Storage Solutions

Tip No.132: Expand the Capacity of a Small Room

A small space requires a creative approach to storage. Experiment and have some fun before committing to a layout: You can always move furniture pieces back if they overwhelm rather than improve the space, banish table skirts if they create visual clutter rather than curing it, push beds back against the wall. But when an idea works, it can make a small space both look and function better.

Steps

1. Take advantage of the space in the middle of a small room. A pedestal table or oversize ottoman in a small living room may actually make the room look larger while providing a place to pile books and magazines or read the newspaper.
2. Select a great-looking screen to hide unsightly storage cartons or a commercial clothing rack in a closet-deficient room. Elegant Japanese shoji screens partition a room while still letting light through. In a small dressing area, a screen outfitted with fabric pockets on one side will hold stockings, socks, scarves, belts or jewelry.
3. Float a bed away from the bedroom wall to create a dressing area. The back of the headboard creates a new partial wall to place a chest of drawers or other storage piece against.
4. Sacrifice a closet to gain better-organized storage space. Sometimes you can make better use of the square footage a closet consumes by removing the doors and fitting out the space with an entertainment center, a bulletin board and desk, or a pair of chests with shelves hung above them.
5. Sew a skirt for a table. Stack puzzles and games beneath a table in the family room or store seldom-used platters and linens in cartons beneath a skirted side table in the dining area. In a bedroom, a round, draped table can serve as a nightstand, concealing a set of hand weights or books underneath, or a large rectangular table can serve as a dressing table with storage space for out-of-season clothes underneath its skirt.

Who Knew?

Purchase ceiling tracks for curtains at a hospital supply store.