When the new year rolls in, it’s only natural to want to start planning and setting goals. Goals for our health, goals to grow professionally, and yes, goals for our home. When I began thinking about what I wanted to tackle this year in our home, I kept coming back to the same thing. STORAGE. Today on the blog, I’m sharing how I will be adding storage to our home and the projects with a focus on storage that we’re hoping to tackle this year.
How I’m adding storage to our home in the new year
After spending so much time at home this past year, the lack of storage and places to contain and display our everyday items was exasperated. This year, I want to add additional storage to our home, giving us more ways to control the clutter and organize our things.
To achieve this, I have 3 big projects that I’d like to complete this year. These 3 projects will either create additional storage or take the existing storage we have and make it more useable.
3 big projects to add and create useable storage in our home
Creating better storage with a hidden linen closet
One of the projects we started last year and are hoping to wrap up at the beginning of this year is our hidden linen closet in our upstairs hallway.
We completed the first phase of this project which was adding wall moulding to the hallway and stairway walls. The next step is to tackle the linen closet.
We have a decent size linen closet as it sits now but the space we do have isn’t being utilized to its full capacity. We made some minor updates when we moved in. Giving the space a fresh coat of paint and updating the existing shelving system to include more shelves. The closet is fine as is but I know it can be better.
I shared my storage ideas for our linen closet here on the blog. My hope with the interior is to create a space with better, more functional storage and organization. Marrying function with form to create an aesthetically pleasing but hard working space.
Another important part of this project is how the closet will be incorporated into the hallway. One of our challenges with the space has always been the door to the closet. It’s a small hallway and the linen closet sits at the top of the stairs and across from the bathroom. Making it a tight space to work in.
Because of this, I want to create a door that’s hidden to help the small space feel visually clean and uncluttered. I don’t love the bi-fold door we had previously and I’m trying to figure out a better option. I’ll be working on the design for the inside and the mechanics for creating the hidden door(s) this month so we can move forward and complete this phase.
Not much will change with the amount of storage we have. We won’t necessarily be gaining additional but once we are done it should be much more useable. The closet has gone without a door for a few years now and to have it finally hidden away will help create some much-needed visual and physical order.
Reworking our entryway closet to create functional storage
The next project we want to tackle is our entryway closet. This is part of the third phase of our hallway update project.
I shared our ideas for the front entryway closet redesign here. Like the linen closet project mentioned above, this won’t add a ton of additional storage. Our hope with this redesign is to make better use of the space we do have. Creating a better layout and design for housing our coats, shoes, and accessories.
One of the things we struggle with most in our entryway is shoe storage. My husband has A LOT of shoes and our current closet isn’t designed to store them well. It’s one big space housing multiple types of items creating a dark hole for things to get lost.
Our shoes suffer the most and end up in a big, disorganized pile at the bottom. The ones we use frequently don’t even make it into the closet. Instead, they take up valuable floor space outside the closet in our entryway. Creating disorder and a visual mess.
My hope is that we can create three individual, distinct areas designed specifically for each item. Making it easier to locate and store each.
The plans we have for our entryway closet are also tied to our third and final project listed below. Custom built-in bookcases for our living room.
Adding additional storage with built-ins in our living room
Our final project and the one I’m the most excited about is custom built-in bookcases for our living room. Unlike the above two projects, this one will actually give us some additional storage we are so badly lacking.
I’ve been dreaming of adding built-ins to our living room for quite a few years now but the timing hasn’t been right. Knowing Mike wanted to remove the wall between our living room and the hallway in our entryway, I knew my original plans would most likely need to be adjusted based on final selection of furniture pieces.
The layout of the room wasn’t final, and we had a couple of options we could make work depending on the pieces we went with. This made it hard to determine exactly which walls should have built-ins.
We purchased a new sofa a few years ago and it’s completely different and bigger than what I thought we would go with. I love it but I’m glad we waited to add the bookcases because the original plan wouldn’t have worked with the new sofa.
Finally being able to tackle this project will add some much-needed additional storage to our home. Not to mention add even more character and charm to our home. Something I’m always striving to do with my designs.
The design scheme I have in mind is a combination of open and closed storage. Giving us a place to stow away blankets and throw pillows but also a place to display our books and home decor.
The final design will depend on how much wall I have to work with. Mike and I are currently not on the same page with the size of the openings to the kitchen and dining room. These openings are part of the wall where the built-ins will be. Contrary to my desire for symmetry at all costs, I don’t want to change the openings but Mike thinks they need to be the same size. If he wins the argument I won’t have much space to work with. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Additional ways to organize our home
These three projects are probably enough to keep up busy for the year but I also hope to tackle a few smaller weekend projects as well.
This includes adding open shelves in our bathroom above the toilet. I also would like to add some additional small storage pieces. Something small above the vanity and maybe a small curio cabinet by the shower.
We currently have an open metal shelf in our kitchen for extra storage that Mike has been asking for me to move. I’m hoping to thrift a prettier storage piece to replace it and move the metal shelf to the basement.
Another project on the never ending to do list, and one I haven’t really talked about is our old master bedroom. I’m currently using this space as a closet/office/catch-all space. It has a tiny closet that I don’t really use. Instead, I have free standing racks for most of my clothes and a small dresser for folded items. I am in need of more storage for folded items though and hoping to add something this year. Down the road, we want to move back into this room and create a walk-in closet so anything I add will be temporary.
Creating storage in our home
This isn’t everything on my list when it comes to projects around storage in our home.
In the future, I hope to add more built-ins to the small family room we have at the back of the house. Adding storage to our kitchen and dining room will be forefront in our design plans when we remodel. And, as I mentioned above, create a master walk-in closet we can both use in our old master bedroom.
Since you can never have too much storage in your home, I’m sure there will be other ways to continue adding smart, useable storage in our home.
What are you planning to tackle in your own home this year?
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