Space-Saving Fold-Out Tables, Shelves, and Desks from Berlin

Flapps by Ambivalenz fold-down desk and folding chair.

Are we in agreement that the delete button is the best feature on every keyboard? German designer Malta Grieb understands our need for a clean slate. His birch-plywood Fläpps system is composed of shelves, tables, and desks that fold up and down Murphy-bed style, so that when not in use that they all but disappear. In other words, it’s storage you can erase, or, at least, put away.

Produced by Grieb’s aptly named Berlin company Ambivalenz, his versatile designs are ideal for tight quarters—or streamlined rooms—of all sorts. So if you’re a mimimalist and/or short on space but dream of having ample shelving, a desk, kitchen table, and more, take a look at the possibilities.

The Flapps system fold-down shelving by Ambivalenz of Berlin. — Above: Fläpps shelving comes in an array of sizes and shapes and can be hung in tandem: The combination shown here includes four separate three-shelf 80 x 80 Fläpps units (each measuring 80 by 80 centimeters, and, like most of these designs, a mere three centimeters thick); €345 each. One- and two-shelf designs are also available.

Grieb’s “modules” are reminiscent of nautical design, in which every inch is put to good use. In Remodelista: The Organized Home , we feature a boatbuilder’s tactics for small-space living (page 60), including: “Choose furnishings that fold, stack, or disappear.”