In a world where living space is becoming increasingly expensive and coveted, creative solutions for stylish space-saving ideas in small apartments are more in demand than ever. Whether we are talking about dorm rooms, small apartments, or cozy mini-lofts, efficiently using limited space can make the difference between a chaotic home and an inviting one. The good news is that there are a number of ingenious tips and tricks that can help you make the most of every square inch of space, stylishly.

Multifunctional furniture, in particular, can be especially helpful. Beds with integrated storage or dining tables that can be folded up and stored when they aren’t being used are practical, and often attractive, solutions. You’ll also want to think vertically—installing shelves up to your ceiling will allow you to use space that might otherwise be wasted. Furniture choices, however, are just the start. Here are 11 of AD Germany’s top tips that combine style and functionality.

In old buildings and ones that have grown organically—that is buildings that have been gradually converted and adapted over time and where apartments may have been combined while previously unused spaces like attics have been converted into living areas—you’ll often find sloping corners and odd angles. But if you don’t have much space available, don’t let the challenge put you off. With some smart planning, even these areas can be turned into usable and stylish space. The bathroom above is in a compact 431-square-foot attic apartment in Paris. Its designer managed to tuck a vanity unit and a full-sized round washbasin into an awkward corner. Mirrors are mounted above it, following the angles of the wall, giving the bathroom a luxurious hotel flair while also making the tiny room appear larger than it is. The small mosaic tiles are especially suited to small bathrooms and here they are used for every last corner of the shower floor which doesn’t have any right angles.

Some storage solutions like cupboards with glass fronts, exposed clothes racks, and open shelving systems are unfortunately not the best choices for small apartments. A better choice is built-in wardrobes with doors that fill a space from wall to wall and up to the ceiling with storage. Clothes and other items can then disappear behind their understated and uniform fronts. Even better: If you can make changes to the floor plan, don’t leave any walls “unused” in the first place. Instead incorporate storage space directly into non-load-bearing walls. This will also allow you to create wardrobes that can be opened from the rooms on both sides of the wall as it does double duty both as a partition and a storage space.

This luxurious, small kitchen is located in another compact Paris apartment—this one measures only 269 square feet. The kitchen island is made of okoume wood and it’s not only beautiful to look at, but also extremely functional. Along one side of the island, there’s a console table that can be used as a desk or as a small dining table for two to three people. It’s an ideal use of an awkward low area underneath a sloping roof. At the end where it is too low to sit, there’s a cabinet underneath the worktop.

Even in small apartments, it can be useful to separate different functions such as cooking, showering, and sleeping with partitions. To avoid creating a shoebox feeling in these mini rooms, windows or transparent elements assure that every space receives natural light. It was an unusual decision to give some of the precious square feet of this small apartment in Kazakhstan for a laundry room but in order to allow light throughout the unit, a “window” was added to the functional space. It is separated from the kitchen with a metal frame. The designers at Studio Sdelaemremont explained that if the owner’s laundry and suitcases (he travels often for work) remained behind a closed door, the rest of the apartment would immediately appear tidier and more appealing. The door to the laundry room is made of textured glass, so dirty clothes are hidden, but light continues to flow into the apartment.

In Europe, Paris has a reputation as the capital of very small apartments—and the city’s designers are experts at stylish space-saving. In this 344-square-foot home, the kitchenette in the living area is fitted into an alcove next to a cupboard with large panel doors. Behind the doors there is space for an oven, a cooktop, an extractor hood, a tea kettle, and a coffee machine. This little kitchen sits inside an inexpensive and invisible IKEA built-in module. “The built-in module allowed us to focus on the aesthetics of the kitchen, which is completely clad in marble right down to the sink with its bronze fittings,” explain designers Alexandra Bouthier and Alice Lefebvre.

Are you looking for places to add storage space? Starting by taking a look under your seat. A lot of seating, like a stool with a lid or a bench with an open shelf, can double as storage space. The latter can be a particularly cozy solution in an eat-in kitchen and it offers as much storage space as a small cupboard. The space below a window is also often overlooked and left unused. Here too, a bench with drawers (like the one seen here from Reform) provides a practical and homely solution.

When living space is scarce, it can make sense to think in terms of cubic feet rather than square feet. Stacking different functions one above each other instead of next to each other is an approach that will maximize the space you have. This is an especially good strategy in older apartments which often have taller ceilings. There’s often room to add a second level though it will, of course, then have a lower ceiling height. That makes it more suited to serving as a sleeping area, as with this 118-square-foot micro-apartment in Berlin. Access to the mezzanine level is via a staircase with the lower steps being larger so that they can also be used as a workspace or a dining table.

Even in bedrooms with very low ceilings, you can create storage space that’s the equivalent of a large wardrobe by opting for a platform bed. This option is particularly elegant if you paint the bed to match the bedroom walls, for example in a dark blue or, as in the apartment of furniture designer Kilian Schindler, in a fresh lime green—even a bedroom can can have a playful and lively look. Lively does not mean cluttered, however. With a platform bed, objects disappear instantly into the large drawers under the mattress. If you are ready to give your bedroom a new look, a platform bed provides an efficient storage solution and makes a bold and contemporary visual statement.

The first thought when placing furniture in a room is typically to line it up along the walls. However, it can also be a good idea to place the bed a little bit in front of the closet. An extra-tall headboard, like this one in the home of interior designer Lucie Socrates, can act as a room divider. Clothes and other items will be out of sight, and you can create a separate space that almost feels like a luxurious walk-in closet.

Even very, very small rooms or unused corners can offer enough space for a workstation. If, for example, a typical desk won’t fit, an elegant and budget friendly alternative is to have a narrow board run between two walls. It can then serve both a shelf and a desk, as in this project by interior designer Constanze Ladner. For her, a small space doesn’t necessarily mean resorting to smaller details: In this small study she used a wallpaper with hand-sized bumblebees.

As we mentioned in tip 9, sometimes placing furniture a bit out from the edges of a room can be an elegantly different approach. Here that same strategy is carried out in the living room by placing the sofa in front of a bookshelf. This saves wall space and creates a coziness while providing some extra dimension to the room. The curtain in front of the shelf removes visual distraction and can also be used as a form of sound insulation, creating a space that is more peaceful and quiet.