Hidden Storage Space Not Too Hard to Find

Rare is the homeowner who hasn’t a need for more storage space. Not so well known is the fact that there are a number of potential storage places, undiscovered, in most homes.

G. Wallace Davis, client service manager with the Greenman Group Inc., national residential marketing firm based in Hollywood, Fla., offers some suggestions.

In two-story homes, the empty space beneath the stairs is an obvious storage area, needing only the creation of a closet with or without a door and/or shelving where sports equipment, games and audio-video equipment can be kept. Additional space can be found in window seats, stairway landings and roof-line spaces normally sealed, as well as dormers, bay windows and gables.

Cathedral ceilings, which usurp traditional attic space, can be converted to storage areas through the use of built-in shelving to the ceiling. Access can be accomplished with rolling library ladders.

“Books, record albums and plants can be stored and displayed, creating a sense of even greater volume by making shelving reach all the way to the vaulted ceiling instead of stopping at 8 feet,” Davis says.

Lofts can be utilized for storage by eliminating closed drywall and capturing bonus spaces. This is a good place to store old photos and mementos, as well as out-of-season clothing, luggage and anything else owners want within easy access.

Davis suggests adding medicine cabinets or shelving for storage of bathroom toiletries, linens, medications, etc., in the walls or over the commode, tub or shower.

Hooks can be used to suspend bicycles, bass fiddles or you name it from the garage ceiling. Shelving over car hoods provides a large storage area for miscellaneous items.

Pot, plant and luggage shelves can be created by decking the tops of closets. You may even find some shelving ideas at your local home center.