Small living in confined spaces

Object solutions from Müller

Not only in New York or London, but also in Munich, Freiburg, and Berlin, living space is becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. Rents of 15 or even 20 euros per square metre are now far from uncommon. It is therefore no surprise that many people are seeking smaller apartments and that compact living in so-called micro-apartments is very much in vogue—not only among students. Many of these new apartments measure merely 20 to 30 square metres, making intelligent floor planning and maximally compressed interior fittings all the more important.

How this can be achieved was essentially demonstrated by the Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky as early as the 1920s. The “Frankfurt Kitchen” she developed combined a wide variety of functions within a very confined space and later became the model for the modern fitted kitchen. The same fundamental idea underpins the designs by the furniture manufactory Müller: “For us, furniture is always also a problem solver, a source of ideas, and a creator of space,” explains Jochen Müller, Managing Director of the family-run business based in Bockhorn, Friesland, now in its fifth generation. “That is why we frequently develop and manufacture multifunctional and modularly expandable furniture that works not only in large period lofts but also in smaller apartments.”

This high standard is realised, for example, with the well-known STAPELLIEGE, which was designed by Rolf Heide in 1966. It can be stacked easily and space-efficiently, and used as an additional guest bed when required. Equally well-suited for creating space are the ultra-flat secretary desk “Flatmate” by Michael Hilgers and the shelving system “Konnex” designed by Florian Gross, which, thanks to its innovative plug-in principle, can be constantly rearranged and organised. Various individual boxes can be modularly combined to form a bespoke storage solution.

The potential of Small Living for commercial projects is demonstrated by the Corner student housing concept that Müller is currently implementing with the Cologne-based design duo kaschkasch—Florian Kallus and Sebastian Schneider. As early as 2015, the company was also responsible for the interior design of the popular Hamburg hostel “Superbude”: “Even in these individually tailored commercial solutions, the focus is on saving space,” explains Jochen Müller. He knows what he is talking about: “After all, our company was already involved in furnishing the ships of the Imperial Navy in Wilhelmshaven at the end of the 19th century,” he recalls, reflecting on the nearly 150-year history of the furniture manufactory.

Building on this long tradition as a craft-based company, Müller ensures that all furniture is solidly constructed using high-quality and durable materials, and is equipped with extremely robust technical joints: “Because only in this way can we ensure that the furniture remains stable in the long term, even with regular changes of user,” says Jochen Müller.