Double Duty Furniture

Apparently we are all living in smaller and smaller spaces, so furniture that does 2 jobs at once would be a good idea right? Here's my pick of some clever pieces I've found recently:

So your friend is coming to stay but you live in a one bedroom flat, or the kids have come back home (again) and all the bedrooms are full, what do you do? How about a bed that looks like a stool? Now I know what you are thinking, oh yes I remember those - thin, uncomfortable mattresses so you can feel the springs = no sleep. But, not any more, this lovely upholstered stool would look great in most homes right? and it folds out into an extra large very comfortable bed with a proper sized mattress. Pewsey Extra large Bed in a Box, £801 willowandhall.co.uk

You want open plan living but it feels a bit 'too' open, so use a nifty open shelving unit like this one so you can still see through, but it divides up the room. Its also a great place to display your fave accessories.

Division shelving in Nougat and White, £2028 Calligaris

I saw this at Grand Designs Live, what a great idea! Radiators create dead space on walls and not that pretty to boot, so have a radiator table made to fit over the offending article and voila you've got a smart and useful console table!

Radiator table, £147 scumblegoosie.com

This nifty hexagonal shaped side table is made from reclaimed wood so it looks cool, but even better there is a hole in the back to store stuff or it could be a planter!

Mary Rose Hexagon side table or planter, £295, Tobin chair, £1145 number plate cushion, £45

Ok, so I might be pushing the double duty thing a bit, but wouldn't you like to put your shoes in something as beautiful as this instead of throwing them into the bottom of the wardrobe? I saw it at Grand Designs Live last week, as well as the radiator table actually. And you could put other things in it as well as shoes.........and of course you could display things on it too. It was created by Designer Beatrix Ong collaborating with Samuel Chan of Joined and Jointed as a commission for Wallpaper magazine's 2016 Handmade edition.

Shoe Tree, £4675 store.wallpaper.com/handmade

Shoes in the hallway....always a nuisance, they look messy and make the place untidy as soon as you walk in the door, so a shoe store is a great idea, but do you really want to look at them? No? well I don't, so this clever storage unit looks like a neat piece of furniture but the doors reveal fold down racks for the shoes.

NewEst Shoe storage bench, £225 aplaceforeverything.co.uk