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7 Storage Solutions You Didn’t Know You Had

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Every square foot of your home is valuable. Here are seven storage solutions that take advantage of underutilized nooks and crannies. And just for fun, we did some back-of-the-napkin calculations based on the average price per square foot of a U.S. home ($81)—so we could attach a theoretical value to the bonus space.

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Stairway to Storage Heaven

Tuck pull-out drawers under sturdy stairs. They’re ideal for stashing extra linens and seasonal items. Each drawer provides about two square feet of storage. If you really could calculate this on a value per square foot realized, that’s roughly $162 worth of extra space per drawer!

 

Image: Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture / JPDA.net

Image: Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture / http://www.jpda.net/
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  • Tuck pull-out drawers under sturdy stairs. They’re ideal for stashing extra linens and seasonal items. Each drawer provides about two square feet of storage. If you really could calculate this on a value per square foot realized, that’s roughly $162 worth of extra space per drawer!

     

    Image: Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture / JPDA.net

  • Basement crawl spaces or open areas under apartment floors can be lined with shelves and outfitted with folding stairs to hoard anything. A finished 10-square-foot crawl space uncovers about $8,100 of space value and can even lower your energy bills.

     

    Image: Jeremy Levine Design / JeremyLevine.com

  • Not enough room for a Carrie Bradshaw closet? No problem. This mattress lifts to reveal a hidden compartment great for stashing bulky blankets. It could save you about $200, the price of a linen cabinet, and it provides about 20 square feet or about $1,587 of extra storage space.

     

    Image: IKEA

  • Gain more kitchen space without a costly remodeling job. Reclaimed high school gym lockers sport a new use as built-in pantry compartments. These add 18 cubic feet or $243 in square feet of extra space.

     

    Image: Little Architecture / Dried Figs and Wooden Spools blog

  • Some things are best left hidden, and kitty’s business is one of them. An inexpensive, storage cabinet doubles as a rest stop for this tabby, who enters and exists via a small framed opening. Store the litter box and all its accoutrements in one spot and gain about $205 worth of storage space.

     

    Image: Claire Armstrong / Flickr

  • Give your storage space a lift—overhead areas, such as narrow hallways, make an ideal place for floating shelves and cabinets. You could gain up to 2.5 square feet, valued at $203 of space, in no time!

     

    Image: MikeMates.com

  • Keep wrapping paper out of sight but not out of mind by suspending it from your closet ceiling on a simple cradle of wire. It’s easy to reach but won’t get torn or creased. In a closet that’s 6 feet wide by 2 feet deep, this trick makes 12 more square feet of storage worth about $972.

     

    Image: Frank Farm / frankfarm.org

  • If you like these, you may want to take a spin through HouseLogic’s library of slideshows.

     

  • Stairway to Storage Heaven
  • It Came from Below!
  • Sleep-Away Storage
  • Locker Room
  • Hidden Litter
  • Overhead Room
  • Seasonal Stash
  • Like our slideshows?
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  • it-came-from-below
  • sleep-away-storage
  • locker-room
  • hidden-litter
  • overhead-room
  • seasonal-stash
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  • Image: Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture / http://www.jpda.net/
  • Image: Jeremy Levine Design / http://www.jeremylevine.com/
  • Image: IKEA
  • These repurposed school lockers are a good example of creative storage solutions for the kitchen. Image: littlearchitecture.com / driedfigsandwoodenspools.blogspot.com
  • Image: Claire Armstrong / http://www.flickr.com/photos/armst/3669130723/
  • Image: MikeMates.com
  • Image: Frank Farm / frankfarm.org
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Comments

(1)
  • I think this is a great idea for storage! I never thought of it before and why not use them! Thanks for the idea!
  • Posted by Debra on November 23, 2011

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