IKEA Just Dropped the Best Tiny Kitchen Find Ever (It’s Like 2 “Perfect” IKEA Favorites Had a Baby!)

published Sep 25, 2024
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Bloomington, Minnesota/USA. August 5, 2018. The exterior of an Ikea store in Minnesota.
Credit: Jeff Bukowski/Shutterstock

Choosing furniture for small spaces is hard — especially for areas that need to prioritize functionality, like kitchens. I’ve always been impressed with IKEA’s offerings for tiny kitchens (and the hacks you can do with them), but they’ve just released a new kitchen piece that I think blows all the rest of them out of the water. The new RESARÖ drop-leaf table is going to be a go-to for apartment renters and anyone else with a cramped kitchen. Here’s why.

My small kitchen superhero when I lived in a tiny New York City apartment was the BEKVÄM kitchen island, which I used to store glasses, towels, and other small items. But the one thing it didn’t have (and I desperately needed) was a way to use the surface for dining. I was unable to fit a table in my small kitchen, and so I ate all my meals on the couch or at my desk. Dreamy, I know!

The BEKVÄM island fits perfectly in this studio apartment kitchen (which is much more stylish than my old kitchen was!).

I eyed the NORDEN gateleg table, which collapsed for storage, but I simply didn’t have room for both items in my so-small-the-oven-door-didn’t-open-all-the-way kitchen.

The brand-new RESARÖ, though, is like if the BEKVÄM and the NORDEN had the most perfect baby. There’s open storage for glasses and such — and unlike the slatted shelves of the BEKVÄM, these are solid surfaces for stability — and there’s a collapsible leaf at table-height with room enough for one person to sit down for a meal (or two to sit for coffee). Not to mention, you can expand the island-height surface with a second drop-leaf. And unlike the NORDEN, it also has wheels — the furniture equivalent of “it has pockets!”

Love the functionality, but not sold on the plain wood finish? Great news. The solid pine construction makes this piece totally hackable with paint, stain, and more (think: hooks for cups, a towel rod, and more).

I’ve since moved out to the Midwest where I am fortunate enough to have space for a whole dining table, but I sure do wish the RESARÖ had been available back when I didn’t. This brilliant multi-use island might be one of the best small kitchen pieces IKEA’s released in years.