serious storage solutions
Do you live in a home that has a 3 stall garage, more than 15 kitchen cabinets, a closet in every room, a storage room in the basement, coat closets at every entry including a perfectly placed locker area and an accessible attic? Then you might just want to move along because this space is for those who suffer from SSS...storage shortage solutions.
When buying a home, we tend to look at the pretty things because they are what sells a home. The kitchen, the master bedroom, the foyer, the curb appeal and backyard and how many bedrooms the homes has but there is a reoccurring theme when you get into that cool new home...where am I going to put my decorations, my kids school keepsakes, my wedding dress, my hiding spot for Christmas or birthday gifts, my 30 pairs of shoes, my once a year used linens, my extra set of dishes for when I host the holidays, my artwork, my high usage items and even some bigger space occupiers, like a faux Christmas tree so it can be easily accessed and not get damaged. Here are some heaping handfuls of inspiration.
The basement...
We live in Michigan, so your basement typically falls under one of these three categories:
wet - dry but questionable with a heavy rain - dry and finished
Of course, basements add so much value to a home. Between the obvious bonus space for parties or kiddos and storage, the solutions to maximize this area of the home is something we find quite intriguing. It's a puzzle that we LOVE to figure out! But naturally, adding storage down here so that the bulk of items can be all together and not take up as much space from other prime real estate areas of your home is very appealing as well.
Under the stairs and attics. Spaces with angles...
Abracadabra...now you see it, now you don't! Angles can feel so limiting. The practical part of our brains will easily talk ourselves out of utilizing these spaces because they are either a bigger project that what we want to tackle, the hardware to get the project done right can be costly and then we ask ourselves "how much space will it gain us anyhow"? Sometimes inches become BIG wins in the storage category. We think these are some majoy maximized angled areas in our book.
Take it from a tiny home...
Tiny homes are the absolute pro-fesh-on-als at maximizing storage opportunities…you clever little homes you! The folks who design and live in these homes are freakishly fantastic at so many things: maximizing their space, taking a major leap in life, let-it-go-ers like no other and gosh darn, they are good at making those homes CUTE! They have some major style and because the space is smaller, often splurging on something is still manageable from a budget standpoint. We look at these homes and are instantly super impressed because we still see a kitchen, bathroom, living room, foyer, loft, bedroom, and your backyard alllllll packed into that 50 SF of space...I mean, if they can do this storage shuffle, then I think us land locked homeowners sure can figure this out too. Am I right?!
Attic oasis...
Design, style, storage, angles, interest. Did anyone else read that like the intro to the movie Chicago with maybe some jazz hands??? Me neither...
Storage doesn't have to be all boxy and practical. Sometimes maximizing storage also highlights a hobby such as a place to go that allows you to have a fun space like a library and a place to store all those books or a craft room. We think this is such a good storage usage of attics! We can get down with over using the mom phrase "don't make me come up there" for a good reason.
Storage furniture 101...
-Murphy beds...these are just so dang cool for the small space but extra bedroom feel. Trundle beds are equally as clever and take care of the monster under the bed issue too.
-Under bed storage can be found using bins, zipped canvas totes and more. Don't think that just because they are stuffed under the bed, they can't have a little design to them too.
-Ottomans, coffee tables and end tables add extra seating, storage for blankets and pillows, decorative space and a practical function to place items on them.
-Benches...or in an example here, lateral files and desk storage when you don't have a home office.
-Dressers and armories are no longer just for clothes. Use a mini dresser for a night stand. It gains you storage and gives more weight to the room.
-Medicine cabinets and more don’t have to be basic. Sometimes using them for a purpose other than the obvious can add GREAT value and even work better for the scale of storage too!
Custom built-ins...
If you build it, they will come. When all else fails, bust out the hammer and build in storage. Something about adding built-ins really allows you to put your own stamp on your home.