19 storage solutions for small spaces
Tiny homes hold the secret to clever storage, with their well-placed shelves and multi-functional furniture. They demonstrate that if you get creative, you can maximise even the most minuscule sliver of space. Keeping this in mind, we searched room by room to find the best storage solutions for small spaces – including small room ideas for small bedrooms, small bathrooms and small kitchens.
“With a smaller space I recommend getting clever with storage – finding multi use items such as ottomans (functioning as a good place to perch as well as store items like blankets or toys) and beds which can store bed linen and towels (ottoman style lift up/drawers/or simple zip up bags under the bed),” recommends interior designer Clare Gaskin. If budget allows, then built in or bespoke joinery can transform a tiny space into a hard-working room with plenty of storage. If this isn't possible, then Sarah Walter Boyd recommends using cantilevered freestanding storage, which maximises floorspace.
“For storage I think it’s also important to be realistic about exactly what ‘stuff’ you have and what you actually want to see on a daily basis,” recommends Lucy Mayers. What items would you be happy to display (and as our archive shows, displaying can actually be a good way of storing) and what needs to be hidden away behind cupboards? If you don't need direct access to some items, then you can be very creative with where you store it, from under your bed, to within a banquette to below your bath.
Whatever your small storage requirements may be, we've got the nifty solutions to suit even the pokiest of rooms.
Storage solutions for small spaces
Boz Gagovski1/19Sarah Walter Boyd recommends using freestanding cantilevered storage in small space, as she's done in her petite modernist flat in Stockwell. These are vintage Paul Cadovius shelves, found on Facebook Marketplace which match the period of the building and provide storage and design interest in one. By having ‘floating’ storage you maximise the floor space and avoid furniture feeling crushed together; in this case, should the shelving unit have stretched to the floor, it would have felt too close to the sofa. It also makes it much easier to hoover.
Boz Gagovski2/19Daniel Slowik and Benedict Foley's bijou Hackney flat is full of clever space-saving and storage tricks. Pictured here, the elegant sofa was custom made, based on a sofa that Nancy Lancaster had at her house Ditchley Park. It sits at dining height so that the sitting room can become a dining room when required; there is storage space beneath it, and it can even serve as a slender single bed when necessary. In a small space, storage has to work hard and often multi-role.
Owen Gale3/19One of the guest bedrooms in Georgina Cave's house has a bed with drawers designed by Georgina to maximise storage. The handmade patchwork quilt was designed and sewn by Anouska using leftover scraps of fabric from the eiderdowns she makes. The blind fabric was sourced from Namay Samay and the rug from Warris Vianni.
Simon Brown4/19Another example of hard-working storage, this free-standing shelving unit in Emma Burns' small, sophisticated London flat was designed by Emma and built by Christopher Bell and incorporates a small desk that pulls out.
Paul Massey5/19In this project by Laura Stephens, two beds are separated by a tiny antique stool which acts as a bedside table. The shelf above the tongue and groove panelling is a clever way to create a place storage and display without using up valuable floor space.
Simon Brown6/19In the tiny Paddington flat below, Beata Heuman hid the TV in a bespoke cabinet covered in an elegant Fornasetti wallpaper, and the ottoman provides more storage, in an attractive green package.
Milo Brown7/19Lonika Chande has made the most of this space in a Chelsea townhouse by installing one of our favourite small bedroom solutions, a pretty box bed. “We positioned the bed underneath the sash window to maximise floor space, because we couldn't afford to lose any space around the bed. We also created a shelf behind the headboard which actually lifts up to reveal storage for clutter or extra books.”
Dean Hearne8/19No space for a bedside table? No problem. Try an alcove or floating shelf above your bed, or to the side (if the bed is against a wall). This is a particularly elaborate example in the bedroom of Carolina Irving's house on the Portuguese coast, where a wall decorated with Andalusian tiles has a nook built into it, which serves as storage in lieu of bedside tables. The wall divides the bed from the ensuite bathroom.
Elsa Young9/19Lots of living rooms have a central fireplace with alcoves on either side, which are valuable nooks for storage in small houses. This is an unusual and visually impactful solution in the London home of Henrietta Courtauld, remodelled by Retrouvius. Here, small, built-in cupboards are covered with a window, with floating artworks placed behind the glass. This part-art part-storage solution allows you to have your clutter hidden away, but still make the room feel interesting and art-filled.
Paul Massey10/19The space above your bed is rarely considered but when you're stretched for space, every inch is valuable. This bedroom in Rosi de Ruig's house features built-in shelving above the bed (somewhat hidden by the curtain with pelmet) and a skirt under the bed to hide away storage.
Boz Gagovski11/19Sometimes you have to think creatively about storage when it doesn't come in ample supply, which is often the case in London. The bed in Lucy Mayer's flat was “one of those lift-up ottoman beds, and I kept our ironing board and various suitcases in it.” These type of beds are useful for storing items you won't use on a daily basis, like seasonal duvets, blankets and spare bedding.
Alicia Waite12/19If you're short of space but have a lot of beautiful items, take inspiration from Emma Ainscough's flat and build shelves into a wall. Whilst you have to be quite organised to keep the space looking presentable, this is a good way to add colour, interest and storage to a small space.
Taran Wilkhu13/19In Zoë Zimmer’s Notting Hill flat, a raised seat in the spare room allows for smart, sleek under-bench storage. A ‘Stockholm’ rug from Ikea is teamed with curtains in emerald velvet from Designers Guild in this stylish studio-cum-spare room.
Sarah Hogan14/19Interior designer Jane Taylor’s flat features small kitchen storage ideas galore – including this corner which cleverly mixes shelving and hooks to brilliant, space-saving effect.
Chris Tubbs15/19Designer Adam Bray’s solution to book storage is cleverly integrated above-door shelves (see another example by designer Ebba Thott here). For similar effect on a smaller budget, try this look from Ikea.
Sarah Hogan16/19Another example of witty ingenuity in Jane Taylor's small London flat, this cupboard is both storage and a home office. A guitar hangs on the back of the door, which opens to reveal shelves, a desk and a vintage stool which tucks away within.
Christopher Horwood17/19If you want plenty of storage but don't want to dominate the space with furniture, try going long and low. In the small main bedroom of this flat in a converted tannery, a long, low chest provides storage as well as a helpful surface for ornaments and toiletries.
Simon Brown18/19Interior designer Beata Heuman transformed her firsr west London apartment in a style she jokingly referred to as “urban safari chic”, making imaginative use of both the compact space and her limited funds. She cleverly compensated for the lack of cupboards with a utility cupboard inside a structural column and tall bookshelves. “The investment in built-in joinery was minimal as everything is on a modest scale,” she explaines.
Paul Massey19/19In this tiny barn decorated by antiques dealer Christopher Howe, a low ceiling in the kitchen is convenient rather than claustrophobic, with out-of-the-way hooks for hanging rags and cutting boards. An eighteenth-century Norwegian dresser is an easy-on-the-eye storage solution, giving the small space character.
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