Material, spaces, thoughts.
Stories from the workshop, material notes, spaces by architects and studios.
KUUDU × Atari
Atari is expanding its European business and has furnished its European headquarters with KUUDU.
Read the reference
KUUDU × Weischer Architekten
A young architecture practice in Münster was looking for a shelf for its new reception, one that stands free in front of the curtains and gives the material samples a stage. It found one at KUUDU.
Drinking Coffee the French Way
At the counter, in the room, on the terrace: in a French café the same coffee can carry three prices, and they have to be posted before you order. Plus the handleless bowl it gets drunk from at home.
Drinking Coffee the Spanish Way
In Spain, how much milk goes in is half the order. On the nine coffees of Málaga, the sobremesa after lunch, and the Coffee Bar at home.
A Minute at the Bar
The Italian espresso is drunk standing up, and the bar is the place a neighbourhood belongs to. What of that fits at home.
Where the First Coffee Stands
A place in the kitchen where the day begins before it gets going. On grinders, cups and the Coffee Bar.
Shelves in the Hallway: Shoe Bench, Shelf Height and Coat Storage in Narrow Hallways
What is left of the hallway when a shelf stands in it, which shoe size fits lengthways on 35 centimetres and how high a shoe bench sits. The half board gets the post.
Styling a Shelf by the Rule of Thirds
A third books, a third objects, a third air: the rule for styling a shelf, in centimetres. Plus three ways to order books, and what each costs you when you look for one.
Which Boxes Fit a KUUDU Bay?
A bay measures 69.5 by 35 centimetres, and you choose the height. Which boxes from IKEA and Leitz fit in, how many side by side, and which stick out.
A Shelf as a Room Divider
A KUUDU stands on its own, as a room divider even in the middle of the room. Two numbers show why it stands: the pull at the top edge and the tipping angle, and both are in your hands, through height, loading and, where needed, an end wall or the ceiling.
How Much Does a Wall Plug Carry?
What books and binders on a board weigh, how many wall mounts a wall shelf gets, what that means per plug, and what a plug holds in concrete, brick and plasterboard according to its manufacturer.
Shelves in the Bathroom: What Humidity Does to Veneer and Aluminium
Whether a shelf of oiled oak belongs in the bathroom depends on humidity, splash water and ventilation. What the material withstands, where it does not belong, and how to tell a bathroom that is suited to it.
How Many Books Fit on a Metre of Shelf, and What Do They Weigh?
Books per board by format, their weight, and how many boards 500, 1,000 or 2,000 books need. Plus the value libraries plan with.
Office Shelving for Binders: How Many Fit on a Board, and What They Weigh
Offices count in binders: binder size, gap height, binders per board, boards per metre of wall. Full binders weigh more than a board carries.
Wall Shelves in the Kitchen: How High, How Deep, and What Steam Does to Them
Where a shelf of oiled oak works in the kitchen, where it does not, and the numbers kitchen planners use for it. And why no wood hangs above the hob.
How Does a Shelf Fit Under a Sloped Ceiling?
Between one and two metres of headroom, the space under a slope counts only half. How to build it out with sections at different heights.
How Deep Should a Shelf Be?
35 or 15 centimetres? What fits on which board, measured once for the common formats.
A Short History of Modular Shelving: 1949 to Today
String, the 606, USM Haller and Montana answered the system question in four ways and left a checklist every newer system should be measured against.
Shelves in Children's Rooms: Reach Heights, Tipping Physics, Montessori
What is documented about kids and shelves: how high children actually reach, why safety bodies insist on anchoring, and what the prepared environment really means.
File Storage, Calculated: Retention Periods, Binder Maths, Running Metres
German retention law fixes the years, DIN fixes the binder. So the shelf question becomes arithmetic: binders per year, times years, times nine per level.
Planning a Room Divider: Sight Lines, Light, Acoustics
Two eye heights decide the geometry, daylight decides the construction, and a full shelf changes how a room sounds without soundproofing anything.
Moving Furniture Without Hurting It: Disassembly, Transport, Rebuild
Label screws by assembly step, pack boards on edge, and give wood a day to acclimatise: the whole craft of moving furniture, in order.
Mounting a Shelf: Wall Types, Anchors, and the Rental Question
Find out what the wall is made of, match the anchor from the manufacturer's table, and know what tenancy courts actually say about drilling.
Understanding Oak: Veneer, Grain, and What FSC Really Certifies
How veneer is made, where it beats solid wood and where it doesn't, why oiled surfaces can be repaired locally, and what the FSC label does and does not claim.
Storing Books: What Libraries Do Differently
Conservators' shelf rules, translated for the living room: upright but never leaning, big books lying flat, and the trade-offs of every ordering system.
Storing Vinyl: Upright, Cool, Properly Weighed
What record archives know about shelves: upright and supported, room climate instead of attic, and the weight math nobody does.
Shelf Heights, Explained: Reach Zones, Book Formats, Gap Heights
Warehouse ergonomics and library standards answer the two questions behind every shelf: which level goes where, and how much air in between.
Caring for Oak Furniture: The Complete Guide
Oak furniture lasts decades with the right care. The complete guide to daily maintenance, deep cleaning, re-oiling, and removing marks. Make your KUUDU shelf age well.
Small Hallway Storage Ideas: Modular Solutions That Adapt
Small hallways punch above their weight. The first thing you see, the most heavily used room in the house. Here's how to make a narrow entryway work harder with modular oak.
Why Modular Furniture Is the Sustainable Choice
Modular furniture is more sustainable than flat-pack. Six reasons why: real wood, repairability, tool-free disassembly, local manufacture, and a real second-hand future.
How to Choose a Modular Oak Bookshelf: A Buyer's Guide
How to choose a bookshelf that actually lasts. A short guide to height, width, configuration, and why a modular oak system outlives every alternative.