Interior design isn’t just about making things look nice – your spaces needs to be practical and functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. And if there’s one thing that will make a big difference to the function of your home, it’s storage solutions. Plus they can be pretty, too!
Ensuring you have efficient, hard-working storage throughout your home will make a huge difference to your comfort levels – not only does storing things out of sight save space, it also creates a calm, relaxing atmosphere. All that clutter, gone!
Having a home for everything will make it easier to find those things you need once in a blue moon, like the spare duvet or your ski suit. So here are some of our favourite clever storage solutions to help to reclaim space, along with some top tips for creating a minimal, mess-free home.
Living room storage ideas
If you find your living space is overrun with coffee table books, abandoned candles and trinkets of all shapes and sizes, some bookcase storage is in order. For smaller spaces, traditional bookcases can be far too big and bulky… but luckily, we have an ingenious solution up our sleeves!
Our extending bookcase is a super versatile piece that adapts to work with the size and layout of your living room. For tight spots, it can be used as a single unit with plenty of space to display your books, candles and trinkets. If you have a bit more room to play with, it extends into a double unit with even more storage space. And if you need something that works in a corner, it bends at the centre to fit even the most awkward space! Like we said – ingenious.
Quick Tip: For open storage like this, use stylish storage boxes to keep items out of sight. These braided natural storage boxes will look fantastic displayed on open shelving, but they’re big enough to hide plenty inside.
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Storage when working from home
Lots of us work from home permanently now, which is fantastic for our work/life balance but not always great for keeping our houses free of clutter. If you don’t have a dedicated workspace and tend to use your dining room table as your office, it can be hard to leave work behind when you’ve got papers strewn about the place or boxes of books stacked up!
That’s where this clever table with drawer storage comes in. The Biniti Table is a stylish and spacious dining room table that seats six, but with hidden depths – clever drawer storage under the top!
This extra space is perfect for storing work papers, text books, even kids’ craft supplies or homework sheets. It keeps your dining room table clear of clutter so you can easily set it for mealtimes, and you won’t have to keep shifting your work stuff from room to room. We’re in love!
Quick Tip: Use slim document folders to keep papers organised in drawers – you can label each one so you know what’s inside at a glance.issue
For those who live in small studio spaces, making room for a large table or desk for work may not be possible. Small city centre flats or apartments don't always have the floor space to be able to cater for large workspaces. That's why in our Les Ingenieux range, we've added this beautiful Matheo Hideaway Cabinet Desk. This is the perfect working-from-home solution for small spaces.
The Matheo Hideaway Cabinet is only 17cm thick when closed, it contains 2 small drawers to store all of your work papers and notes. When stored away with the doors closed, it blends perfectly in any room and displays as an everyday cabinet!
More space saving tips
There are lots of clever products in the La Redoute Interiors range that can help keep your home organised, from beds that fold away (perfect for a spare room/office hybrid) to lamps with shelf storage (keep your books right next to your reading lamp).
Shop the Les Ingenieux range to find your perfect space-saving or storage product!
Here are some other quick and easy storage wins you can use to create extra space in your home…
- Look for functional storage solutions that double up as furniture, like this storage bench. Great for playrooms or living spaces where you might need additional seating as well as a place to hide clutter!
- For small studios or rentals where floor space is limited, make use of vertical space. Look for stacking furniture options and make use of free-standing shelving that can be moved around.
- Hidden storage solutions are also a great way to hide clutter but maximise space. Our Matheo Hideaway Cabinet is the perfect renter-friendly storage cabinet that transforms into a work-from-home area with a fold-out desk and spacious shelves.
- Mount clothes drying racks on walls to save on floor space – this wall-mounted airer can be hung higher on the wall over your washing machine, for example.
- Use shelf risers to double your shelf space – they sit on top of your existing shelves, creating a little bridge that you can place things on top of and underneath.
- Hang everything – invest in hooks of all shapes and sizes and place them around your home so you can hang things that might otherwise take up drawer or floor space. Everything from pots and pats to belts and hats can be hung up!
