Inner-city and suburban living is a cramped affair these days. But you don’t need to give up great swatches of real estate for linen cupboards and cluttered shelving. “Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore, storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort needed to get them out,” says de-clutter queen Marie Kondo, the founder of the Kon Mari method of organisation and Author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Her advice? “The essence of effective storage is this: designate a spot for every last thing you own.” Easier said than done? Not with our clever storage hacks! Read on for ingenious ways you can use overlooked nooks and crannies in your home.
The space above doors are almost never exploited. Opt for ones that sit just above the door frame, and you can keep stuff up there you don’t use frequently but don’t want to stash in a more permanent storage location. Perfect for bathroom towels, filing and even winter-to-summer shoe boxes. apartmenttherapy.com
While stairs take up a vast amount of space, they also have plenty of storage potential. Open storage, like bookshelves or a wine rack can be as visually pleasing as they are practical. You could even squeeze in a window seat or small armchair for a cosy reading nook. Having drawers fitted into a few of the biggest stairs will give you room to store all of those bits and bobs that eat up far more space than they should (think shoes, books and electronics). Kevoin.com
The skinny space between your fridge and the wall is prime real estate, believe it or not. A narrow, tall sliding drawer can house all your canned goods and spices. Best of all, no losing the oregano at the back of the pantry. Diypassion.com
A shallow, long window seat is a great way to gain seating without sacrificing the floor space a three-seater would require. Turn the cushioned top into a hinged lid, and you have storage the length of your living room, too. www.ramblingrenovators.ca
Be creative and make use of your wall and ceiling space. String fairy lights in your bedroom instead of using a standing lamp, install a low floating shelf by your bed instead of a bedside table, hang pots and pans to free up scarce cupboard space. Stacking objects up and down, rather than across the room saves space and can make a house feel more like a home. Removeandreplace.com
If you only have room for one storage unit in your living room, make sure it works hard for you. A shallow shelving unit across an entire wall can be used as a bookshelf and to store glassware and knicknacks, as a TV storage unit, and even as a small study desk. That’s a lot of love from just one wall. Sitehomedesign.com
Bathroom cavities can create pockets of storage without any bulk. A shower recess is handy to hold shampoo and soap, while one above the sink can hold a mirror-fronted storage cabinet that’s flush with the wall. Brennajournalbathroom.listotix.ru
Controversial… but clothes storage doesn’t necessarily have to be in the bedroom. If your bedroom is more mini than master and you have a corridor nearby, consider utilising that as a place to put wardrobes. You could cover it with a barn door for that urban/farm-barn feel, or simply mirrored sliding doors to help open up the space visually. Theurbaninterior.co
IKEA’s Lack shelf makes great use of empty corners. Living room, bedroom – wherever you could do with some more storage, this tiny hard-working shelf is your new best friend. Ikea.com
Clearing as much floor space as possible is a great one to make a room look bigger. Floating bathroom cabinets have long been popular, but you can apply the same design idea to bedside tables, shelving, cantilevered stairs – you can even float your toilet. A compact wall-hung loo with a concealed cistern removes visual clutter and helps to ensure as much of the floor as possible is visible. Apartmenttherapy.com
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