We could all do with some additional storage in our homes, couldn’t we? With more belongings coming into our homes than are leaving, it’s inevitable that we end up with a fuller-than-manageable interior.
This can sometimes lead to feelings of overwhelm and stress, especially if your possessions fill every available surface or have transformed from collections into clutter. And it’s natural to feel anxious in an untidy home – evolution has wired our brains to be stressed by mess.
But don’t despair – even the smallest home has the potential to deliver extra storage space if you know where to look for it.
I’ve personally made the most of every nook in my own home, so I’m here to share some ideas for expanding the storage capacity of your home to accommodate your favourite items, valuables and essentials.
Clothing clutter
This is a category of belongings that tends to get out of hand quite easily. Simply adding a few new pieces to your wardrobe every month can soon make it feel very full.
And if you’re a bargain hunter who loves a rummage in a charity store or a browse on Vinted, your wardrobe may already be filled to bursting.
If you regularly find clothes spilling out onto a chair or maybe you even have a ‘floordrobe’, it’s time to ensure you’ve got enough storage for all your clothing.
I’ve found that a freestanding wardrobe is still a magnet for clutter as you’re likely to push shoes underneath it and pile boxes or baskets on top of it, gathering dust.
So what I’ve done is get a built-in wardrobe from floor to ceiling, which has drawers and rails inside it to offer ample space for everything. You can get a bespoke wardrobe company to supply a built-in closet that fills the available space perfectly, so that every inch is used.
Home office mess
If you’re working from home like me, you’ll know how easily the mess from your work can spill over into your living spaces. This is especially true if you’re working at a dining table or in the kitchen rather than at a dedicated work station.
So, how about fitting a desk, shelves and cabinetry on the landing if you’ve got space, in an alcove or even into the angled eaves of your loft?
Putting cupboard doors on the front of the workspace allows you to shut it away at the end of the working day to keep clutter out of sight – and to prevent you from becoming stressed by your work to-do list outside of office hours.
Entryway excess
I’ve found that a common dumping ground is around any entrance to your home – the hallway, porch, back door and so on. That’s where we throw down bags, pile up papers and kick off our shoes when we get home.
Let’s face it, we just want to relax when we get in and not have to worry about tidying up the things that accumulate around our doorways. So this is a key spot to add some storage.
If you’ve got space in the hallway, a console table with a built-in drawer can house those letters and on-the-way-out essentials. Even the smallest space can hang a key box and shelf on the wall, or you could create a ‘Command Centre’ to keep those items organised, like I did.
Could you create a ‘boot room’ in a porch or utility room, perhaps? Or even under the staircase? Built-in cupboards can keep everything out of sight, from wellie boots and coats to picnic blankets and bags-for-life.
Other secret storage
If you’ve already got those storage options in place, now’s the time to walk around your house and look for every possible space you could use to stow some stuff to keep it out of your eyeliner and lower those clutter-caused stress levels.
An often-overlooked space is above doorways. There’s probably a small strip of wall that you’re not using for anything else, so you could consider adding a bookshelf (with a barrier at the front to keep the books safely stowed) or a small cupboard, like a kitchen wall cabinet.
Do you have bay windows in your home? That’s the ideal spot for a built-in banquette, which could provide seating as well as storage space inside the ottoman.
And that brings us nicely onto adding ottomans at the foot of the bed or some sliding underbed drawers like my DIY ones. In the living room, you could choose a coffee table with a drawer or an upholstered footstool with storage inside it.
It’s possible to get opening side panels for a bath, which has storage inside for cleaning products or toiletries. You can add cabinets and shelves around sinks, or you could cover a whole bathroom wall with a shallow mirrored cupboard that keeps everything tucked out of sight and reflects the light to create a more airy, spacious feel.
I hope these ideas will help you to find some extra storage space in your home so that you can stow your possessions out of sight, thereby creating a tidier and more relaxing interior. Please share your own storage hacks in the comments below, I’d love to hear your DIY storage solutions.
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