Living in a loft or a tiny house? Save space with compact staircases, built-in storage, narrow ladders and lots of other features designed just for these occasions. Learn how to combine two or more functions to make the most of your floorspace and your tiny home will suddenly feel more spacious and a lot more comfortable.

Multifunctional furniture is the best for small spaces. Take this bookcase for example. It doubles as a ladder and because of the similarities in design the two seamlessly work great together. You just have to find the right place to install it.{images byWorkstead}.

A great way to double your space in a room is with a loft bed. Underneath, you can have a work area or a cozy sitting area. Either way, you can install a compact ladder on the wall and perhaps even use it as a shelving unit.

Staircases, no matter how big or small, are excellent for hiding secret storage inside them. You can either have pull-out drawers under each step or access the compartments from the side. It’s always great to have extra storage, especially on the hallway.

Be creative. In your living room, you can use the entertainment unit to access the loft space above. It’s all about choosing the right design for the bookshelves. Who needs staircases when you can use the already-existing furniture?{image byMark Frazerhurst Architect}.

As for staircases, if you have to have one, at least integrate it into the overall design in a harmonious way. This one, for example, fits perfectly in this particular setting and the lighting puts it over the top.

Let’s go back to multifunctional designs. Here’s a very interesting bookcase with shelving that also serves as stairs. An ingenious design for an open-space loft and a great way of squeezing in some extra storage without making it seem out of place.

Spiral staircases are the perfect type for small spaces. They can be extremely compact and can fit in any tiny corner. Also, they usually feature graceful and beautiful designs and can add a sophisticated and sculptural look to the room.{images fromDelphine Maumot}.

A simple design with three different functions. This is a combination of stairs, storage and seating, a lovely nook that connects the interior space to the outdoor terrace and a great way to add some extra storage in an unexpected place.

And speaking of triple duty designs, here’s another one. A modern and simple staircase extends its first two steps into a sofa with built-in side table and a cleverly integrated storage compartment underneath. A design that’s continuous and very ingenious.

Such a design would work perfectly for hallways and entryways. By adding wooden storage directly underneath the suspended staircase you get to save tons of space. The built-in wardrobe/ closet is the best part of this design.

And here’s another example of how great multifunctional staircases can be. This one doubles as a bookcase and also has a built-in slide and kids aren’t the only ones who enjoy using it. You can use the stairs as a reading nook. They’re quite comfortable in fact.

Tight spaces bring out the creativity in people. Take this place designed by ALTS Design Officefor example. The storage cubbies are placed in such a way to form a staircase that leads up to the loft bed and the desk has been cleverly linked to the other set of stairs and built around the support beam.

This staircase designed by Dutch designerMieke Meijerhas two sections. The lower part includes an integrated desk which you have to climb over to reach the suspended upper section. Both parts also include storage and shelving. The whole structure was built of oak and black steel and has a unique geometric design.

Using the stairs to hide pull-out drawers for storage is actually rather common and an excellent idea if the stairs are huge, like these ones. Just look how much storage space you can include in the design, enough for your entire book collection and board game set.

There are tons of ways in which you can make the most of your staircase by also including storage. This one has a very interesting and sculptural design featuring open shelves that are actually the continuation of thefloating steps. They wrap around the wall and look very natural.