Sisterhood Home Interior & Design

Posts Tagged ‘storage space’

Is your home feeling crowded and purchasing a larger home is not part of the plan? The good news is that there are many great ways to make your existing home roomier. Here are the top 10 ways to give your home more space.

Get rid of the clutter
Most of us have too much stuff. It looks messy, takes away from usable space, and serves little function. Have a garage sale or donate things to charity that you no longer want. This step is contagious. Once you begin to get rid of unwanted stuff, you’ll see space open up with great potential. You’ll soon be motivated to go through every room and weed out stuff that is just taking up space you’ve got better ideas for.

Rent storage space
If you can’t bear to get rid of the stuff you aren’t using, or if you know you’ll use it later, store it. Space can be affordable if you shop around for it. Most storage facilities offer easy access while being quite secure. Check with your insurance agent to make sure stored items are covered by your policy.

Use closet organizers
You don’t have to call in the expensive closet designer unless you want to. Most home improvement stores have sections dedicated to low-cost, do-it-yourself shelving and organizational helpers. In a weekend you could rearrange a large walk-in closet or a couple of stuffed hall closets and enjoy the satisfaction of freeing up space and making things more accessible.

Choose compact HVAC equipment
Todays furnaces and air handlers are more compact than ever before. They fit into tighter spaces or simply free up room in your basement or utility closet. They are also more efficient and will begin to pay for themselves the very first month.

Replace the water heater with tankless models
Most conventional water heaters have a 30-50 gallon tank. That takes up a lot of room! Most tankless models fit under sink cabinets and take up very little space. Make sure you check out reviews before purchasing because they are not all created equal.

Build desks or furniture into walls
This is an old design concept that is getting revived as a means of making space in homes. These items take up less room and storage space beneath a couch or chair can be included in the design.

Make use of height
Build shelving over kitchen cabinets or around the perimeter of the kitchen or other room. It can be very attractive as well as space-saving. You’ll need to keep a step stool on hand to access these shelves or cabinets.

Build a shed in the back yard
Its like a storage unit but its close by. It will be easier to rotate items you use seasonally than if you have to cart things back and forth to storage.

Add overhead hooks and shelves in the garage
Items like bikes, tools, garden equipment and sports gear can be hung up, freeing up space in your home and garage.

Remove interior walls
Some interior walls create nice spaces within the home but others create cramped and crowded conditions. Opening up rooms and zones of your home will not only make your home feel more spacious, there will be more room and less clutter.

As one designer noted, you can stay in the same place and still have more space when you follow these tips. Use the top 10 ways to give your home more space and you’ll enjoy your home and get more use from it than ever before.

It is important to know when you need to organize your garage. Before this can be done, you need to determine the intended use of the garage. Is it to be used as storage for seasonal items (lawnmower, snow blower, winter or summer sporting equipment), some household items (paint cans, old toys, Christmas decorations) or just for your vehicle? Once a decision is made then a decision can be made as to how to do the organization. Some avid woodworkers even use their garage for their hobby and leave their car open to the elements!

Once you have made a list of the uses of your garage, make a plan or layout of where you will store all the items. Based on the layout, section off areas for the different uses. If there is a need to keep your vehicle in the garage, ensure that enough space is allocated for it. You do not want any shelves or workbenches too close when you drive in or when you are actually working in the garage, for fear of damaging your vehicle.
You will then have to determine what type of storage (shelves, peg boards, cupboards, hangers, etc) you will need for your items. The location of these storage tools will dictate where they will be located. Shelves and cupboards must be at a manageable height. Storage of seasonal items may be in a loft and out of the way.

Set aside a specific time to start sorting and categorizing items. This will assist in getting things started rather than procrastinating. Gather together similar items like tools in one area or in a container. Sort out what is to be kept and what should be discarded. The discarded items can be disposed by selling, donating or throwing out with the garbage. There are also specific disposal procedures and locations for hazardous materials such as paints, solvents and used oils.

Make use of all available space by locating storage in vertical space along with walls and ceiling. There are many types of shelving, grids, cabinets and hanging bin systems available to help maximize storage space.
When storing the items, place each category back into the garage by keeping in mind its usage. Items that are used frequently should be placed where they are easily accessible and within reach. Seasonal items can be stored further back as they are only required at certain times of the year. Large items can be hung from the ceiling and small items such as hand tools can be placed in drawers and labeled.

By following the steps noted above, you will maintain a neat and practical system for garage storage and ensure that the ills of mental stress and frustration do not pervade your family.

When you see the picture above at least you can imagine is that this might be a desk phone, but it really is, and contains two chairs, a table, light, electrical connection and storage space, especially at such a relatively small object for many things and pretty versatile with the option to drop off and pick where you want.

This is a wonderful idea, really, for those who do not have an office but will visit clients and need a place to sit to work on the road, almost like a traveling clerk. It’s not something you get used, but the design and idea for use in a small house with little space, is very good.

The name is Kruikantoor, is made of foam and covered with Polyurea is like a plastic. The designer is Tim Vinke, then the jump will be as disarming for use.