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Small space living pt. 2 -pretty furniture with storage

January 13, 2015 By Jennifer

Welcome to part three of small space living! Today is part two of the small space living series.

If you would like to read part one  or part three you can read it here.

I love this quote by William Morris. It’s so true.

William Morris Quote  about home lettering  by Kelly Cummings

image

When you are living in a smaller home , every thing you own needs to pull it’s own weight which is why it’s important to have furniture with storage. But, it’s also nice to have it look pretty too.

Smaller homes tend to have little to no closet space and if you’re like us, there is also no basement. We have a one car garage that is pretty packed, but other than that there is really no extra space to keep anything.

The way around that  is to make your furniture work for you.

Many times, using some furniture items in nontraditional ways is a great way to increase storage without breaking the bank.

Coffee tables should even have storage such as using old or reproduction trunks. They are great for keeping extra afghans or blankets, books,or things you don’t use every day.

Cozy cottage inspired living room using an old trunk as a coffee table for storage

They can also be used as a side table,

DIY-Sunburst-mirror-trunk-as-side-table

image

and even stacked for height.

Family room

Or used as accent furniture.

Coffee+Table+Trunk+decor+storage

image

They are a great way to gain extra storage and be a usable piece of furniture.

Vintage suitcases are another versatile option.

Vintage stacked suitcases

These are great to use for storage of old photos, paper goods,

Easy vintage suitcase table and can also be used in plain site as furniture.

stacked suitcases for extra storage

image

When it come to large pieces of furniture, using old dressers in place of a traditional sideboard are a great way to increase storage space.

vintage dresser and old map

Old dressers can actually hold a lot of things besides clothing. One of mine has  a drawer of candles (I do like my candles), and another keeps board games and card games.

Cottage living room with pretty vintage table

divide a long space with a built-in bookcase

The biggest thing is to make sure they are useful storage and not just filled with “stuff”

Love the dresser and clock combo

smaller dressers can even be used as side tables.

pretty living room

which will increase storage in a tight spot and make the most of your “real estate.”

living room, love the idea of little mirrors made into one big one

and never underestimate the small bit of storage that can be gleamed in a seating area.

Pretty and bright breakfast nook

even in a tight space, a bench seat can be used for extra dish towels, plates,napkins, and even wrapping paper tubes.

conservatory style with storage seating

image

even individual seating with hidden storage is a great option!

Even old buffets can come out of the dining room and serve as both storage or even a media center.

Love the rug in the living room!

don’t be afraid to think outside of the box when increasing your storage! And it doesn’t have to cost a lot, sometimes it even just means re-thinking how things are used in your home.

The questions to ask yourself are:

-Is this piece of furniture working here? If not what would be better?

-why is this not working, would something else be more effective?

-do I have the right things stored here for the space I have?

-Do I need what is in here,can I get rid of it?

All of these things can help make our space space much more livable and efficient!

Jen signature

If you liked this post, you might also like:

small space living pt 3

small space living button

small space living part four

Comments

  1. Erin says

    January 13, 2015 at 8:00 am

    I love your usage of trunks for storage! It can really transform a room and give you that extra hiding space for things. I have a smaller home as well and am always looking for neat storage ideas as these that you have shared! Thank you!!

  2. darrielle Tennenbaum says

    January 13, 2015 at 8:56 am

    I have a large old trunk in my house that is is very useful and lots of vintage suitcases. I live in a small old farm house so creating my own storage is a must!

  3. Tania says

    January 13, 2015 at 9:40 pm

    I’m loving these small space living posts. I just downsized and I’m still in the process of trying to figure things out as far as storage needs, etc. I also love that quote, in fact I have it on the back of my business cards for my Etsy vintage shop!

    Tania

  4. Jennifer says

    January 14, 2015 at 7:23 am

    Thanks for letting me know!

  5. Tanya says

    January 14, 2015 at 3:14 pm

    I’m really enjoying your small space living series. We live in about 1500 square feet and there are 7 of us (12 when everyone comes home to visit), a dog, a cat, a parrot and 2 guinea pigs. We’ve tried so many different ways to find more space in our little home. Creative storage is SO important! We have lotsofdreams for adding on, but no idea when or if they’ll ever happen. So right now I’m working hard at tidying up and clearing out all the extra things – quite a job, but SO worth it!

    • Jennifer says

      January 18, 2015 at 5:45 pm

      I am in the same boat Tanya! I think getting rid of the clutter is huge!!

  6. Lesley says

    January 14, 2015 at 8:33 pm

    I love reading this series. I also live in a small house, 1044 square feet, and there are four of us total. I am trying to compare my room sizes and space to yours, and I’m confused about something. In this post you mentioned that you did not have a basement but in an earlier post this fall you talked about getting the new wood look tile installed in your basement family room. I’m trying to envision how you have all the rooms that you have. We have two small bedrooms and a third that was converted from a one car garage, one small bathroom, a fairly small living room, a decent sized kitchen but no dining room, and a pretty good sized laundry room. You have about 50 square feet more but it seems like you have a lot more space and several more rooms.

    • Jennifer says

      January 14, 2015 at 8:42 pm

      We are in a split,so actually have a sub-level, but we call it the basement. Maybe it’s how the rooms are divided up? We have 3 small bedrooms,first floor kitchen, dining room, living room combo and the basement/sub level room which is 10 x12.We have a very small one car garage that is too small to park in so it is storage. Maybe that explains it? It’s a lot of it is very creative photography angles. 🙂

Trackbacks

  1. Small space living pt.3-opening up your space with paint color and texture - Jennifer Rizzo says:
    January 18, 2015 at 5:33 pm

    […] You can see part one here and part two here. […]

  2. Small space living pt.4-furniture placement around windows and doors - Jennifer Rizzo says:
    January 18, 2015 at 5:35 pm

    […] The couch is in front of a window, but pulled out slightly and there is a really useful storage trunk! […]

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