One of my favorite things in life is finding a fantastic storage item. Those of you who are like me, who are happiest when all things have a designated place (and that place is categorized and maybe even color-coded), probably understand what I’m talking about. For those of you who don’t… just imagine that I’m Monica from ‘Friends’.

When we moved into this loft, I knew I was going to struggle with storage, what with the lack of closets and cabinet space. While we do own a few bookshelves, I personally prefer unsightly items (like cleaning supplies, spare lightbulbs, etc.) to be out of sight, and our shelving is pretty exposed.

Enter these fantastic cubes from IKEA! They’re called TRONES, and they’ve been the perfect solution for my organizational needs around the apartment. One “pack” gives you three squares that can join together horizontally, vertically, or stand on their own pretty much anywhere you want them. With a slim profile (about 7 inches) they can add tons of storage to small rooms like entryways, half baths, or even closets, without making the space seem smaller.

TRONES pair The pair of TRONES I use in my half-bath

IKEA advertised them as shoe storage originally, but you can use them for pretty much anything. The pair I keep in the downstairs bathroom holds everything from spare toilet roll (You can fit a stack of three vertically, and still have two-thirds of the container left) to extra tea light candles. Plus they have flat tops where you can put home decor, essentially serving as floating shelves and subtle storage in one convenient piece!

Things to know:

  • They are plastic, and while that doesn’t bother me, if you’re looking for a more ‘expensive’ feel, these may not be for you. IKEA makes a two- or three-tier vertical shoe cabinet in wood with a similar design (BISSA), but the tiers can’t be separated, making it less useful for small places.

  • You can choose from four colors; black, white, green, and blue. I went with black because it seemed the simplest of the four, but I could imagine having fun with the bright colors for a kid’s room. (These would be fantastic for keeping toys stowed away!)

TRONES Ikea Bright blue! Photo credit: Ikea website.

  • Even though it’s a pretty bulky item, when I had it shipped to me it came via FedEx, with an extremely reasonable shipping fee considering the size. So if you can’t get to an IKEA store, you should still be able to get these delivered without paying the shipping price of heavier furniture items.

  • There are plenty of ways you can customize their look! One great idea would be to lay a finished piece of wood along the top to create a more sophisticated display area. These things come with strong wall fasteners, so a little extra weight shouldn’t overtax them. Another idea would be to paint them to match your color scheme if the given colors don’t quite work for you. I loved this post from Apartment Therapy with lots of TRONES ideas.

The TRONES are pretty much my favorite storage purchase of the last year, and I’m considering buying another pack soon to create a display shelf with organization under my gallery wall. So I highly recommend them!!

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