A Few Simple Parts and One All-Purpose Tool: Endlessly Changeable Storage Furniture from Aalo

Think of this: You’re moving apartments. Instead of lugging your heavy bookshelf through tight hallways and down narrow stairs, and paying a moving company to schlep it across town, you simply disassemble it into a little pile of lightweight pipes and fittings, carry them with you in a tote bag, and, when you get to your new place, reassemble it in whatever shape and style you wish to suit your new place.

This is newly possible thanks to Aalo, a modular storage line by designer Sejun Park (a former mechanical engineer for Toyota and Lexus) that makes it easy to create and change your storage furniture, depending on your needs. The line echoes the trend of pipes-based DIY furniture—with a sophisticated twist: Aalo’s parts are made of lightweight aluminum fittings with a neutral, powder-coated finish, all interchangeable and connectable to the next.

Here are some of our favorite storage pieces on offer, all built from a series of fittings and customizable with the purchase of more. Also possible: Buy somebody else’s invention, or build something entirely new from the company’s “DIY” section, where fittings are available for a couple of dollars each. The possibilities are endless.

N.B.: The first preorder run of Aalo’s designs has sold out, but keep an eye on its website in May for another batch.

More endlessly customizable options we like:

• The Ordered Office: Modular Plywood Storage from Opendesk
• High/Low: Wall-Mounted Midcentury Modular Shelving
• Genius Modular Household Storage from Montana of Denmark