Design Folder: Your Online Design and Decorating Resource

space matters: small space solutions

{dining area with brick wall – inspired by new york lofts}

Terence Conran, one of my design idols, once said that “the central dilemma of living in a small space can be best summed up by a single word: stuff.” For this cozy condo in Pasig, however, the designer found ingenious ways to fit and organize all of the owners’ and their children’s possessions in a limited amount of available space.

Luckily, the condo unit had a high ceiling so the designer was able to convert the extra room above the dining area and above the bed in the master bedroom into storage. With a trusty stepladder always on hand, the owners hide a lot of their belongings in these converted storage spaces.

{storage above dining area}

{additional storage below living room seating}

{left: clerestory windows let light & air in; right: cabinets on other side of the wall}

{left: closet space spanning whole wall; right: storage space above bed}

{left: kids’ room; right: cute shelves for children’s books}

I love how the designer cleverly placed storage solutions all over the condo – like above and below furniture and on wall partitions. It was obvious that the unit’s design was well planned and that storage was a big factor in the design process. I wouldn’t mind living in a small space if it was as chic and as organized as this!

diy tips: a fresh start for your space (part 4)

MAKE YOUR WALLS WORK

Part of decluttering is finding more potential storage spaces. When your cabinets and tables are full, why not turn to your walls for additonal help? My flickr friend Ivy of ivy style33 applied several interesting ideas to organize her kitchen. One is using those magnetic containers from Ikea to store and display her spices on the wall.

Since we do not have Ikea here in the Philippines, we can just make our own. Simply take s small can with a clear lid and hot glue a piece of magnet on its bottom. Make as many as you want! To mount the cans, install a strip of steel onto the wall where the cans can be “mounted”. Apart from the kitchen, you can also use these containers to organize your craft materials like beads, sequins, buttons, pins, and crystals.

To create compartments on your walls, hang a fabric wall organizer where you can store small items like mail, calling cards, bills, etc. There are ready-made wall organizers available in the market. You can also opt to make one for yourself so you can pick the fabrics that you love. This cute fabric organizer is made by my flickr friend mmquaal. She uses this to store all her crafting tools. See more of her crafting projects here.

Here’s a chalboard idea for all you writers and designers like me. I saw this over at housetohome which seems like a calendar+corkboard+writing board+insipartion board all rolled into one! It’s a stylish take on organizing (or decluttering) your schedule, monitoring deadlines and putting together ideas and inspirations for ongoing projects. Hmmm, i just wish I have enough wall space for a huge calendar like that, haha!

I hope all these ideas inspired you to get organized and have a fresh start this 2010. Happy decluttering!

Previous: tabletops, shelves, closets & drawers

diy tips: a fresh start for your space (part 3)

DECLUTTER YOUR CLOSET

I hear a lot of people complain that they don’t have enough closet space. Most of the time, their closets are either full of unused and outdated clothes (which means you need to get rid of all those junk!) or the space is not properly compartmentalized.

In compartmentalizing your closet, it should have sections to store these specific items: long hanging items (long dresses, trench), double-hanging items (tops on the upper half and bottoms on the lower half), folded articles, undergarments, ties, belts, shoes, bags, and other loose miscellaneous items. To find out how much space one should allocate for each section, make an inventory of all your belongings that will be stored in the closet.

Most people take for granted the value of a wide selection of hangers in organizing a closet, when in fact, they can make your storage space work more efficiently while making it look uniform and organized.

Make sure you have a hanger for fine dresses, suits, blouses, suits, skirts, pants, belt and ties. For a uniform appearance, have all your hangers in the same color or finish. Less expensive plastic hangers also come in different types.

Another tip: take a clue from your favourite clothing store and group clothes according to color then according to type, or vice versa. For example, put all pants and skirts together in one section, and group them further according to color. Like in many boutiques, this system makes your closet visually organized.

Although it’s already a compartment in itself, you can further divide your drawer into smaller sections. This is especially helpful in organizing your lingerie, socks, ties, jewelry, and makeup. You don’t need to buy drawer dividers off the rack. You can make your own with some stiff cardboard or stiff plastic sheets.

When dealing with your closet, always remember “to each its space so that everything is in place”. bow. 

Previous: tabletops, shelves

Next: functional walls

diy tips: a fresh start for your space (part 2)

DECLUTTER YOUR SHELVES

Shelves are quite tricky, simply because of their awkward dimensions. Oftentimes, the clearance and depth of the shelves are not right for your stuff. So, it’s always preferable to have adjustable shelves, especially for kitchen cabinets, to avoid wasted space. If you’re just planning to build your shelves, make sure you first do an inventory of the the things that will go in them. Measure your books, boxes, jars, etc. This way, you’ll know how deep or how high apart your shelves should be.

To keep books neatly aligned, use typical bookends. As an alternative, you can also make use of decorative jars and figurines. Just make sure they are sturdy and heavy enough to be used for this purpose.

Books can be arranged in two ways: upright in a row, or stacked in a pile. For taller books, set them in a row, while the shorter books, as well as the the ones that are too tall for the existing clearance of the shelves, can be arranged in a pile to maximize the shelving space. As shown in the photo, piled books can also function as book ends.

Again, remember to compartmentalize, especially for non-book items that need to be stored on your shelves. Do a “boxing match” for smaller items like cds, remote controls, extension cords, and other knick-knacks and gadget accessories. This means match the size of your items with the size of the box/bin where you’ll be storing them. There are bins and boxes that even have clear front pockets where you can insert a label or a photo of the items inside the bin (as shown in the image above).

Labeled boxes are especially useful in the office, craft room, workshop, kitchen and closet. Or, you can just write/print tags and tie them onto the handle of the bin. (image above from domino magazine)

For a uniform look, try what Ms. Creative Director did. She used different sizes of woven boxes with a similar finish to complement the natural texture of their furnishings. She even found a box for her cds.

I know some of you might be hesitant to buy such pretty boxes. They can be a bit expensive if you go to the mall to purchase them. So for a better deal, check out Dapitan Arcade in Dapitan St., QC.

Or, if you’re a diy person, you can just make your own boxes. Re-size and dress up old shoe boxes using craft paper (brown paper which you can buy from national bookstore in rolls) or cheap canvas fabric. If you have enough time, you can also cover the exterior of the box with abaca rope/twine to resemble a woven box.

Previous: tabletops

Next: closets & drawers, functional walls