Life is full of priorities. Career-driven people make work and career advancement a priority. People with families make their spouse and children priorities. Other people make self-care a priority.
When designing and building your custom home, you want to prioritize your needs. Other clients may want gorgeous chef’s kitchens, a theater/media room, or a jaw-dropping backyard entertainment oasis. Still other clients, like you, are looking to focus on storage.
Attics, basements, and even furnishings that include storage features are all design elements you may want to include to achieve your dream home design that includes all the storage you need!
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The Frustration of Lack of Storage
You may be living in an apartment or small home or somewhere else where the amount of storage is less than ideal for your way of life. You may be living surrounded by boxes and storage bins filled with items you need on-hand for daily living that have nowhere to go.
For the items that can’t be stored at home, off-site storage units or shipping containers are an expensive inconvenience – monthly rent, rental insurance to protect your things, and limited hours for accessing your items.
With at-home storage solutions, you can store your camping gear at home rather than at that off-site location which can’t be accessed at 10:30 p.m. when your child realizes they don’t have a sleeping bag for the Scout campout that leaves at 7 a.m. the next morning.
What Are You Storing?
Storage bins full of winter clothes, suitcase, holiday décor, linens, kitchen tools – these and more are all items that need to be stored somewhere out of the way. You may also need to store recreation items like snow skis, kayaks, tents, and more. Additionally, you’ll need appropriately sized and shaped storage to handle the items you need stored.
How Are You Storing It?
People store their items in things like cardboard boxes, plastic storage bins, garment bags and more. Garment bags are easily hung in closets out of the way, but bulky storage bins and various sizes of cardboard boxes take up valuable floor and vertical space.
While cardboard boxes can fit snugly together like puzzle pieces, there will be space between plastic storage bins – which could be used for storing loose items that don’t fit in boxes or bins.
How Often Do You Use Items?
You’re making storage a priority in your home design. In order to get the right storage for your needs, you need to prioritize the things you store. Daily use items like linens, kitchen tools, bathroom items, and laundry items will take center stage when considering storage solutions.
Prioritize the rest of your items based on frequency of use – the yearly Christmas ornaments don’t need to be at the front or on top, since you only use them a short time once a year. But the boating or camping supplies you use every weekend should be readily available to pack and go in anticipation of the next trip.
Types of Home Storage
There are a number of ways to outfit your home with the storage you need. When you meet with us at Acipe Design, we’ll discuss your needs and help you find the right storage solutions for your needs.
Closets
When most people think of storage inside the home, they think of closets. Bedrooms, hallways, and entryways are all typical areas where closets can be found. In fact, a bedroom can’t be called a bedroom without a closet!
You can create a custom closet with plenty of shelving, cabinets, racks, hanging space, and more.
Shelving
Open shelving allows you to give a quick glance at what you have to find what you need. Open shelving is great in offices, garages, laundry rooms, and media rooms where you need easy and quick access to items.
Steer clear of too much open shelving in rooms like the living room, kitchen, or bedrooms to avoid a cluttered look or prevent breakage – imagine someone bumping an open shelf in the kitchen and your good China on display crashes to the floor into a pile of broken bits!
Drawers
You can have a stand-alone set of drawers like in a dresser or movable chest of drawers many people may use in craft rooms or other spaces where storage needs to be temporary or easily moved.
Storage-Centric Furniture
Some furniture is built for storage, while other traditional furniture pieces are having storage added to them – a combination of style and convenience.
Dressers
Another obvious answer, dressers hold clothes and clothing accessories like belts, men’s ties, women’s hair ties, and more.
Coffee Tables & End Tables
Coffee tables and end tables are a traditional option for living room furnishings. They offer a place to keep your books or magazines within easy reach, as well as your beverage of choice. They’re also the perfect place for tabletop lamps for extra lighting and ambiance.
There are many styles of coffee and end tables that include drawers, cabinets, and under-top storage to keep larger items or items that may be easily misplaced – like the TV remote.
Ottomans
You may shop for a chair and ottoman set in your favorite color, but when your focus is on storage, search for an ottoman with hidden storage. The pillow top opens like a storage chest to reveal a large space to store living room necessities like board games, books, magazines, and more.
Wardrobes
Wardrobes hold clothes, shoes, and other accessories and often include both a large cabinet space and drawer space.
Pantry Cabinets
You may design your pantry cabinet or room as part of your home design, but if your focus isn’t on the kitchen, a movable piece of furniture is a top choice as well. Along with the permanent kitchen cabinets, a pantry can hold things like small appliances, canned or boxed foods, and dry goods, as well as things like freezer bags, plastic wrap, foil, or parchment paper.
Kitchen Islands
Like pantries, islands may be a focal point for your kitchen, with sprawling counter space, a prep sink, cooktop, and more. It’s also typically home to the dishwasher, microwave, and cabinet and drawer storage. Cabinets and drawers can store small appliances, specialty cooking tools, paper towel, and many other things.
Smaller or movable kitchen islands often offer shelving below the work surface, some may include a rack for hanging pots and pans above, while others offer cabinet space as well as shelving. The small, movable island in my kitchen includes shelving on one side, a cabinet with more shelving on the opposite side, a spice rack, as well as spaces where I can store a cutting board or baking sheets.
Banquette Seating
Whether it’s for your main dining space or a cozy breakfast nook, banquette seating is comfortable and fun. It can also be very useful. Rather than creating a solid bench, use the space below for cabinets or drawers that can be accessed from the front for easy access to extra table setting supplies. Some things to store here may include place mats, candle holders, napkin rings, or even board games, puzzles, or other activities often done around the dining table.
Rooms for Storage
There are many ways to incorporate storage around the living and private areas throughout your home. Ask us about adding rooms for storage, or how best to utilize spaces typically dedicated to storage like:
Attics
Many homes have attics, especially those in places where it is difficult to dig into the ground for an appropriate basement. Attics can be exclusively for storage – a space to shove the Christmas decorations or old children’s’ toys you’re not ready to part with.
Attics can also be insulated and conditioned spaces that can eventually be used as extra living space.
Basements
The basement is sometimes a multi-purpose space. Finished basements can hold media rooms, family rooms, home offices, extra bedrooms, and more. Unfinished areas may include the laundry, a workroom, and storage space.
Additionally, basements can be left completely unfinished and be utilized for storage only. Basements often have more square footage than an attic and can handle some of your larger items to store like suitcases.
Garages
Your home’s garage, whether attached or unattached, is all about storage. After all, it stores your vehicle when you’re not using it. Utilize the walls by hanging peg boards, hooks, and shelves, or add hanging racks to the ceiling for storage bins.
As us how to best utilize your garage for storing your vehicle and anything else!
Final Thoughts
There are many ways to plan your custom home design with storage in mind. From movable items like furniture to permanent fixtures or even whole rooms or spaces, the staff at Acipe Design can help you map out your storage plan.
Contact us today!