Regardless of how tiny your apartment or how large your villa is, there’s always a need for more space! Here are some clever ways to maximise storage space and visually enlargen the size of every single room.
Vacuum bags. Whoever invented them first, deserves a medal! Storing seasonal items or a bedroom set you only use when guests are staying overnight in flat bags that take zero to none space is genius.
Under the bed. This spot is a gold mine of extra space! Invest in high-quality baskets or under-the-bed drawers to keep your winter clothes, shoes or extra blankets and sheets in perfect condition when you don’t need them.
Hooks. As simple as that! Hooks don’t eat up your space but can help with storing stuff that always creates a mess in the closet, kitchen or bathroom. Ditch minimalistic functional hooks for colourful or cool-shaped ones to turn them into a refreshing decor element. If you’re renting, choose magnetic hooks to avoid new holes and long conversations with landlords.
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Drawer dividers. It’s not your drawer that’s too small, it’s how the space inside is organised. Bathroom drawers are the worst! A few creams, cotton buds and three rolls of toilet paper – packed to the gills and looking extremely cluttered! But you might actually only be using 10% of the actual space you have there! Creating extra compartments, shelves and drawer organisers will help keep your belongings, not only in the bathroom, but in every single room in order (think neatly organised socks!) Marie Kondo would pat you on the back.
Bins and baskets. The perfect solution if you have kids! Instead of keeping all the toys on shelves or, more realistically, on the floor, just chuck them quickly into a large and stylish basket. This prevents the room from looking cramped and doesn’t take a lot of your time. Baskets are also great for storing laundry.
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Suitcases. We all own a couple, don’t we? The thing is, we rarely use them between vacations. Instead of just taking up space, suitcases can actually be used to store things you don’t currently need.
Wire shelves. Often used in pantries, these narrow, light shelves are, in fact, a great solution for any other room, where full-depth shelves don’t fit – like your garage, laundry room or utilities room. Need we even mention the closet and storing all your belts and purses there? Lifehack of the day: hang them on the wall behind the door – when the door is opened, you won’t even see them!
Ottoman. A very unfairly underrated piece of furniture! Not only is it multifunctional as it can serve as an extra seat, a foot rest or even a table when a tray is placed on top, but many of them also a have very convenient hidden storage space inside. It’s very easy to move around and you can even place it under a table or hide it in your closet when you don’t need it in a room.
Storage cubbies. Way too often our home office looks like a basic table and chair space without any functional storage space. Unfortunately, this way you always end up being buried under endless paper, pens, sticky notes, bills and other stuff. Almost any table (especially if it’s a proper office desk) is wide enough to fit storage cubbies on top. You’ll still have enough space for your laptop but now will also be able to keep all your paperwork in perfect order. You can even fit a small flower pot or a few photo frames in these cubbies to keep your office cosy and yourself inspired while you work. Here are, by the way, some more useful tips for those who work from home.
Pull-down racks. Our favourite kitchen trick to store spices or a set of knifes. When you don’t use them, these racks just swing up against the underside of the cabinet. Boom! Awesome way to free up your counter space.
