We are all a little like Goldfish. We grow proportionally to the space available to us. The more room we have, the more things we seem to accumulate. While easier to manage when living in a detached home, those of us residing in smaller condos and apartments need to be a bit more creative when it comes to storage management. >550 Square feet is more or less the norm in new build, 1 bedroom residences, and significantly less when we start talking about studios. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that a major chunk of the urban population nowadays is screaming for functional storage alternatives for their homes. Fortunately, there are numerous designers and retailers out there who have begun tackling the issue of space limitations, offering innovative, design savvy solutions to “fishbowl” living.
Linens, pillows, and blankets must be, without a doubt, one of the biggest storage hassles for individuals living in apartments with limited closet space. Most of us have our summer bedding, and our winter bedding, the latter being much bigger space hogs. So what are our solutions? Vacuum seal everything any time we have a warm or cold spell? Monopolize what little closet space is already available? Neither! Designers and DIY’ers have begun coming up with some solutions to bedroom cache woes. Headboard storage is one of those ideas that each of us wishes we had come up with ourselves! The idea itself is simple, elegant, and very logical. A little bit of height and an extra 10” to 14” of bed length, and we now have room for decorative pillows, extra sheets and blankets and most importantly, no extra weight on precious closet space.
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top photo: http://tinyhousepins.com/headboard-storage-idea-for-small-spaces/
Bottom photo: http://refurbished-ideas.com/small-space-storage-ideas/ Lounge and den space is another biggie for any of us living in a smaller condo. These tend to be rooms which support the least built in storage, leaving it up to the buyer or renter to select furnishings to make up for such deficiencies. Coffee tables seem to be a logical solution, but for the longest time it has been a question of how this could be done in a stylish and efficient way. ExpandFurniture.com has addressed this problem with its Occam lift top coffee table. Those who know it love its hidden storage potential, while couch diners and craft hounds alike take full advantage of its lifting surfaces.
While on the topic of “Lounge” and “Den” space, we should also give a nod to those in the design industry striving towards “shelving innovations”. Germany’s Leipzig resident, Yi-Cong Lu has put his own spin on expanding storage with an astute “Growing Cabinets” concept.
A deceptively simple design, this unit actually grows wider to suit the needs of its owner. With track mounting on each level, the shelving slides outwards on a horizontal plain resulting in a piece of furniture that nearly doubles in size in terms of storage capacity as needed, while at the same time trimming down to a minimalistic four level shelving unit when cinching up on space becomes necessary.
When it comes to hungry space consumers, offices and work stations top the list. It’s one thing to find room for a cabinet that stores files and paperwork, it’s another matter altogether when trying allocate the space necessary for a permanent desk or dedicated office. The crew at ExpandFurniture.com wanted to address this by teaming up with an award winning South American industrial designer who specializes in the production of fully contained, easily movable work stations and office storage. “The Ludovico” with integrated table, chairs, and cabinetry ponies up as much work space, storage, and seating as would be necessary in any casual home office. Pair that with their “Nalia” Optimized Office series and you would be hard pressed to find a need for any more storage or table space.
So what about those who still don’t have the room for a collapsible or integrated work station? Fret not! There is hope for even the smallest nook so long as you can spare a conservative amount of wall space. RYOBI’s DIY Murphy Desk” (Also found at Shany2Chic.com) is a miniature office alternative without the need for anything more than a couple of light wall mounts. Championing the ultimate hidden office, or even a convenient hide away kitchen buddy for storing spices, utensils, or dry goods, chances are, even those with space to spare could find a use for this clever design.
Even when it comes to the needs of athletes, there are designers out there trying to make storage just a little bit easier. Vancouver’s own Hurdler Studios is determined to address the challenges of stashing your bicycle with a simple but inventive utility that will once and for all manage the question of where to hang your spokes! The Clug is a “C shaped” mechanism that easily attaches to the wall and acts as an anchor for any size bicycle tire, mounting the unit vertically or horizontally. Hurdler’s Clug is easy to install and provides a quick solution for those of us in condos that don’t offer external storage for our precious two wheelers.
Functional storage makes our day to day lives easier, less cluttered, and when done properly it can open up space we never knew we had. Professionals and amatures alike are currently working to design even better solutions to manage the contracting spaces we call home. While the examples above represent just a taste of what manufacturers and retailers are cooking up, there is no doubt that what’s to come in the next few years will be no less exciting. No matter the size of our living spaces, we all want to be able to personalise our own fishbowls and with strategic storage choices we might just find the ability to stretch out little bit more.
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