All the talk about the necessity for creative storage solutions in tiny houses is true. I have had to use some innovative thinking for a challenging storage project I’m working on. A friend has a small home (about 700 square feet) with tiny rooms. The only storage areas are a four-foot-wide closet in her bedroom and a little nook under the stairs on the main floor. This is an issue for someone who likes clothes, shoes and purses!
Bedroom and Closet
We are trying to work magic upstairs in her small bedroom and even smaller home office. In the bedroom, we plan to cut an opening under the eaves in the wall next to the closet and tuck a drawer unit in there. I’ve done that once before, so I know it works.
Then we’ll revamp the closet interior with a new shelving system. Right now, there are two hanging sections and some wasted space above and below. So we will use the vertical space by building a double hanging section for shorter clothes and an area for longer clothes next to it. Unfortunately, by adding a drawer unit, we lose some hanging space. And I still haven’t been able to make any room for the shoes. So, the trusty under-the-bed shoe storage bags will be a must in this situation. Even though I hate putting things under the bed, it’s a good option for small spaces. There’s almost always a compromise.
Home Office
Next, we have to turn our attention to the home office. My friend has a small antique dresser on one wall in the office. We will move it elsewhere, then we’ll have about six feet of wall space to work with. In our effort to make more hanging space for clothes and the bins (previously stored in the bedroom closet and no longer fit on the top shelf), we chose IKEA Pax cabinets. We chose the 23-inch deep cabinet that is 40 inches wide. Then we created a section for long-hanging clothes. We installed cubbies for t-shirts above and shelving above that.
Next to that, we put a cabinet that is 20 inches wide and only 14 inches deep. Since it’s right next to the door, we didn’t want to block it off too much. It has shelving above and rollout drawers below. The small cabinet has a mirrored door which takes care of the need for a full-length mirror. The other cabinet has gorgeous white Vinterbro doors that I love so much. I think many other people love them, too, since they are frequently out of stock.
We hope that we can store some of the off-season clothes in the home office cabinets along with rarely used shoes and all the purses. I believe a small purse purge might be necessary, and maybe a few more shoes could go too. I’m just saying, the less stuff you have the easier it is to get and stay organized. I know, I know, I’ve said it so many times before, but I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.
Tell me about creative storage solutions you’ve had success with.