These days if you want to live within a cheap cab fare of a metropolitan area, chances are, you won’t have a lot of space. Inner-city and urban living has a smorgasbord of tempting benefits, but space is rarely one of them.
If you live in a tiny place and are desperate for some extra room, we’ve got six tips to help you store your stuff.
1. Use the space under your bed
If you’re buying a new bed, be sure to get one with plenty of room underneath for extra storage. If you already own a low bed you can simply purchase bed risers to get the height you need.
Then purchase rollaway boxes for storing things like shoes, exercise gear, blankets, books or winter clothes that you’ve packed away for summer.
2. Go vertical
Hang pots and pans from a rack attached to the ceiling or simply attach hooks to the walls to hang your kitchen essentials.
Get a tall bookshelf and place fancy archive boxes on top to store extra bed linen and towels. Or get hanging planters instead of using up floor and surface space with pot plants.
Utilise the space above your head and clear up floor space and surface areas.
Kitchen interior
3. Get rolling
Put your bed on lockable wheels so you can push it around your apartment as needed. Wheel it over to the TV so it can double as a couch.
Wheel it out onto the balcony for a summer day bed while entertaining guests or simply wheel it into a corner so you have enough room to do a bedroom workout.
4. Be organised
If you don’t have the space to store unnecessary items then you must ditch anything superfluous immediately.
Installing shelves and storing bulky items on them can save on floor space.
Old magazines, mail, newspapers, shoes you’ve been meaning to get fixed for three years, the ab roller you used once and the popcorn maker your colleagues bought you for your birthday. Ditch it all.
If you live in a small apartment you can’t afford to waste space on items that rarely, if ever get used.
5. Opt for multi-purpose furniture
If you buy new furniture, make it multi-functional.
For example, a box-like coffee table or ottoman that also has storage inside. Collapsable tables are really useful too because you can use them at half size for everyday life and then expand them for when you have guests. You can also get couches that have bookshelves built into the armrests.
There are many bed companies selling beds with large storage drawers underneath, perfect to store things like shoes and sports equipment. If you shop smart you can save yourself heaps of space in a small living area.
6. Look for unexpected solutions
The secret to creating space in a small apartment is to only invest in smart furniture, keep your possessions to a minimum and look for unexpected storage solutions.
Also, don’t forget about interior design magic – light coloured furnishings and mirrors will create a beautiful illusion of space.
31 Riverina Walk. Picture: iProperty
Here are some out-of-the-box ideas:
- Hang a flat plastic organiser on the back of the bathroom door and you’ve got the perfect storage solution for bathroom products and appliances that won’t fit inside your bathroom cupboards.
- Hang your bike high on a wall mounted rack and have it double as an art installation
- Try displaying your shoes in amongst your books on a shelf.
The secret to creating space in a small apartment is to only invest in smart furniture.
Originally published as 6 ways to save space in a tiny apartment by Carly Jacobs. Author at realestate.com.au
