IDYLLIS ITALIAN STUDIO STUFFS STORAGE IN THE FLOOR

There’s a tendency for small-space designers to go high with storage. And while this is often the best solution, health it’s not the only one. This 377 sq ft studio retreat by Italian firm Studioata is a nice example of how storage can be built underfoot as well as overhead.

The studio, which measures 377 sq ft, is built into a hillside in Alassio, Liguria in northern Italy. In fact, the studio’s stepped design follows the slope of the hill, with a bedroom sitting at top, a kitchen in the middle and a lounge area at the bottom. The two steps separating the bed from lounge are packed with function: the first with a hiding kitchen and the second with drawers and underfoot storage containers.

There are a few good reasons why architects don’t design storage under the floor: you must engineer doors that can support the weight of what’s going on above; some people might not like crouching down to get their stuff (though I’d argue it’s easier than getting stuff from up high); and in most situations, adding storage volume down low requires either elevating the whole floor to make a continuous plane or intruding into whatever’s happening below your unit (neighbors, a cellar, etc). But where it makes sense, like here, it makes a lot of sense.

Via Small House Bliss