Dear Madelaine,
I love my NYC apartment but I don’t have anywhere close to enough storage for all of my stuff. Do you have any tips for making the most of what I have (and making more that doesn’t look like a storage unit)?
Of course I do! As a lifelong New Yorker I intimately familiar with our unique storage predicaments and happy to share some of my favorite sneaky storage tricks for “making it work”.
1. Organization is Everything
One of the most important and overlooked aspects of storage is organization. I see so many “full” closets and storage cabinets that are using less than half of their capacity just because the items inside them are placed inefficiently. Boxes and bins are your best friends here because they can corral similar items and facilitate more effective use of space.
2. Beautify Your Boxes
Those same boxes and bins don’t have to be basic! Beautiful boxes can be put on display in open bookcases and shelving in living areas (freeing up concealed storage spaces like closets for bulkier and less attractive items), functioning as both storage and decor. Unusual boxes also make for fantastic travel souvenirs – they’re easy to pack since you can put items inside them and add functionality while telling a story when you get home.
3. Don’t Accept The Bare Minimum
Too often our off the shelf storage spaces lack flexibility. Cabinets have adjustable shelves, but only with 3 peg spaces in the center. Closets have a single shelf above the hanging rod, but it’s only half of the available depth and has over 30″ of space above it. Do not accept things as they are!! You (or a handyperson) can always drill more holes and even make additional shelves to maximize cabinet flexibility. You can add another full depth shelf on top of the partial depth one in your closet, as well as an additional shelf or two above that. Or even remove the rod and sad shelf and replace it with a fully adjustable organizational system like the ones from the Container Store, Rubbermaid, or California Closets.
4: Get Sneaky
I love adding sneaky storage behind full length drapery, and I’ve done this in every room of my own home! This is especially useful if you have, like many NYC apartments, through wall air conditioners or PTAC units below the windows. The trick is to build out a small soffit (the technical term for enclosure dropped down from the ceiling) on either side of the window to match the depth of the air conditioner projection, and then screw the curtain rod brackets to that soffit instead of the wall. With the drapery concealing it, the storage can be purely functional; think baker’s rack shelving or tall IKEA bookcases. I even have my laundry hamper behind the drapes in my bedroom!
Want to discuss more specific strategies for your home?
Book a call and we can figure it out together!
Till next time…
Madelaine
PS – Do you have design questions? Send us an email at info@designbyadroit.com and we will answer it as quickly and completely as possible in an upcoming blog post!
