Small Living Spaces: 6 Tips to Maximize Storage
Posted 02-28-2015 at 03:32 PM by girlpaint
Updated 02-28-2015 at 03:33 PM by girlpaint (added categories)
Updated 02-28-2015 at 03:33 PM by girlpaint (added categories)
Your small home has more storage space than you think. For relatively little money but a lot of common sense and ingenuity, there's space to be found.
Finding storage space in a small home doesn't require remodeling or room additions. Start by getting rid of accumulated stuff. Take a hard look at room space, and buy furniture and storage items that can do double duty.
Here are six no- and low-cost ideas on how to maximize storage that won't empty your savings account:
1. Declutter. It's the first thing architect Sarah Susanka of "Not So Big House" tells clients who talk of expanding their homes. Haven't used something for a couple of years? Pitch it, she says. You'll be amazed at how much space opens up when you do.
Cost: $0
2. Platform and bunk beds. Add space and eliminate a dresser in a small bedroom with a three-drawer or six-drawer platform bed. Find one at a furniture or big department store, and online.
Cost: $225 to $600 and up, queen size
Bunk beds won't have drawers, but you'll save space by stacking beds. And kids love ?em. They come in a variety of styles and configurations. Some will convert to two twin beds.
Cost: $180 to $400 and up
3. Shoe organizers. They're for so much more than just shoes. Hang one in a kitchen closet or pantry, and use it as your small home catch-all for remotes, keys, notepads, cell phones, and chargers, and other household essentials. It'll free up a kitchen drawer or two for other uses.
Cost: Less than $20
4. Toe-kick storage. The space under your kitchen cabinets (http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/s...drawers-020916) is a treasure trove of storage possibilities. Put placemats, napkins, cookie sheets, and how-to manuals there. Hire a cabinet-maker to install them, or request them as a custom feature in a new-cabinet order.
Cost: About $300 per drawer
5. Floor-to-ceiling storage. Furniture-style 6-foot-tall bookcases don't use all available wall space. But extend shelving that extra two feet to the ceiling, and you've got room for a lot more books, knickknacks, or art objects. Home improvement stores have brackets and shelves in a variety of colors and sizes to match your decor.
Cost: Under $200, depending on the space size
Credits:
Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Terry Sheridan
Originally published: January 21, 2011
Finding storage space in a small home doesn't require remodeling or room additions. Start by getting rid of accumulated stuff. Take a hard look at room space, and buy furniture and storage items that can do double duty.
Here are six no- and low-cost ideas on how to maximize storage that won't empty your savings account:
1. Declutter. It's the first thing architect Sarah Susanka of "Not So Big House" tells clients who talk of expanding their homes. Haven't used something for a couple of years? Pitch it, she says. You'll be amazed at how much space opens up when you do.
Cost: $0
2. Platform and bunk beds. Add space and eliminate a dresser in a small bedroom with a three-drawer or six-drawer platform bed. Find one at a furniture or big department store, and online.
Cost: $225 to $600 and up, queen size
Bunk beds won't have drawers, but you'll save space by stacking beds. And kids love ?em. They come in a variety of styles and configurations. Some will convert to two twin beds.
Cost: $180 to $400 and up
3. Shoe organizers. They're for so much more than just shoes. Hang one in a kitchen closet or pantry, and use it as your small home catch-all for remotes, keys, notepads, cell phones, and chargers, and other household essentials. It'll free up a kitchen drawer or two for other uses.
Cost: Less than $20
4. Toe-kick storage. The space under your kitchen cabinets (http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/s...drawers-020916) is a treasure trove of storage possibilities. Put placemats, napkins, cookie sheets, and how-to manuals there. Hire a cabinet-maker to install them, or request them as a custom feature in a new-cabinet order.
Cost: About $300 per drawer
5. Floor-to-ceiling storage. Furniture-style 6-foot-tall bookcases don't use all available wall space. But extend shelving that extra two feet to the ceiling, and you've got room for a lot more books, knickknacks, or art objects. Home improvement stores have brackets and shelves in a variety of colors and sizes to match your decor.
Cost: Under $200, depending on the space size
Credits:
Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Terry Sheridan
Originally published: January 21, 2011
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