Any parent will tell you that finding spare space in a family home is nigh on impossible. Children come with a lot of stuff which only increases as they get older! Discover the untapped storage potential hiding in plain sight that could transform your home to make it less cluttered, calmer and more spacious.
- Buy multi-functional pieces
Every home has bulky items that cannot be made smaller. Beds, which need to be a certain size to be comfortable, are a prime example. However, you don’t have to lose all the space devoted to these items.
Especially for big pieces of furniture, buy multi-functional designs which have storage space in addition to their main purpose. This includes beds and coffee tables with pull-out drawers around the base and hollow seats and stools such as ottomans and cushioned trunks. This way you can still use some of the space they take up in the rooms.
- Embrace in-built storage
Transform awkward areas into useful ones with in-built storage solutions. Many companies advertise clever conversions of neglected design features like alcoves and the cupboard under the stairs. With the addition of shelves and cupboards, railings and pull-out shoe racks, once-useless architectural elements become essential storage spaces.
Why not consider getting fitted wardrobes in the children’s bedrooms, or converting the eaves in attic playrooms? You can tailor the internal layout to your needs with shelves to suit the height of their toys and plenty of hanging space for longer garments. They will double as a great den, too!
- Make use of wall space
When we think about storage, we often analyse floor space. Will a cabinet fit there, can the items be stacked, will it shrink the room? However, we rarely consider making use of wall space and this can make a major difference to how big and spacious your home appears to the eye.
If you’re planning a major renovation, consider overhauling your heating system and swapping to vertical designer radiators to save space. This enables you to fit in more furniture and push your pieces right back to the wall to increase your floor space. They look chic and elegant to boot!
Another option is to replace traditional dressers and wardrobes with floating shelves that can be affixed further up the wall, leaving the space beneath free for furniture or a larger play space. You can also feature hooks beneath the shelves and hang up key items that tend to get in the way like coats and dressing gowns. You could even suspend a cloth bag from a wall hook and fill this with a jumble of soft toys, making tidying away before bedtime much quicker.
- Consider foldable furniture
Finally, go down the line of Japandi designs that embrace minimalism and consider foldable furniture. A collapsable table and chairs combination gives you the option to host large parties of friends with ease without having to permanently devote precious space to a dominating dining set.
If this seems too insubstantial for your main rooms, you could still try it in the kids-only areas. Tables and chairs will come in useful for everything from art projects to homework, and if they’re foldable they can be tucked away out of sight when not in use, freeing up more room for creative play and reducing the risk of accidents.