6 of the best flexible, modular storage systems

The key to a tidy, organised home is good storage – you want enough space so that you can hide away the things you don’t want to see everyday, but still have a few areas where you can have your nicer objects and accessories out on display.

I’ve had two clients recently (both with and without children) who have been struggling with a common problem for many – small, compact, city spaces combined with a lack of adequate storage. It’s not that either of them had an overwhelming amount of stuff or no storage space at all, but that they didn’t have something that suited their unique needs and lifestyle. One size doesn’t always fit all – you might have rows and rows of books to order, records to keep in place, coats to hang or glassware and beautiful bottles to showcase. Every home is different and you need to make the best of what you’ve got, maximising every inch so it works hard for you.

What is needed is something that is adaptable, versatile and built for you. But not everyone has the budget for custom-made furniture, whether that’s fitted cupboards or built-in shelves. That’s where modular storage systems come in – the bespoke look but often for less.

Flexible, modular storage systems are usually made up of different units, shelves, doors and components that can be combined and customised to fit your space. Often in endless configurations and colours. They’re great because you feel like you have some autonomy over the design, using standard pieces to create something that expresses your own style and personality. They’re also great for awkward spaces – I’m thinking sloping ceilings, tight hallways, narrow alcoves – because you can break up a storage system and use smaller units to fit around any constraints or quirks.

I think we’re also seeing a lot more modular storage systems because we’re living much more transient lives; renting, living in smaller spaces or moving from city to city. It’s much easier to deconstruct the components of a storage system and take it with you than something that is permanently attached to the wall. Storage should also be something that is built to last and adapts with you throughout your lifetime, so you can add units if you gain more stuff or change the configuration if your habits change.

There’s some really innovative designs out there, from budget to high-end – many using easy-fit snap mechanisms so they can be put together and dismantled multiple times in its lifetime. So in today’s blog post I’ve rounded up 6 of the best modular, flexible storage solutions.

1. PLATSA modular storage system from IKEA
IKEA has plenty of clever storage ideas but Platsa, launched last year, is one of their most recent designs. It’s a highly flexible, modular storage system that can be used as hallway storage, a TV unit or for wardrobes. Platsa is designed to be reusable – it’s really simple to assemble and disassemble (yes really) because it uses a new wedge dowel system that slots the pieces together – no allen keys needed. Choose from different interiors, handles and legs. Starting from £195, available from IKEA

It’s also worth looking at IKEA’s BESTA units, which can be lined up or hung on the wall to create a long TV bench, sideboard or living room storage (just look at all the different ways to customise BESTA on Pinterest). There’s EKET collection too – a versatile series of modular storage containers in various colours that can be stacked, hung and combined in endless configurations.

Images courtesy IKEA

2. Tylko
Founded on the premise that every space is different, Tylko is a Warsaw-based company that produces functional, modular shelves that can be customised to fit almost any size or style of space. Their aim is to provide a bespoke experience, to make it digital and revolutionise how people design, adapt and build unique pieces of furniture. They have a clever app that uses augmented reality to allow customers to visualise the furniture in their own home – so you can adjust the size, tweak, add units and compose your storage, all from your phone.

They started with Tylko Type 01, a free-standing shelf system made from natural birch plywood sourced from European hardwood forests – there’s no cheap MDF here. Shelves can be slotted together to form a bookcase, TV stand, vinyl storage, chest of drawers or shoe rack. The pieces come flat-pack and are colour coded for easily assembly, snapping together without the need for tools or screws. A nice detail is that the edges of the plywood are left exposed and finished by hand with a toxin-free plant oil. Legs are adjustable to fit uneven floors (something I struggle with in my wonky old home) and doors feature ergonomic aluminum handles.

In January, Tylko also launched the Type02 shelf, which gives their shelves a fresh twist with a range of bold, colourful new finishes. The Type02 is sleeker, with fully-wrapped edges and simple drawers that sit flush with their frame. The design is finished with minimalist, half-cylinder aluminium pulls and natural wood inner drawer panels. Choose from Tylko’s classic shades or mix and match from a palette of white, midnight blue and terracotta. I’m a big fan on the mint colour with forest green edges.

Tylko shelves start from around the £500 mark, and you’d be paying upwards of £1,000 for a wall of storage, available from Tylko.com

Images courtesy of Tylko

3. String System
You’ve probably heard about String furniture before – they’re a Swedish design company that produces a lightweight, modular shelving system, originally designed by Nils and Kajsa Strinning in 1949. Instantly recognisable and firmly in place as a design icon, String shelves were revolutionary because they were affordable, flat-packed, easy to transport and quick to assemble.

It’s enduring popularity and timeless appeal is likely down to it being a system that can grow with the owner. Today there’s endless configurations and additions, from side panels, cupboards and cabinets, to drawers, writing tables, coat racks and hooks, in an array of colours. The String System really could work in any room in the house.

This year marks String’s 70th anniversary and for 2019 they’ve introduced a new beige colour (didn’t I tell you beige interiors were in…) as well as a new outdoor collection made of a long-lasting galvanised material.

Starting from £83.00 for a shelf and £44 for a side panel. The String pocket shelf is priced at £126. Available from Skandium. 

Image credit: string^®©, styling: Lotta Agaton, Photography by Marcus Lawlett

4. 606 Universal Shelving System by Vitsœ
The 606 Universal Shelving System by Vitsœ is another classic – if you know anything about design you’ll have heard of this one. It’s in the permanent collection of the MoMA in New York. And it’s a design I’ve always admired and thought, ‘when I grow up I’ll have a Vitsœ shelving system’ (I am grown up but maybe I don’t always feel it!). It’s an investment buy that will hold its value.

Designed by Dieter Rams in 1960, the 606 Universal Shelving System an adaptable system that grows with your needs. So you can start with one shelf and expand it to form a library.

The base of the 606 shelving system is the aluminium E-Track, from which all shelves, cabinets and tables are hung from, using clever notched pins instead of tools and screws. Units come in two bay widths and there’s three interchangeable structures – wall mounted, semi wall-mounted and compressed between floors and ceilings. The system has a lightweight expression thanks to its slender yet sturdy powder-coated, laser-cut steel shelves. You can choose from six, simple colours.

The most appealing part perhaps is that Vitsœ deals directly with customers. As part of the service you get your own ‘planner’ who will help plan your system online and the loading of it, by phone or face to face so no detail goes unnoticed.

Starting from £55 for a shelf and £30 for the E-Track, from Vitsœ

Image credit: Vitsœ

5. Stacked shelving system by Muuto
Stacked is a versatile shelving system designed by Julien De Smedt for Danish brand Muuto. It’s made up of modular cubes – in white, light grey, grey and oak – that can be wall-mounted or connected with special Stacked clips. The coloured cubes are made of MDF pieces, glued together and painted with three layers of PU lacquer, while the oak cubes are composed of MDF with oak veneer. You could use a couple of cubes to create a display for books or combine a few on legs to form a sideboard. There’s also the options of adding door modules, so you can hide away any clutter.

Cubes start from £119, available at Skandium

Images courtesy Muuto

6. Montana System by Montana
I introduced Montana here on the blog last year after I visited their showroom in Copenhagen (see the post here). Montana is a family-owned Danish design company founded in 1982 by Peter. J Lassen. With a passion for simple, functional design, he developed the Montana System – a modular flexible furniture system made up of 36 basic modules that can be combined and arranged in endless possibilities.

‘Our philosophy is freedom, freedom in the sense that you as a human being want to express yourself in the things you have in your home. The Montana System is not a fixed thing, it can be big, it can be long, it can be 42 different colours, it can be whatever you feel like. It’s creativity. And it’s also very much what you put in it, what is your story?’ said Joakin Lassen, Peter’s son and CEO of the company.

Made from sustainably, water-based lacquered MDF, the basic modules come in four depths with a range of components and accessories that you can add on – legs, rails, plinths, castors and so on. They have ready-made solutions or you can customise your own – creating everything from sideboards and shelves, through wardrobes and shoe cabinets, to bedside tables and chest of drawers.

Starting from £429 for a shoe storage unit or show shelving unit, available at Skandium 

Images courtesy of Montana