By simplifying users’ access to high-level storage and additional mezzanine levels, safe and comfortable interior ladder systems multiply the amount of usable space around the home.

A scene-stealing red track ladder allows the reading room of Zosia’s House dress head to toe in books, without feeling overbearing. Photo: Kroniki.studio

How to reach high-level functionality with interior ladder systems | Nouveautés

A scene-stealing red track ladder allows the reading room of Zosia’s House dress head to toe in books, without feeling overbearing. Photo: Kroniki.studio

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Hidden in plain sight right above our heads, there’s around 50-150cm of wasted space going unused and unnoticed. Those hard-to-reach spots atop wardrobes, kitchen cupboards and bookcases are reserved only for seldom-used objects, left to be forgotten and gather dust. Helping rooms with high ceilings make full use of their additional height, however, interior ladders allow storage spaces to reach their full potential, while making sure they remain safe, comfortable and easy to access by everyone.

With a lowered floor, the home’s reading room has a little extra height. Even the shelves at the very top are easily accessed with the moveable ladder. Photos: Kroniki.studio

How to reach high-level functionality with interior ladder systems | Nouveautés

With a lowered floor, the home’s reading room has a little extra height. Even the shelves at the very top are easily accessed with the moveable ladder. Photos: Kroniki.studio

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Utilising high ceilings for more storage

Interior spaces blessed with additional height are often unable to utilise it functionally, with the highest shelves stretching far out of reach. At Zosia’s House in Gdansk, Poland, for example, a lowered floor in the home’s reading room afforded the space even more ceiling height. By using an interior ladder and a track, the architects were able to stretch the shelves all the way to the top of the room.

Set on wheels, track ladders like MWE Edelstahlmanufaktur’s Klassik Sliding ladder system (top), and curved track ladders like the Vario system (bottom), glide into place

How to reach high-level functionality with interior ladder systems | Nouveautés

Set on wheels, track ladders like MWE Edelstahlmanufaktur’s Klassik Sliding ladder system (top), and curved track ladders like the Vario system (bottom), glide into place

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Move interior ladders smoothly on straight or cornering tracks

Installing a track as part of an interior ladder system such as MWE Edelstahlmanufaktur’s Sliding system not only gives the ladder crucial support, holding it securely against the wall, but also allows it to be repositioned smoothly and effortlessly using lockable wheels at floor level, too. By installing curved corner cracks, meanwhile, such as in MWE Edelstahlmanufaktur’s Vario ladder system, users are able to move a ladder from wall to wall, without ever leaving the security of the track.

No track? No problem. Trackless ladder systems like MWE’s Positionable system sit securely on protective felt pads

How to reach high-level functionality with interior ladder systems | Nouveautés

No track? No problem. Trackless ladder systems like MWE’s Positionable system sit securely on protective felt pads

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Trackless ladder systems

For users without the ability to fix a track to the wall of existing storage securely, however, trackless ladder systems such as MWE Edelstahlmanufaktur’s Positionable ladder are still able to provide a strong and secure connection to walls or units. Protective pads on the ladder serve both to hold it securely in place when under the weight and imbalance of use, and also protect the surface from scratches and scrapes.

The Hook system from MWE can simply be pushed back towards the wall or shelving, to take up less space when out of use

How to reach high-level functionality with interior ladder systems | Nouveautés

The Hook system from MWE can simply be pushed back towards the wall or shelving, to take up less space when out of use

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Space-saving vertical standing ladder systems

For all the extra vertical space interior ladder systems open up for storage, having a ladder point out into the middle of a room is not a fair exchange for small spaces. MWE Edelstahlmanufaktur’s Hook ladder system rectifies this issue by designing a ladder and track system that supports itself with hooks rather than runners. This means the slim ladder can simply be pushed up against the wall when out of use.

Step ladders seem like an extra chore to fold and store, but Magis’ Flò stool combines designer looks with height, and folds 100mm flat

How to reach high-level functionality with interior ladder systems | Nouveautés

Step ladders seem like an extra chore to fold and store, but Magis’ Flò stool combines designer looks with height, and folds 100mm flat

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Step stools: a small ladder solution

If there is not enough space to permanently position a ladder system against a storage wall, another option is a light and moveable step stool. The issue the majority of step stools have, however, is that they’re either too low to reach high enough, or too large to keep in any available space nearby. MagisFlò step stool gives an extra 700mm of height from its top step, includes a safety bar to lean against and folds down to just 100mm to fit snugly in a gap or against a wall.

Adding a few extra vertical rungs, MWE’s Tangens ladder offers an extra bar to hold onto at the top

How to reach high-level functionality with interior ladder systems | Nouveautés

Adding a few extra vertical rungs, MWE’s Tangens ladder offers an extra bar to hold onto at the top

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Ladders with extra height above the top step

In spaces with extra-large ceilings, vaulted ceilings or in double-void storeys, however, there may be even more height available. For these, extra-large interior ladders like MWE Edelstahlmanufaktur’s Tangens ladder place an extra few feet of handrails onto the top. These allow the user to reach and stand on the very top rung of the ladder safely by offering a support bar above to pull oneself up and lean against.

The Camden Town Houses uses the former film studio’s height to full effect with two interior ladders, one in the fashion studio’s reference library, one in the home’s kitchen. Photos: Jeremy Wilson

How to reach high-level functionality with interior ladder systems | Nouveautés

The Camden Town Houses uses the former film studio’s height to full effect with two interior ladders, one in the fashion studio’s reference library, one in the home’s kitchen. Photos: Jeremy Wilson

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Ladders reaching open or closed storage

For high-volume storage areas, the more vertical space that can be utilised the better. At the Camden Town house, for example, a large reference library reaches up to the top of the location, the former Monty Python film studios. With the use of a barely noticeable library ladder, the reference wall almost doubles in capacity. Meanwhile, setting another ladder back from the edge of high wall cabinets in the kitchen allows the user to swing open a cupboard door, without knocking themselves off.

Connecting a children’s playroom with a private mezzanine level, the interior ladder at the Liang House is made safe with safety bars to hold onto near the top. Photos: Haiting Sun

How to reach high-level functionality with interior ladder systems | Nouveautés

Connecting a children’s playroom with a private mezzanine level, the interior ladder at the Liang House is made safe with safety bars to hold onto near the top. Photos: Haiting Sun

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Safety bars on interior ladders

To reach the very top of the Camden Town house’s kitchen cabinets, the user must stand on the very top step. In these cases, an extra safety bar above the top rung gives extra stability, especially when holding heavy objects. At the Liang House, meanwhile, where a ladder provides an additional play space for children, it’s especially important to have accompanying safety bars on either side, offering a secure hold when climbing up or down from the mezzanine floor.

Part of a childlike ‘den’ space in the centre of a New York apartment, this ladder has slightly wider, wooden rungs for comfort. Photos: Rafael Gomo

How to reach high-level functionality with interior ladder systems | Nouveautés

Part of a childlike ‘den’ space in the centre of a New York apartment, this ladder has slightly wider, wooden rungs for comfort. Photos: Rafael Gomo

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Interior ladders leading to mezzanine floors

Another mezzanine floor was created and served by an interior ladder at the In Plain Sight Apartment in New York, USA. This time, however, the interposition was intended not as a play space for children, but one for adults. ‘The childlike feeling that one has when finding a space that unfolds into a private and personal world’ explains the architects Nakworks. For this ‘grown-ups only’ ladder, it was especially important that the wide wooden treads were comfortable for larger adult feet.

By dictating the order of ascent with curved rungs, the Ladder from Wiener GTV Design adds a narrative to its form and serves more uses than it first appears

How to reach high-level functionality with interior ladder systems | Nouveautés

By dictating the order of ascent with curved rungs, the Ladder from Wiener GTV Design adds a narrative to its form and serves more uses than it first appears

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Using the ladder itself as storage furniture

Sometimes a traditional product can surprise you with the innovative way it’s used. Instead of employing a ladder’s height to reach high storage – and its rungs simply as a way to get there – the Ladder from Wiener GTV Design uses the form itself as storage. It may not be the most functional application, but using steam-bent wood to alternate its curved rungs means the ladder’s curved design complements contemporary interiors.

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