23 storage solutions for small spaces
Tiny homes can present various challenges, but when approached in the right way, they can provide a masterclass in clever design. Storage solutions, in particular, have to be incredibly well considered in order to make the most of every spare inch in a small space. As such, they often hold the secret to clever storage ideas, from well-placed shelves and concealed cupboards to multi-functional pieces of furniture. They demonstrate that, with a little bit of creative thinking, you can maximise even the most minuscule sliver of space in your home.
Keeping this in mind, we have searched room by room to find the best storage solutions for small spaces and have canvassed interior designers for their tips on storage solutions for small spaces. So whether you’re dealing with a small home or simply a smaller space within a larger one, we have plenty of advice and ideas to inspire your big transformation.
‘With a smaller space I recommend getting clever with storage,’ says interior designer Clare Gaskin. ‘Look for multi-use items such as ottomans, functioning as a good place to perch as well as store items like blankets or toys, and beds that can hold bed linen and towels – be it an ottoman style lift up, divan drawers, or simple zip-up bags under the bed.’ If your budget allows, then built-in or bespoke joinery is always an excellent option as it can transform a previously underused space into a hard-working room with custom storage. If this isn’t possible, then Sarah Walter Boyd recommends using cantilevered freestanding storage, which maximises floor space.
‘For storage, I think it’s also important to be realistic about exactly what “stuff” you have and what you actually want to see on a daily basis,’ adds Lucy Mayers. In other words, what items would you be happy to display – and as the House & Garden archive shows, displaying can actually be a good way of storing – and what needs to be hidden away behind cupboard doors or inside drawers? If you don’t need access to certain items on a regular basis, then you can be very creative with your storage solutions and locations – under your bed, within a banquette or even below your bath can all be viable options.
Whatever your small storage requirements may be, we have found the niftiest of solutions to suit even the pokiest of rooms.
Storage solutions for small spaces from the House & Garden archive
James McDonald1/22Hallways and corridors are very often underused, treated only as thoroughfares and not as potentially useful (and interesting) spaces in their own right. When designing his previous flat, just up the road from this one and with an almost identical layout, Brandon Schubert did not choose to include any built-in storage in the hallway area. However, here in his new London home, he has had a very elegant walnut cabinet made to fit neatly into this hallway alcove, topped with a slab of striking marble. It provides very useful concealed storage and a surface to display things, while keeping the wall space above free for a set of woodblock prints by Adrian Wiszniewski.
Mark Anthony Fox2/22This bedroom in a house reimagined by Veere Grenney is one of our all-time favourite examples of small-space design. A slim, floor-to-ceiling wardrobe has been built in on one side of the bed, with a pull-out shelf that serves as a bedside table. Wall lights have also been wired into the side of the wardrobe, doing away with the need for a bedside lamp.
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Boz Gagovski3/22Bathrooms can be tricky storage wise, as they are usually one of the smallest rooms in the house but come with a great deal of paraphernalia (most of which isn’t particularly attractive) that needs to live somewhere. This is particularly important if you only have one bathroom, meaning it will be seen by any guests or visitors, so ideally won’t be filled with unsightly clutter on every available surface. Designer Daniel Slowik took all of these things into consideration when he decided to enlarge the bathroom of this tiny Chelsea flat by taking in half of the over-generous dressing room next door. This has allowed for the installation of floor-to-ceiling mirrored cupboards, which provide ample storage while increasing the sense of space – a great trick for any small space.
Dean Hearne4/22Like bathrooms, kitchen can be a breeding ground for mess and clutter, so good storage is essential. If space is tight, it can be tricky to find the wall space for fitted cabinets. Daisy Sims-Hilditch’s solution for her Notting Hill flat was to install floor-to-ceiling units, making the most of every last inch, with a ladder to access the uppermost cupboards, which hangs neatly on the wall when not in use.
Boz Gagovski5/22Sarah Walter Boyd recommends using freestanding cantilevered storage in small space, as she has done in her petite modernist flat in Stockwell. These are vintage Poul Cadovius shelves, found on Facebook Marketplace, that match the period of the building and provide storage and design interest in one. By having ‘floating’ storage you maximise the floor space and avoid furniture feeling overly cramped. In this case, should the shelving unit have stretched to the floor, it would have felt much too close to the sofa. (The added bonus is it makes cleaning and vacuuming much quicker and easier.)
Boz Gagovski6/22Daniel Slowik and Benedict Foley’s bijou Hackney flat is full of clever space-saving and storage tricks. The elegant sofa pictured here was custom made, based on a sofa that Nancy Lancaster had at her house Ditchley Park. It sits at dining height so that the sitting room can become a dining room when required (by adding posts to the legs of the extendable table), and there is storage space beneath the seat. In a small space like this, storage has to work hard and often take on multiple roles like this.
Owen Gale7/22One of the spare rooms in Georgina Cave’s house has a custom-made bed base with drawers and open shelving on the wall at the foot of the bed to maximise storage. The handmade patchwork quilt on the bed was designed and sewn by her daughter Anouska using leftover scraps of fabric from the eiderdowns she makes. The blind fabric was sourced from Namay Samay and the rug from Warris Vianni. The result is a very pretty yet eminently practical space, and there is even space for an antique desk, allowing it to function as a study too.
Simon Brown8/22Another example of practical yet very appealing storage is this free-standing shelving unit in Emma Burns’ small, sophisticated London flat. It designed by Emma and built by Christopher Bell and incorporates a small pull-out desk for work.
Paul Massey9/22In this Cotswold project by Laura Stephens, two beds are separated by a tiny antique stool that acts as a shared bedside table. The shelf above the tongue-and-groove panelling is a clever way to create a place storage and display without using up valuable floor space. These are all good, flexible, short-term solutions for a spare room, or any room in a holiday cottage like this one.
Simon Brown10/22In this tiny Paddington flat, Beata Heuman hid the TV in a bespoke cabinet covered in an elegant Fornasetti wallpaper, and the ottoman provides more storage, in attractive green upholstery.
Milo Brown11/22Lonika Chande has made the most of this small bedroom in a Chelsea townhouse by installing one of our favourite small bedroom solutions – a pretty box bed or bed nook. ‘We positioned the bed underneath the sash window to maximise floor space, because we couldn’t afford to lose any space around the bed. We also created a shelf behind the headboard which actually lifts up to reveal storage for clutter or extra books.’
Dean Hearne12/22No space for a bedside table? No problem. Instead, try an alcove or floating shelf above your bed, or to the side (if the bed is against a wall). This is a particularly appealing example in the bedroom of Carolina Irving’s house on the Portuguese coast, where a wall decorated with Andalusian tiles has an above-bed nook built into it, which serves as storage for books and other items in lieu of bedside tables. The wall also cleverly divides the bed from the en-suite bathroom.
Elsa Young13/22Lots of living rooms have a central fireplace with alcoves on either side of the chimney breast – and these can provide valuable storage space in homes of any size. This is an unusual and visually impactful solution in the London home of Henrietta Courtauld, remodelled by Retrouvius. Small, built-in cupboards are fronted by glazed panels (almost like museum display cases) with floating artworks placed behind the glass. This part-art, part-storage solution allows you to have your clutter hidden away, but still makes the room feel interesting and individual.
Paul Massey14/22The space above your bed is rarely considered but when you’re stretched for space, every inch is valuable. This bedroom in Rosi de Ruig’s west London house features built-in shelving above the bed, which is somewhat hidden by the curtain with decorative pelmet. A pretty valance like this one here is also a lovely way to conceal drawers or other forms of storage under a bed.
Boz Gagovski15/22Sometimes you have to think creatively about storage when it doesn’t come in ample supply, which is often the case in London. The bed in Lucy Mayer’s flat was ‘one of those lift-up ottoman beds, and I kept our ironing board and various suitcases in it’. These type of beds are useful for storing items you won’t use on a daily basis, like seasonal duvets, blankets and spare bedding.
Alicia Waite16/22If you’re short of space but have a lot of beautiful items, take inspiration from designer Emma Ainscough’s flat and build shelves into a wall. Whilst you have to be quite organised to keep the space looking presentable, this is a good way to add colour, interest and storage to a small space.
Taran Wilkhu17/22In Zoë Zimmer’s Notting Hill flat, a raised seat in the spare room allows for smart, sleek under-bench storage. A ‘Stockholm’ rug from Ikea is teamed with curtains in emerald velvet from Designers Guild in this stylish studio-cum-spare room.
Sarah Hogan18/22Interior designer Jane Taylor’s flat features small kitchen storage ideas galore – including this corner in which shelving is combined with hooks for a brilliant, space-saving solution, and an appealing industrial-like aesthetic.
Sarah Hogan19/22Another example of ingenuity in Jane Taylor’s small London flat is this cupboard, which function as both storage and a home office. A guitar hangs on the back of the door, which opens to reveal shelves, a desk and a vintage stool that tucks away under the desk.
Christopher Horwood20/22If you want plenty of storage but don’t want to overwhelm the space with furniture, try going long and low. In the small main bedroom of this flat in a converted tannery, a long, low chest provides storage as well as a helpful surface for ornaments and toiletries.
Simon Brown21/22Interior designer Beata Heuman transformed her first west London apartment in a style she jokingly referred to as ‘urban safari chic’, making imaginative use of both the compact space and her limited funds. She cleverly compensated for the lack of cupboards with a utility cupboard inside a structural column and tall bookshelves. ‘The investment in built-in joinery was minimal as everything is on a modest scale,’ she explains.
Paul Massey22/22In this tiny barn decorated by antiques dealer Christopher Howe, a low ceiling in the kitchen is convenient rather than claustrophobic, with out-of-the-way hooks for hanging rags and cutting boards. An 18th-century Norwegian dresser is an easy-on-the-eye storage solution, giving the small space character.
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