PLANNING YOUR HOME STORAGE
When you’re planning a project for your home, it’s a good idea to think about storage right from the start. Here are some top tips from Architects for ensuring your home design includes plenty of places to store your belongings.
Think Ahead
Before you plan any shelves, cupboards or drawers, it’s important to know exactly what you need to store. Make sure you’re not wasting your time and money creating storage for things you don’t really love or need. A good team will offer practical solutions to the challenges of construction.
Tailor To Fit
Once you’ve identified those items you’re going to keep, you can then start planning storage for them. Group and decide in which part of your home it makes sense to store each category. Consider what you do in each room and what you need nearby to support your use of that space. Then you can design your storage accordingly. For example a broom cupboard in the laundry for ironing boards and vacuum cleaners.
Don’t Forget The Details
Think about materials, colours and whether you want the storage to stand out or blend in with the space. For example, bathrooms storage should be water-resistant, and external storage in high traffic areas should be made of hard wearing materials.
Adapt For An Open-Plan Room
Many of us choose to design our homes with an open-plan layout, which provides a lovely feeling of space and connection. However, this type of scheme does present an issue. The loss of wall space results in a loss of storage space. The solution is to merge storage in the different zones to create a harmonious look. Island units are a solution as they can incorporate shelving or hidden cupboards to maximize every inch of space.
Get Creative
Use every bit of space you can, including those hard-to-reach spots, such as under the stairs. It may be that some clever tricks can be employed by a designer to provide easy access.
Go To New Levels
Look high for places to add storage. In a kitchen, for instance, cupboards can be extended right up to the ceiling. Consider, also, storage solutions that hang from the ceiling that you can drop down, then raise again, using a pulley system. Typically, traditional clothes airers used this system, but it works for storing bikes or even a bed.
Exploit the Eaves
An attic conversion provides a good opportunity to store your possessions. Pay particular attention to the hard-to-reach perimeter spaces, such as the eaves. It’s important that this is considered from the outset, to ensure the structure is designed appropriately to allow access, and the flooring and insulation are installed correctly.
Squeeze In A Utility Area
It’s worth asking an architect to try to incorporate a separate storage zone away from the kitchen. With efficient space planning, you can house a significant amount of stuff in a tight spot.
Make Designs Dual-Purpose
Before you look at building extra storage, consider ways you can make the most of the space you have.The easiest solution is to have dual-purpose furniture that doubles as storage. Pieces can often incorporate drawers or compartments.
Work In Display Space
When briefing a designer, make sure you mention any objects or collections you’d like to display. It’s great to have both concealed and open storage in your home. A full-height bookshelf can be incorporated into a design very easily and can house a significant number of books or collectibles. If you want your space to look more designed, make sure you curate the visible objects and hide the rest away. You could select the display items based on colour, texture, shape or style to give a cohesive look.
At Hurst Homes we custom design every home for every client. This ensures your home is designed for your needs and lifestyle and is unique. Just another reason why were are Wagga’s Best Builder. Contact a friendly member of our team today for your free design consultation.
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