to forgo the telltale bulk in favour of clean and elegant lines. Raising the bar even further, Madison continues to show off with its adjustable headrest.

From $3,659



Wall Desk + Media Station

New in the 2015 collection is the Cupertino Wall Desk, which not only folds away, but features a built-in wireless speaker on top. Even when you close the desk, you can still see the speaker. “So for smaller spaces you can actually hook up your iPad and play music,” says BoConcept Vancouver’s Senior Design Consultant Paul Chiu. “It’s not just a work station, it also acts as a media station.”

The desk can be mounted at different heights for bar or desk chairs and comes in two different finishes, walnut and light oak. 

$789



One-size-fits-all Table

BoConcept Vancouver’s bestseller is by far this Rubi adjustable table. Not only can you set it to a variety of heights, it also expands to double its width for a grand dining room table. Available in different colours.

Around $1,895



Expandfurniture

According to Expandfurniture’s Michael Harris, more Canadians are following European trends and are choosing to move into smaller homes to get closer to work and social activities.

“Nobody wants to live in a shoebox, and with our furnishing solutions we can turn a studio apartment into a multi-room domicile with the capacity to entertain while maintaining a cosy, clean feel to it.”

Twice the Table (Above)

Sleek and sophisticated, the box coffee table expands from its unassuming state into a dining table for 10. The leaves are hidden inside the table and discreet locking wheels and a gas mechanism ensure it’s a breeze to expand on demand. Available in a variety of finishes.

$1,599 to $1,699



Slim is In

Addressing the need for stylish and space-saving dining chairs that can be stored away at a party’s notice is Expandfurniture’s pendulum chair. Unlike so many other collapsing varieties, when unfolded for guests it still looks modern thanks to its slick finishes and elegant design. Coming in 2015.

$995 for a set of 4



Now You Read Me, Now You Don’t

Have your library and a second guest bedroom too with the Italian wall bed that swaps places with a revolving bookcase. It’s multifunctional and practical, with just a dash of James Bond.

From $4,360 to $6,694



Resource Furniture

Pioneers of space-saving furniture, Resource Furniture is home to Clei products, which are high-end, eco-friendly and Italian-designed pieces that range from expanding ottomans to room-transforming systems.

Resource Furniture’s Lisa Blecker shared a quote from a client that sums up the whole boon of its multifunctional furniture nicely: “I’m not just buying a bed from you, I’m buying the space that the bed gives me.”

Sofa, Bed, and Office, All in One

Here we can see Resource Furniture’s bestselling queen bed system at work. Swing allows for a nine-foot sofa to be part of a living room one minute, and transform into a modern Murphy bed the next. This bed system is also seen here combined with the Home Office Basso, one of several discreet options for an instant home office.

*Contact Resource Furniture for pricing, everything is made to order



Best in Bunk

Another bestselling wall system from Resource, the Kali Duo Bunk Bed goes from desk, wall or sofa into a bunk bed and is available in twin or intermediate sizes. All the moving mechanisms are hidden inside the walls of the structure, so you can’t see the hydraulic pistons — a.k.a. the parts that make transformations as physically demanding as flipping on a light.