Clever Storage Enriches Real Estate

Modern home buyers are a special kind. They seek spectacular homes with attractive presentations.
Clever Storage Enriches Real Estate
A stairway with side access storage underneath. Built-ins include three drawers, a double cabinet, a wine rack, and an open shelf above the drawers. (Adam Miller/The Epoch Times)
10/11/2010
Updated:
10/11/2010
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/IMG_1652_medium.JPG"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/IMG_1652_medium.JPG" alt="A stairway with side access storage underneath. Built-ins include three drawers, a double cabinet, a wine rack, and an open shelf above the drawers.  (Adam Miller/The Epoch Times)" title="A stairway with side access storage underneath. Built-ins include three drawers, a double cabinet, a wine rack, and an open shelf above the drawers.  (Adam Miller/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-113920"/></a>
A stairway with side access storage underneath. Built-ins include three drawers, a double cabinet, a wine rack, and an open shelf above the drawers.  (Adam Miller/The Epoch Times)
Modern home buyers are a special kind. They seek spectacular homes with attractive presentations, and, at the same time, require efficient floor plans with plenty of storage space. It’s not just granite counter tops, or large, luxury master suites they need… but also room to stow their stuff.

“At the top of buyers’ lists is always storage. The more you can provide the more value you add onto your home price,” associate architect, Ronique Gibson, told the International Business Times recently.

So it is good to know—when renovating or building—the application of storage space will increase ease of living and bolster property values.

Before exploring the avenues of how to enable a home with more storage, it’s worth referencing a time in American history when storage solutions reached a pinnacle in resourcefulness, and also in creativity: the arts and crafts movement.

Built-intelligence

Early twentieth century architects and builders who adhered to the principles of the arts and crafts movement had effective storage down to a tee. The use of built-ins had grown into a friendly fad. They were useful for the times, and also an ode to true craftsmanship.

With the emergence of automobiles came sprawl to the suburbs; neighborhoods with smaller lots were born, one stacked next to the other. It was now a goal to build smaller, tastefully efficient homes. The call had arrived for built-in furnishings. This included window seats and benches, desks and cabinets, bookshelves, and a bit of everything else—there were even telephone nooks in hallways and drawers in kitchens that opened up to become built-in ironing boards.

Times have changed, and so have homeowners’ needs. Though now sizeable laundry rooms exist and built-in ironing boards are no longer a kitchen standard, the early twentieth century was a period filled with brilliant ideas. These examples of traditional craftsmanship can still be found in many older homes today.

Old Home Living, Modern Needs

Over the years family needs have shifted, and so have preferences in housing layouts and spatial requirements. Today, most people who purchase old homes do so because they are awed by a home’s character, not because they like the size of its bedrooms or kitchen. There is often a tradeoff, utility for character. The following suggestions on how to add storage to a home can work with old homes and new homes alike.

How to Enrich Your Space

“When choosing how to upgrade your home, storage is one of the easiest and often overlooked suggestions.” –Associate Architect, Ronique Gibson

A bench seat will improve a home in three ways by adding: internal storage space, a place to lounge, and improved architectural appeal. The addition can be simple and affordable; one can purchase a freestanding seat from a furniture store or can install a custom seat to fit an alcove.

Bench storage is usually accessed through the means of lift-up seats, drawers, doors or open shelves. The bench seat can be placed anywhere—an entryway to store shoes and other outdoor gear, or under a set of windows to double as a window seat.

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<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/IMG_1660_medium.JPG"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/IMG_1660_medium.JPG" alt="Decorative built-in book shelving between two closets and above a bed. (Adam Miller/The Epoch Times)" title="Decorative built-in book shelving between two closets and above a bed. (Adam Miller/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-113921"/></a>
Decorative built-in book shelving between two closets and above a bed. (Adam Miller/The Epoch Times)
Unused space underneath staircases can be maximized and presented beautifully. A basic closet can be added under a staircase. Where it opens to will decide its purpose—near a kitchen, it will be a pantry; in a den, it may be a home for coats.

Another way to add storage is via a side access under the stairs: forming open shelves, drawers glass cabinets. These add visual appeal and easy access. Some creative individuals have even installed drawers inside the stairs, where stair risers become actual drawer fronts.

If there is a doorway that rarely gets used in a home, and particularly if the home also needs a boost in character, a rotating door/hidden bookshelf can be installed. Hidden doors make hidden rooms, adding intrigue. Search for ideas at The Hidden Door Company.

Opportunity lies inside the walls, between the wall studs. Where in a home will built-in shelving nooks most improve architectural appeal while increasing function? As long as wiring, piping or ductwork is absent behind the wall, a built-nook is possible.

Nooks are fun and useful, and can work in rooms and hallways to hold small practical or decorative collections. Even a half-wall in the bathroom, with cut openings, will increase toilet or tub storage, or can be made into a medicine cabinet.

Pocket doors are built-in doorways that allow wall space to remain free and open around them. They have a modern, clean look and can be effective in a variety of spaces. It is best to plan a pocket door at the time of construction, as adding one later will call for a wall to be demolished and reframed.

The back of a bathroom door can stow items; by painting the door in magnetic paint, magnetic hooks and towel bars can be attached.

Corner shelves and tables can convert room corners—which would otherwise act as empty space—into unique storage opportunities. As with art and furniture, corner shelves and tables have the power to dress up a room.

John Ruskin, a nineteenth century arts and architecture critic, whose writings were inspiration for the arts and crafts movement, said, “Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.”

While, to a degree, this speaks truthfully, people today will continue to purchase things. This means in the modern world storage is a precious commodity. When applied to Ruskin’s thought, clever storage may be the only true weapon to battle the weariness that comes with all our stuff.