This 1960s Townhouse Had an “Awkward” Layout — This IKEA Shelf Solved It
Dividing up space in an open layout can be tricky, but arranging your furniture in just the right way and using some DIY dividing methods (think: foldable screens and hanging wall dividers) can do the trick.
IKEA’s shelving options can also make great room dividers, and interior designer Khadija Drebi’s (@studiodeej) IKEA ELVARLI shelving is no exception. She says her 1960s townhouse when she moved in “definitely felt dated,” and one of the biggest design challenges was dividing the living room and dining room.
“It wasn’t just narrow but also felt awkward with floating furniture,” she says. “So making sure to define distinct areas for living, dining, and a coffee station helped create a natural flow and made everything feel more cohesive.”
The tenants were looking for a renter-friendly solution.
“I needed a subtle way to divide the dining and living areas while also finding a home for our projector,” Khadija adds. “Mounting it to the ceiling felt too harsh and too much like a classroom.” Another one of her concerns was “keeping everything renter-friendly with minimal impact.”
The biggest game-changer in the space can be easily removed with minimal patchwork; it’s the IKEA ELVARLI vertical shelf, which ended up being perfect for positioning the projector at just the right height. It divides the space but still maintains the open flow and makes the 1,100-square-foot space feel larger.
“The freestanding shelves we chose are fully customizable and installed using tension with ceiling screws to keep them securely in place,” Khadija says, adding that the shelving was easier to assemble than she expected.
Keeping the decor minimalist helped the room feel brighter, airier, and more modern.
As for the rest of the furniture in the room, Khadija and her husband mostly turned to Facebook Marketplace. Their decorative baskets and a couple of kitchen finds are from IKEA, but the credenza, Room and Board sofa, Cesca dining chairs, vintage coffee cabinet, and coffee table were all secondhand finds on the social media site.
“This allowed me to save money for key pieces I wanted to invest in, like practical storage solutions,” Khadija says. (And the IKEA ELVARLI cost about $540 — not bad for a piece that totally transforms the room!)
“If you’re dealing with an awkwardly narrow open space and feel like everything’s just jumbled together, I highly recommend going with a vertical storage system,” Khadija says. “It’s a game-changer for smaller apartments! My biggest piece of advice is not to be intimidated by ideas that seem too high-end or custom because there are always renter-friendly solutions out there.”
Inspired? Submit your own project here.