What would you do with an extra 5 square metres of space in your own home?

You don’t need to make your home bigger to increase the space you have available. Think for a moment about how many areas of the home go unused: the space under the bed, the corner beneath the stairs, the gap above a cupboard, an empty wall, the back of a door or that one corner that always ends up as a ‘parking spot’ for anything that doesn’t have a place elsewhere. But if you could turn all these ‘lost’ spaces into more useful ones, it would be like gaining a few extra square metres in your very own home. So, what would you do with them? Would you finally create a reading corner? Would you clear your kitchen worktop? Would you find space for seasonal clothes without overfilling your wardrobes? The idea isn’t to find more square metres. It’s to discover the ones you already have, but aren’t using. With smart storage solutions, multifunctional furniture and organising accessories, IKEA helps you turn every ‘dead’ spot into a space that works for you. The staircase that turns things upside down The corner beneath the stairs isn’t simply a place to put a plant and forget about it. It’s valuable space that, with a little imagination and the right choices, can be transformed into whatever you need. Boxes and baskets can turn this tricky area into an organised space for shoes, bags, toys or anything that needs to be close at hand but out of sight. The landing: a space that can become something more The landing, the space you come to when you go upstairs before reaching the rooms, is one of those areas of the home that we often pass through every day without thinking about its potential. Yet with a narrow shelf, a shoe cabinet, a mirror or a smart storage solution, it can take on a new role. It could become a small corner for books, a practical place to store the whole family’s shoes or a space for the things you need but don’t need to keep in the bedrooms. Under the bed: the square metres you don’t see There is space under the bed. We simply don’t usually see it. Boxes and under-bed storage solutions can hold seasonal clothes, duvets, bed linen or items you don’t need every day. This allows you to make use of the lowest part of the room without adding a single piece of furniture. And think about this: the more you store there, the more space you free up in your wardrobes and throughout the rest of the bedroom. Walls: space that doesn’t take up room When the floor is already full, look upwards. Shelves, wall-mounted solutions and hooks make use of vertical spaces that are often left empty. Books, decorative items, everyday objects, bags or accessories can find their place without taking up valuable floor space. The same applies to the back of a door or the small gaps between pieces of furniture. A few centimetres here and a few there can ultimately make a big difference. The kitchen: when the counter-top becomes a workspace again In the kitchen, even a few centimetres can make a difference. Kitchen organisation with internal organisers, drawer dividers, containers, turntables and wall-mounted rails moves items off the worktop and into places where they can really fit. And suddenly, the space taken up by appliances, utensils and food becomes available again for cooking, preparing meals or enjoying a coffee. The 5 square metres are already there Perhaps the extra 5 square metres you need aren’t somewhere outside your home after all. They could be under the stairs. Under the bed. High up on a wall. Behind a door. Inside a corner that, until now, hasn’t had a specific purpose. Smart organisation doesn’t make your home bigger. It expands its possibilities. And when you make use of the spaces that have previously gone to waste, you free up real room for the things you want to do: play, relax, create, cook or simply enjoy a home that works better for you. Find the solutions you need and make room for the things you love at IKEA stores and online.