Storage Solutions

Tip No.131: Capture More Storage Space

Valuable storage potential lurks in nooks and crannies, corners and dormers, wide hallways and the shallow spaces beneath beds. Look carefully at every room and passageway in your home to discover new storage possibilities. Here are a dozen suggestions to spark your creativity.

Steps

1. Choose furnishings with storage in mind. Coffee tables with shelves, side tables with drawers, ottomans with lids that lift to reveal storage space underneath are time-honored ways to sneak additional storage into small rooms.
2. Examine your entryway. If there’s room for any furniture, add a chest of drawers, hutch or a sideboard. Mount a trio of long, low shelves along one wall. Fill with covered baskets interspersed with favorite collectibles.
3. Harvest space from your hallways. A wide hallway can fit a drop-leaf table alongside a chair for sitting and sorting, or tucked in at the end.
4. Put the area beneath a staircase to work. Furnish it with a writing desk and slim chair, build in deep drawers, or outfit the space with shelves. Install lighting to accent collectibles.
5. Hang small, triangular cabinets in a bathroom corner for towels and toiletries. Tall corner cupboards utilize unused space in the kitchen and hallway, too.
6. Add a window seat. Put a cushion over a hinged lid, or leave the area under the seat open and stash magazines, books and throws in deep baskets.
7. Replace your kitchen table with a banquette. Built-in storage benches hide large appliances and bulk supplies. Hang shelves above head height in the banquette area for vases and cookbooks. Add a groove an inch or two away from the wall to display decorative plates and platters.
8. Eke out more attic space by framing in a table under the eaves. Don’t bother with back legs; just fasten the back side of the table to the studs. Place lightweight items—garment bags, duffels and sleeping bags—on top and stow heavier pieces underneath.
9. Store bedding in plastic bins that slide under the bed. TheContainerStore.com, StacksAndStacks.com and other retailers offer a wide range of storage solutions.
10. Build a simple rolling drawer large enough to hold a twin-size mattress and slide it under a child’s bed to create a trundle for pals to sleepover. Or, remove the mattress and set up your toddler’s train set inside for accessible fun that rolls away.
11. Mount casters on the bottom of drawers rescued from an old bureau and slide out-of-season clothing, extra blankets, toys and art supplies under a bed.
12. Use a tansu or two to divide a room. These handsome Japanese chests are available in a vast variety of sizes and shapes; all have a multitude of drawers and add considerable storage capacity.

Tip

Make the area beneath a bed accessible with large, lined baskets on rollers. At the foot of the bed, use a trunk or big rectangular wicker hamper to store extra pillows and other bedding