A messy apartment or house takes the look off your beautiful decor. Learn how to make the most of your storage space.
TIP 1
Cleaning
You can make the most of renovation works by using the opportunity to create more space. Go through all of the rooms in the house, and keep only the objects that are necessary. Ideally sort the items in two goes: firstly when you’re emptying your home and secondly when you’ve finished its refurbishment.
TIP 2
Planning
Think about furniture and fittings in practical terms and not only about how they look. First of all, make a point of defining what you need to store and the space you have to store these objects in each room. For example, you can replace an old chest of drawers by a more modern closet that would provide more storage space. Or, on the contrary, choose a low piece of furniture to replace a large built-in bookcase that might be taking up too much space.
TIP 3
Open or closed storage options?
Without doubt, both! Choose shelves that can be used to display your collections of objects, dishes or books. But at the same time you will also need some closed cupboards to store other objects more efficiently and discreetly.
TIP 4
Where to place objects
It’s important to choose a space for each object in every room of the house.
TIP 5
Hiding items
For example, you can place shoes and coats in communal closets when bedrooms are too small to store them. Or put household appliances that you don’t use very often in the basement.
TIP 6
Know your priorities
It’s essential that items you use everyday are easily accessible.
TIP 7
The secret drawer
Keep a place, like a drawer in a chest of drawers or half of a closet, to place small items that you never know where to put.
TIP 8
Dividing items
Remember to keep a place for each item and to keep each item in its place. Once you have selected your storage options, it’s necessary to arrange your home to optimize this space. Hanging fabric shelves, labelled boxes to place one over the other… Many brands offer various solutions to organize closets and drawers, but pay attention, some are nothing more than gadgets.
TIP 9
In several phases
If you can’t carry out your refurbishments at the same time (a walk-in wardrobe, closing off a corner to make it into a closet…), decide in advance what space you will need, and in the mean time create temporary storage such as shelves or cabinets made of fabric.
TIP 10
Don’t be afraid of the empty space
Leave sufficient space free in your cabinets, fitted wardrobes and dressers to cover future storage needs.
IN A NUTSHELL:
- Storage is a priority element in the layout of your home, so take time to organize it well.
- Always think about the space you have in relation to your needs.
- If you can’t find the solution for lack of space, don’t hesitate to call a professional who can help you. Many technical advances have been made in this field, so you can easily find what you need.
