The struggle of modern living is finding places to store all your valued possessions in your home; whether that be clothes, books, pots and pans and so on. Today we all seem to be constantly expanding our wardrobes, acquiring tons of paperwork or collecting more objects and trinkets. It safe to say everyone would benefit from having more room in their house for storage.
One option is completely moving into a new house, but this is not as simple as it sounds and you may just not want to since you’ve made your house a home! So, without moving into a larger home, here are some ways you can maximise the space in your own, loved home, some long-term and some short-term.
Storage Beds for kids
It is true that children always take up space with their toys, books and games and it can seem like everywhere you go in the house you are constantly trying to avoid stepping on a painful Lego piece and tidying up after them.
One of the most genius methods of space maximising storage, that will make any parents life easier are Kids ‘storage’ beds. Here is an example of what you can find on the market:
As you can see there is a diverse range of beds with all different ways to save you space.
The beds have built in cupboards and draws and are elevated off the ground to give extra room underneath the bed, either for another bed – perfect for kids who share a room, or for a desk, a shelving area or toy storage.
If your child would prefer a bed which doesn’t have steps or a ladder in the style of a bunk-bed, something like this would still give you huge amounts of storage to work with.
Storage beds for adults
Getting jealous? You can have these beds too! Double Loft beds are perfect for those with limited space in their bedroom, but still need a desk and large amounts of storage space. These beds can be perfect for those who work from home, but do not have space for a desk in their room or have a home office. They also bring a modern twist to any home.
Add a conversion
For a longer-term solution to lack of storage space, a loft conversion can transform your entire home AND add value! What’s not to love? Almost every house has a loft which can be converted which you can have determined by a professional.
The greatest thing about a loft conversion is that it can be used for whatever you want it to be used for! Depending on the size of the loft, you can turn it into a sizeable extra bedroom which can be used for guests, your children or teenagers, or for yourself. Again, depending on size, you may even be able to create an en-suite in a loft bedroom, adding even more value. Other options for inspirations purposes could include; a kids play-room, a games room, a home cinema, a gym, a library or a home office with the option of a bathroom included.
Space-saving furniture
Mudroom Bench:
A lot of the time, the most cluttered room in the house tends to be the hallway. Shoes, coats, umbrellas, bags all left spread across the floor. If you find this is the case in your house, something like a mudroom bench may be your life-saver! A mudroom bench is a built in bench with flip-top storage, and hooks and shelves for hang up coats and bags. It looks stylish and will protect your hallway from wear and tear, and best of all clutter!
Storage Chest: Alternately you could go for a non-built in option in the form of a storage chest. A storage chest is an attractive and sophisticated form of storage for whatever you want; blankets, spare bedding, your best dinner set. And it can go into any room in the house, or have one in every room if you want and needs must. Top tip: these sorts of pieces often feature in auctions, and can go for very cheap compared to their value!
Wall-hanging TV unit: To maximise floor space, have your TV and TV unit hanging on the wall. Having shuttered over the TV can also be good for a family with children by creating a physical barrier which indicates when it is and isn’t TV time.
On-the-wall Pot and utensil rack:
The kitchen is a room which seems to always be messy, even post-spring clean, as soon as one person’s been in to make a cup of tea it can look as if a bomb has gone off in there! Having a wall hanging shelving unit or rack can save counter space and draw space. Consider a shelf for holding pots and pans, with a vertical slap of wood underneath with removable hooks on to hold ladles, whisks and so on, which more times than not have a hole for a hook in the when you buy them. Some actually already have a hook on the end which means you won’t have to buy or use a hook for those ones.
Or you could try a ceiling hanging rack over a kitchen island to wall space.
Built-in-wardrobe
Get rid of your standing wardrobe and upgrade to a stylish built-in-wardrobe! The best way to increase storage in a bedroom is to build in a custom wardrobe which is the length of the wall. These can also double up and a mirror with one or all the panels being mirrored. You can also customise the it to fulfil all your wardrobe needs and hold all of your things. You can build in a shoe rack, some hooks for bags, one clothes rail above another for organisation of tops and bottoms, and even a formal dress or suit rail which is high enough that your long clothes will not trail on the floor and get creased at the bottom as a result.
Depending on how much floor space you are willing to lose for the sake of sufficient storage, you could create a wardrobe which is ‘walk-in’ which is useful for organisation as you can actual go into the wardrobe to sort it out.
