Storage is an essential part of any interior design. It is the best way to hide the things you don’t want to see all the time but also offers new ways to display the things you love. Suitable storage solutions allow you to stay clean and organised whilst providing essential spaces to put all those little things that you don’t necessarily want on display and those that you do.

Storage is almost essential in every room of the house and should not be underestimated.  When we moved into our early 70’s home we didn’t take into consideration how little storage it actually had, whereas modern homes tend to have ample drawers and cupboard tucked away in all corners.

There was however a number of different solutions that we could buy, but also build into our house as DIY projects or even professionally installed solutions.

Let’s take a little look at some of the key rooms around the house that you might consider improving with some extra storage.

Bathroom storage

Bathroom storage is important for things like spare loo rolls, soaps, beauty products and hygiene products.  As these rooms tend to get quite steamy the best storage solutions will be those that are closed.  Open storage such as shelving will tend to get very moist and will attract dust easily which will inevitably mean more cleaning.  Keeping surface areas to a minimum will help make the room look larger, cleaner and less cluttered.  We built a vanity sink unit with storage which does exactly this.

Living room storage

Your living room storage might vary considerably.  Open shelving for ornaments and photos and baskets for blankets and pillows work really well here.  However, you should also make the most of hidden storage.  Your sofa may have hidden storage you could use for toys or other paraphernalia.  You could also use a coffee table with storage or side tables with cupboards or drawers to hide other items.

Bedroom storage

Again, bedroom storage is quite different.  Depending on your style, you might prefer built-in wardrobes to hide everything away.  Alternatively, you might like an open clothes rail – putting your clothes into a rainbow of colour blocks looks fantastic, there are plenty of ways to style a clothes rail.  We went for a DIY rustic built in wardrobe that incorporates ceiling height storage space for spare bedding, cables and shoes.

Under stair drawers

This is a great way to make the most of unused storage around the home.  There are a number of great options available from the professional installers or you might want to have a go at building your own.  I built mine shortly after moving into our home and it’s been used ever since for shoes and all our dirty washing.  It’s great for keeping the hallway clear of unsightly clutter.

Now You See It, Now You Don’t

Finding ways to incorporate more hidden storage in your home is key to making the most of every centimetre.  In the above example I mentioned putting hidden storage under your stairs and using a combination of drawers, shelves and cupboards is a brilliant idea.  Also using storage solutions that reach all the way to the ceiling is a smart move, maximising space and means that you don’t need to clean the tops of your cupboards!

Of course, there are plenty of things you want to be able to see.  Open shelves have become really popular and work with a range of styles. You can create displays of your favourite things and there are all kinds of ideas you might like to try.  Industrial furniture, in particular, is great for showing off your favourite things and giving you the space to create something really special.

Using a combination of different storage ideas is the best way to make the most of the space you have. Every room can use both open and closed storage solutions and how you mix and match comes down to your preferences and ideas.  Before you begin, make a note of all the belongings you want to store and what you want to hide and view. From here, you can start researching various storage options and which styles will suit you best.

Outdoor storage

So it’s not just indoors where we find the need for storage.  The garden is also an area that needs to be organised.  I’ve built two great solutions in our garden that help us store all our garden tools and the other keep our shoes, wellies and toys dry and neat.  The first is our garden shed which was a custom-made building, not requiring any planning permission as looks pretty good too.  Check out my guide to find out how to build your own shed for less than it costs to buy one.

The second was our veranda.  OK, so it’s not exactly a storage solution but it does get used for storage and helps keep our nice garden furniture dry all year round.  You can read how to build this here.  This cost less than £500 and is a great setting area all year round.

We even added a welly storage solution on the wall to help organise this corner.

Thanks for reading.