Tips for Stylish Home Organization and Storage
Reorganizing a home is an in-depth process. You want to have a place for everything (and everything in its place), but you want it to be stylish and neat. You probably want to do it on a budget and have fun at the same time. Then when the work is complete, you’ll want to be able to stand back and smile at what you’ve done. If your goal is effective, stylish home storage and organization, we have some great suggestions to help you!
Put Up Some Shelves
Shelving is one of the most multipurpose organization methods around. It’s customizable, fairly easy to make or purchase and can be made to go along with whatever design aesthetic you desire, both in material and color. Here are some ideas you can try:
Floating shelves
This is a simple and understated, yet effective and chic way to store small necessities, supplies and decorative items on your walls without taking up too much space. You can attach them to the wall with metal brackets or wooden supports. You can even make patterns with them on your wall to create a design statement and match them to your wall color. Since they are a fairly isolated storage strategy, they can go in many spaces. Therefore, they’re flexible enough that you can store almost anything on them as long as it isn’t too terribly heavy.
Bookshelves
Bookshelves come in many different sizes, shapes, colors, styles, heights and widths and therefore provide many options for organization. Their shelves maximize the amount of vertical storage space you have and organize your possessions in such a way as to be immediately reachable yet out of the way. You can use bookshelves for pretty much anything from shoes to towels to plants to knick knacks to...books. The choice is yours. Some possibilities for shelf configurations include:
Corner shelves: Make room in a tight space where originally there was none.
Frame shelves: These shelves surround or arch over dominant home features like beds and entertainment centers. They are a great option for creating an eye-catching design centerpiece while also being practical for storage or display.
Sliding shelves: a sliding shelf can go in a tight space where originally there was just a gap. One idea for this is to create a slide-out mini pantry in the space between a refrigerator and a wall.
You can also use shelves to create waterfall and layering effects for both aesthetic and practical purposes. Some options for this include creating focal points, putting less important items further down, placing items of greater interest and use more at eye level and setting artful decorations further up.
Pick Up Some Storage Bins
Storage bins are just about as flexible in usage potential as bookshelves are, and the two can go together to make a versatile storage area. They are a great way to categorize your possessions and keep them out of the way or semi-hidden, whether that means under your bed, in your closet, on a bookshelf or on racks specially designed for them. You can buy plastic bins with lids in all shapes and sizes for storing linens and clothing. Other stylish options include using wicker, wood and fabric bins for storing office supplies, kids’ toys and small accessories. When you store the bin in its place, it will be a subtle but effective space liberator.
Install Hangers and Pegs
Hanging your possessions up follows a similar design philosophy to bookshelves: making the most of your vertical space. But hanging organizers and pegs can often go in places where bookshelves cannot. You can hang a pocketed organizer over a door for smaller items like shoes and stuffed animals. You can also hang linens, cloth products and clothing from wall racks. Hanging hooks can keep smaller items handy, as well, like measuring cups in the kitchen or mugs on a rack or wall.
Work With What You Have
Reorganizing your home might also be just a matter of repurposing the storage space you already have, like kitchen cabinets, desks, drawers and wall space. This refresh alone can relieve the feeling of not having enough space. Additionally, this could be a good time to determine if you have possessions you no longer need or that no longer matter. You don’t have to find storage space for something that no longer belongs in your home!
Turn Organizing Into An Art Project
Let’s face it: Organizing your home is and will continue to be an ongoing project as your possessions go in and out of your home and your design tastes change. But that doesn’t mean decorating and organizing has to be complicated. It can be an art project! You can do many projects with materials you have on hand. For others, you can pick up the needed materials at a local store. If you need a sounding board or want to determine a new decorating style for yourself, feel free to sign up for one of our free design consultations.