15+ Space-Saving Ideas for Any Room in the Home
If your home is bursting at the seams, maximizing space can make it functional again.
I love maximizing space in cramped homes! When you get started, it feels impossible and overwhelming, like your home will perpetually feel claustrophobic. But there are so many ways you can maximize the space you do have to make your home one that you love if you take the time to see your space differently.
For instance, take a look at the photo above. Most contractors would have closed in the space below the stairs and wouldn’t have thought to add such a shallow shelf on that wall in front of the stairs. There’s even space on the ledge in front of the window. Oh, the opportunities!
In future articles, I’ll go more in depth about each room in your home, but for this article, we’ll get started with ideas for maximizing space that will work for any room in your home.
In this article:
Why You Should Maximize the Space in Your Home
It’s obvious to most that maximizing space is critical to functioning well in a tiny home. But tiny houses aren’t the only types of homes that can benefit from maximizing space. No matter the size of your home, if you’re bursting at the seams for what your family needs, then you could use a little space maximizing.
And you are in good company. The average American home contains 300,000 items, and self-storage is now a $44 billion industry in the U.S., with more than 52,000 self-storage facilities. That’s almost twice as many as the number of McDonald’s and Starbucks combined. Furthermore, 36% of Americans can’t park in their own garage because it’s too cluttered. That’s a lot of stuff!
But even if you’ve decluttered and still don’t fit in your home, the rising cost of housing may be pricing you out of the market for a larger home. Whether you’re stuck in a home too small for your needs, prefer a small home, are trying to save money, or just want to make the home you love work for your family, maximizing space can help you live comfortably in your space again. Besides, shouldn’t you make sure it’s necessary before you pay all that money for a storage unit or a larger home?
Maximizing space allows you to see your home for what it is and the potential it has for where you can put things. The smaller the home, the more creative you will need to be. Once you discover all the places you can put things, making the best use of those spots with the ideal storage solutions will allow you to maximize the space you have.
How to Make Maximizing Space Fun
Gather your housemates or family together and compete to identify the most places you can add organizing solutions. Set a timer and whoever lists the most spots wins. If you live alone, you can race the clock yourself.
Or create the opposite vibe by slowing things down and creating a creative environment where you can brainstorm ideas with mood music, a mug of coffee or hot chocolate, and your favorite pen.
Shelves inside the wall between the wall studs!
15+ Space-Saving Ideas for Any Room in the Home
First things first, declutter, declutter, declutter. There’s no point in trying to maximize space to store things you don’t use anymore. Let go of the old so you have room for what you’re using now.
Next, look around the room and identify all the empty space on the floor, walls, and ceilings. Basically look everywhere. Look below things, above things, around things, and even in things. Anywhere you find space.
Now brainstorm how you can use that space. Don’t worry about whether you’re overdoing it. The key is to identify all the opportunities first then decide what works best for the space. Can you install some wall shelves above your headboard for books you read in bed? Can you purchase under-bed bins or drawers on wheels for your extra blankets and pillows? Can you attach your often-used knives on a magnetic strip on the wall? Can you hang a shelf behind the stove for spices? Can you get a cabinet for over the toilet?
Don’t forget the 5th wall, the ceiling. Can you hang your plant from the ceiling instead of placing it on a shelf? Can you hang a pot rack from the kitchen ceiling? Can you install storage in your garage ceiling? Can you get a pulley system to raise your bikes?
Think about how you can use doors. Can you hang an over-the-door accessory organizer on the inside of your front closet door for your hats, scarves, and gloves? Can you move your family calendar to the inside of a kitchen cabinet? Can you hang the dish towel on an over-door towel rack on the under-sink cabinet door? Can you install narrow shelves on the inside of your pantry door for spices? Can you hang a towel rack on your bathroom door? Can you install a full-length mirror on your bedroom door? Can you convert a door to a Murphy door with shelving?
What opportunities can you create if you use different furniture or fixtures? Can you replace the sofa with a slightly smaller one that fits the space better? Do you have a short cabinet that you could replace with one that reaches floor to ceiling for more storage? Can you purchase a bed with storage? Can you have an electrician install a light fixture in the ceiling or on the wall instead of using a floor lamp?
You can save space if you convert to multi-function options. Can you get a coffee table with storage that also can pull up into a table and be used as extra seating when needed? Can you replace a few of your small appliances with a multi-function air fryer/toaster or a multi-function pressure cooker? Can you use a tall kitchen table with stools that doubles as more prep space? Can you tuck storage ottomans under a console table that you can pull out when you need extra seating?
Similarly, you can use fold-away options. Can you use a fold-away table for your multi-function space? Can you get a murphy bed or a converting sofa for the spare room? Can you install a fold-away iron on your laundry room wall? Can you install a fold-up chair in your tiny shower for your aging mother?
You can utilize space you already have if you make wasted space functional. Can you use a bin for a tight freezer shelf so you can pull it out and get to everything in the back? Can you install a lazy Susan in a large, deep corner cabinet? Can you tuck a folding stepstool next to the fridge so you can use the top shelves in your kitchen cabinets?
When arranging furniture, use the middle of the room to create more space on the walls. Can you place your sofa in the middle of the room facing the focal point? Can you use a see-through floor bookshelf in the middle of an open-concept space or efficiency apartment to define the spaces? Can you place a small portable island in the little extra space in the middle of your kitchen?
Look in all the nooks and crannies to use uncommon spaces as well. Can you install a shelf above a doorway? Can you use under-bed storage bins for under a tall sofa? Can you install narrow shelves for canned goods on the walls going down the stairs to your basement? Can you install a wall shelf in an oddly shaped nook? Can you hang brooms and mops in the tiny space next to the fridge? Can you get a narrow rolling cart for the tiny space between the toilet and bathroom sink? Can you get a stair basket for things that need to go upstairs?
One thing you may not have considered is to block windows a little bit. You want to take care when blocking natural light, but there are ways you can do it well, which include using see-through or short things. Can you hang a plant from the ceiling in front of a window on the side? Can you place the kitchen table in front of the fixed side of the sliding glass door with a bench on that side, so it doesn’t block too much light (extra credit if the set is glass or acrylic)? Can you put a clear acrylic shelf in front of a window and place all of your kitchen glasses or glass decor on it?
Think outside the box to create more storage space when you use fun items as decor. Can you mount your surf boards or hockey sticks on the wall? Can you store your beautiful instruments out on an open shelf or mount them to the wall? Can you organize your yarn skeins or art supplies in wall cubbies?
If you own your home, you can even go behind the walls or under the floor. Can you put storage or a dog bed under the stairs? Can you create a platform for the area where you have your bed and create storage underneath? Can you open up the space between two studs in a wall and create shelves (see picture right) or install a bathroom cabinet for above the sink? Can you add drawers under each stair?
You can even use the air itself. Can you use a bunk bed instead of two twin ones in a shared kids’ room? Can you install a loft bed or even a loft area if you’ve got really high ceilings? Can you install a cat walk with cat scratchers instead of floor ones? Can you add a closet or even a room instead of leaving an entryway or living room with two-story ceilings?
“PRO TIP: Pay attention to where electrical sockets are for items needing electricity, and remember to find a place for things like extension cords, surge protectors, cable ties, and charging stations.”
Maximizing Space When You Rent Your Home
Bins that hang from shelves are great for renters.
Just because you rent doesn’t mean you can’t hang things. For flat walls and ceilings made of drywall, you can always remove it when you leave and patch the holes. Stay away from permanent attachments to things like doors that can’t be patched like drywall. There are so many over-the-door options for anything you can think of instead (think mirrors, towel racks, shelves, shoe organizers, bins, etc.). You can also use removable hooks that don’t damage the walls, like Command™ hooks, or attach things with clips or clamps. Another option is to attach things to places no one ever sees, like the top of a window frame. Or you can even hang things, like a drawer or bin that hangs from the shelf above it (see picture right).
Alternatively, you can offer to leave whatever you put up for the next tenant if it’s a value-add. Landlords I’ve had have been pretty receptive to added towel racks in the bathroom and hooks in the closets.
You’ll still want to check with your landlord or building management for their rules. For example, colleges sometimes don’t allow attaching things to dorm walls, even Command™ hooks, so be sure to ask. Or they may want to install things themselves. I had a landlord who preferred to change lightbulbs because it was cheaper for them than replacing light fixtures that could break while opening them up. So just ask. You don’t want to lose your security deposit, or worse, get kicked out for breaking the lease.
Another issue you may come across as a renter is you may be required to store things that aren’t yours or the space may come furnished with some or all furniture. When this happens, find out what rules or restrictions there are. For example, the space may include a piano. What can you put on it if anything? Can you move it to another spot in the home? Is the piano there because they can’t afford to move it? If so, could you offer to pay for piano movers? Or they may have left an old sofa there. Do they care if it gets damaged? If you don’t want to use it, can you pay to haul it to the dump or coordinate putting it on Craigslist?
Pro Tip: Hire a Pro for Electrical, Plumbing, and Opening Up Walls
Unless you are trained yourself, be sure to use a professional contractor or handyperson for stuff like opening walls and installing wall shelves, which you’ll want to ensure are properly secured to wall studs. Consult a structural engineer for renovations involving structure, like creating pass throughs, in-wall storage, or removing walls, and hire plumbers, electricians, and HVAC specialists for that type of work instead of a handyperson. Homes in general, but tiny homes in particular, have very complicated building codes and vary by the type of home they are and the locality they are located in (and for some things the neighborhood), so you want someone who is knowledgeable in that field so you pass inspections.
Useful Space-Saving Organizing Products
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