Our 5 Favorite Ways to Turn Wasted Space Into Storage

Spring is right around the corner! Now is the perfect time to complete those indoor projects you have been knocking around in your brain. Many of us are already working on home organization since it's a popular New Year resolution. The largest obstacle to getting your house organized is simply space. We've all heard the organizational rule 'everything has a place and everything IN it's place'. It's hard to accomplish the latter if you don't have enough SPACE! Maybe, the issue is that you simply aren't maximizing the space you have. We've combed the internet for our favorite ideas and outlined our top 5 fav's here.

1. Toe Kick Drawers.

This is becoming a trend in new construction homes because it's just SMART! We feel like this is one of those ideas that make you say, "Why didn't someone think of this sooner?" These don't have to be limited to your kitchen. Anyplace where you have cabinets on hard surface flooring would be a great place to install them. (It may not work so well in carpeted rooms due to the higher pile of carpet.) Hire a contractor or do it yourself! Here's a link to a DIY tutorial: www.familyhandyman.com

2. Make Your Guest Room Pull Double-duty

Not everyone has a spare room to offer guests, but if you do, installing a Murphy bed in lieu of a traditional bed will open up a ton of space in your room. Go a step farther to save you time when you DO have overnight guests by making sure any furniture (i.e. a desk or storage cabinets) are on rollers so they can easily be rolled out of the way when it's time to pull down your Murphy bed. Hire a contractor or do it yourself! Here's a link to a DIY tutorial: www.decoratingyoursmallspace.com

3. Turn Wall Cavities Into Storage

Were, we cannot stress enough the importance of checking for electrical lines, plumbing, duct work, etc. before you cut into a wall.  Safety first! Having said that, this idea has so much potential! Really! You can add storage, literally, to ANY room. You can add cabinets or plain shelves and dress them up as much or as little as you like.  Hire a contractor or do it yourself! Here's a link to a DIY tutorial: www.instructables.com

4. Roll Out Shelf Unit

There are a TON of variations when it comes to roll out shelving. Most frequently, you see them as a pantry in that small space beside a refrigerator. It made our list because it fixes a big wasted space problem for us. Namely, deep cabinets. Sure, there's a lot of usable space there, but its just not practical. Anything that makes its way to the 'back 40' gets lost, forgotten, or un-used because it's just too hard to get to. Roll-out shelves, in any form, solve this problem. And they can be used nearly anyplace- tall spaces, short spaces, narrow spaces, wide space... kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and living rooms. They can be custom built, purchased pre-made, or you can do it yourself. Here's a link to a DIY tutorial: www.hgtv.com

5. Above Stairs Storage

 

We've all seen tons of under stair storage ideas; drawers, pull-outs, office nooks, coat lockers... THIS is one we haven't seen before though. Sometimes working out ABOVE stairs storage can be tricky due to required header space so that people don't bump their heads on anything when they use the stairs for, well, stairs. Here's a great solution! If you have an open area above your stairs, turn it into a tiny storage room by installing a hinged, drop-down floor! Once again, you could dress this up as much or as little as you like. If the stairs lead to an unfinished basement used primarily for storage then you may not be as concerned about cosmetics. However, if the stairs are in a high traffic area of your home, then you may consider swapping open shelves out for trimmed out cabinets. We would strongly recommend this type of project be done by a contractor. Here's where we found this idea (you know, so you can show your contractor): www.snewpy.com