In 1969 the Rothschild bank in Paris ordered 600 workstations, and that order is where series production of USM Haller began. The system had been worked out in Münsingen, Switzerland, by the architect Fritz Haller and the engineer Paul Schärer Jr., first for the company's own offices. I like that origin. It was never meant as a statement piece. It was storage built to behave like architecture.

What defines it is easy to say out loud. USM describes a chrome-plated ball with six threaded holes that connects chrome-plated steel tubes, then adds sheet steel panels, powder-coated in various colors. Architectural Digest points to rich-colored sheet metal panels surrounded by chrome joinery as the defining elements. That is the detail a USM Haller dupe has to get across a room, and it is what this edit looks for: pieces from other labels that share the colored steel, the clean box shape and the modular spirit. These are alternatives, not the original, and I would say so plainly.

Start with the media consoles, because October is when the TV gets used again. The Aiasuit in mustard yellow has perforated steel doors on slim painted legs, and the Sabatino from Trent Austin Design is a yellow three-door cabinet in the same bold spirit. The Williston Forge container cabinet in red sits on casters with a black top, which gives it a color-block look. For a quieter room, the Abel in matte black has louvre vents, and the AllModern Level in blackened bronze is just a slim steel tube frame with two open shelves.

My tip: measure your TV's width and the console's width before anything else, then run a hand along the door edges. Powder-coated steel should feel smooth and even at the corners.

Panels are what make a sideboard read as colored steel rather than painted furniture. USM lists 14 standard colors, and a look-alike does not need that many, but it does need one flat, even color with no visible brush or drip. That is the thing I would check on every piece in this group.

The Wilkesbarre in orange is a powder-coated steel two-door sideboard on slim legs, and the Alleyne from 17 Stories is the pink one, with louvered vents. The Latitude Run 32 inch locker-style sideboard in orange is a lockable three-door version, and the Venka in pale blue has vents on the doors too. For black, the Rebrilliant metal storage cabinet is a plain two-door box, while the Ebern Designs entryway sideboard in carbon steel has arched glass doors. Jamie Young's wide iron sideboard has glazed door fronts, and the small white Ebern Designs buffet has two doors and removable shelves.

Picture one of the orange ones at the end of a hallway with a stack of books and a ceramic lamp on top. It only needs one other color nearby to look deliberate, a sage wall or a gray rug.

In the store or at home, close every door and look at the gaps. They should be even top to bottom. Open the door and check that the hinge side does not rub.

What I would skip: the glass-fronted sideboards if the color block is the whole point, since you will see everything inside.

Dwell describes Haller's steel panel and chromed hardware construction as easy to recognize, and that is the useful lesson for steel cabinets: the silhouette does most of the work. A tidy box on slim legs with flat doors will read right even before you get close.

The Ebern Designs steel cabinet in orange has perforated panels, and the Gioia from Hashtag Home is black with louvered vents. Green is the group's best color. The 17 Stories locker cabinet is a sage green at 39.37 inches wide, the Trent Austin Design two-door cabinet is olive and stands 40 inches high, and the Inbox Zero cabinet is olive too, with an adjustable shelf. George Oliver's locker cabinet in pink is the loud one. Latitude Run's tall black double-door cabinet has a magnetic mesh door insert, and the Room Essentials rolling cabinet in chalk white has two glass-panel doors and locking casters.

I would put two green ones side by side in a bedroom for a quiet wardrobe wall, or keep one orange cabinet in an entryway for gloves and scarves as the weather turns. Before buying, lift the adjustable shelf out and see how it seats, and tap a door panel to hear whether it is thin or firm.

What I would skip: casters on a thick rug, because a rolling cabinet will want a hard floor to stay put.

A bedside table is the smallest way into this look. Ben Ganz, a designer who has worked with USM, told Architectural Digest that steel is the most democratic of metals, and a nightstand is where that comes through: strong, plain and easy to live with. Measure your mattress height first and aim for a top that sits level with it.

Most of these keep the steel and the color but not the chrome ball, so choose by finish. The Zander from Steelside is red powder-coated steel with a perforated door and an open shelf. The Wrought Studio locker nightstand is pale pink, and the Katarra from Williston Forge is navy and 26 inches tall with a lock. The 17 Stories nightstand is black powder-coated steel with a door and open shelf, and the Julina is black metal with a single drawer, 24 inches tall. If you want something nearer the chrome, the silver Berkely has two riveted drawers and the Rylan is a silver iron one-drawer on splayed legs. The Sabian in black iron has three drawers and gold knobs.

I would pair the red one with white sheets and a single brass lamp, and the navy one with a gray wool throw. Pull each drawer all the way out and let it go; it should run straight and stop cleanly.

What I would skip: a perforated or louvered door if you keep a lamp cord behind the table, since the cord will show.

Pictet's piece on USM notes that the ball joint lets the system be altered or extended while keeping its robustness. That is the question to put to any shelving here: can it grow, and does it stay square when it does. Read the product page for add-on parts and check whether the frame is steel rather than a thin tube.

The ClosetMaid step bookcase is a black steel frame with five shelves and wood-look boards, and the ClosetMaid six-cube bookcase in weathered gray is the one to start small with. The Ebern Designs three-tier tower has a chrome-look iron frame, the closest thing here to the polished tube. AllModern's Level etagere is black steel with asymmetric shelves, and Blu Dot's Happy Day is low, with a putty steel frame and walnut shelves. On the wall, the CB2 Stairway is a tall black metal ladder bookcase and the Tesso is brass. The Room Essentials rolling bookcase in chalk white is the easy small one.

Picture a run of records and art books on the Happy Day shelving, a plant at one end, a color-block cabinet from the earlier groups below. That mix is what makes a room feel collected rather than matched.

Before you load it, check that each shelf sits level and that nothing wobbles at a corner. Wall-mounted pieces need studs, so read the mounting notes first.

What I would skip: wall-mounted shelving in a rental, if you cannot put holes in the wall.

I would pick the detail first. If the polished chrome is what you love, look at the silver tower and the silver nightstands. If it is the color, go for a flat orange, green or pink cabinet and let it carry the room.

Then I would work from the largest piece down: the media console, a cabinet, one nightstand, then the shelving. Add one at a time and keep the color count low, two at most, with black or white as the quiet note.

Six hundred workstations started all this in 1969. A single orange cabinet in the hallway is a more modest start, and I think it earns its place. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together The Ottoman With Storage Is The Hardest Working Seat In The Room.