Todd Sumamno
There is one thing that most of us need in our homes, and that is more space. As creatures of habit, it seems that one thing we do is collect, let’s call it, stuff. There never seem to be enough drawers, shelves, or individual boxes to put it all in or on. One great solution to this problem is the night and day cabinet bed, which provides both storage and an extra sleeping space without taking up much room.
Listed below are seven ideas for holding some of the things we collect, something to make our areas look cleaner, or maybe some of both.
Under-stair storage
Often, we throw stuff under the stairs without trying to take advantage of the entire space there is. Even placing a bookshelf under the stairs doesn’t take full advantage of the area that is available under the stairs.
Consider building a multi-box frame beneath the stairs where several items can be placed as shown in the photo. The link by the picture of the under-stair storage provides free building instructions.
Murphy Hide-A-Way Desk
The DIY Murphy hide-a-way desk shown in the photo is an excellent desk for small apartments or bedrooms where a nail station or letter writing desk is needed that is not in use too often. It closes up very compactly, and when open, it has room for several items in built-in shelves. The link by the picture of the hide-a-way desk provides free building instructions.
A Garbage Can Cabinet
The cabinet shown in the photo makes a shelf next to about 13 inches of space. That was originally used by a garbage can that sat beside the stove. With cabinet in place, the utensils, spices, or other items used in cooking can be placed on top, along with the garbage can that is hidden from view inside the cabinet.
Six Inches of Pantry Space
The pull-out pantry cabinet shown in the photo will fit between a small refrigerator and the wall, or it can be built along a wall and covered with a door (or double doors) to make a spacious pantry area. On wheels, it will roll out nicely to reveal whatever you elect to put inside of it, whether it is can goods or spices.
A Bed Caddy
The wonderful thing about a bed caddy is you know where to look for your eyeglasses and phone when you want them. They have a way of falling off of end tables and under the bed where you can’t quite reach them. You have two choices when making the caddy.
The bed caddy in the photo is longer than the one in the link that has instructions on how to make a bed caddy. In the photo, the laptop is placed in a substantial holder in the front of the caddy. In the instructions, the laptop is placed in between the layers of the caddy.
Doorway Shelving
Several times there are areas in homes where doorways lead into rooms, and there is a Custom Closet or another reason that a wall is extended out as shown in the photo. This provides an excellent opportunity to buy some corner shelving and place them up the wall so you can place items on the shelves.
Child’s Toy Storage Area
There is never enough room for a child’s toys, and ones like Lego’s and other building blocks seem to replicate. Raise the child’s bed-frame and build some nice size roll out boxes that they can put their toys into quickly when it is time to go to bed.
Summary
You are bound to have some wood remnants left over when you finish some of the projects above. For some of the projects you will need a skip to remove all of the waste.
Otherwise, enjoy building your projects. Hopefully, they will free up a little room for you. The challenge will be to keep from buying up other things to take up space.
Brittany Maslo