Empty shelves can look strange or sad, leading us to try and fill them up … sometimes too fast. The solution? Modular fold-down wall shelves.

These work for books, but are more meant for odds and ends or decorative touches – the quick-but-temporary cleanup we do from time to time between bigger organizational efforts or the elements we want to show off.

Eeva Lithovius suggests that the shelf can serve as a kind of “chaos meter” reflecting its capacity quite openly and letting you know when it might be time to get more shelving … or to toss some things out.