Top Ten Tiny House Storage Solutions
When it comes to living tiny, a well organised clutter-free space via the use of clever storage ideas is the key to a happy home. You'll only kick yourself later if you don't plan well where EVERYTHING is going to go.
Once you have a list of items, the tricky part is finding them a new home, and so here are our top ten suggestions for tiny living storage ideas.
Underfloor Storage Drawers / Underfloor Cavity Space
If you require a shed load of storage, then look no further than underneath your feet! Suggestions would be to add a large drawer under your living room floor for things like guest bedding or equipment that is used on a monthly basis. For weekly items, you could raise your kitchen to fit full-sized underfloor drawers that roll out whenever you need them or how about a small underfloor space on entry for your shoes.
Kitchen Storage Ideas
In general, the kitchen is a stubborn room to design, especially if you cook a lot from scratch. Before you design a tiny house with a million cupboards for every item, how about getting creative? For your pots and pans, you could add a pull-down rack, add sliding hooks for hanging smaller pans and utensils that need to be at arms reach daily. For knives, forks, spoons etc. can you design a tiny drawer to fit precisely what you need in a tiny nook of the kitchen or can you add a rack on the wall that holds them? As you can see the theme here is to see what you will take with you and to find a place for every item during the design process to tailor the home to fit your lifestyle.
General Storage Solutions for Your Tiny House
When designing your home, the key is to use what space you have in a smart way. Think of all those areas that get overlooked, such as doorways or corners that could offer creative storage saving space.
A few ideas: Use up space such as over doorways for wine or spice racks in the kitchen. In the bathroom add ceiling shelves for towels or additional shelving in corners for cosmetics. For shoes, how about creating drawers within your stairs, and for coats, you could add a shallow wardrobe under the stairs for coats and thick jackets.
Trying to describe some of what we've found is simply not worth the headache, so below, you can see some of the innovative ideas that we think could suit most tiny homes.
Foldaway Stairs
For tiny houses on wheels, you may be limited on space for full-sized stairs. Cleverly planned steps that foldaway such as a ladder or like the ones in the image below can save a tonne of space.
Ceiling Cavity Storage
If you're struggling to find a place for your tins in the kitchen or underwear in the bedroom, how about designing some pull-down cupboards in your ceiling?
Exterior Storage
For bikes, sports equipment and just about anything that you'd prefer not to traipse through the house, you could build an exterior storage area with a strong lock for protection for all of your outdoor equipment.
Wardrobe Suggestions
The biggest issue for women in particular is wardrobe positioning. It's not always feasible to place his and her wardrobes in the bedroom, equally they may not fit under the stairs or may be too close to the kitchen which could breed food odours into your clothes. Pull out drawers are great options should you want to raise your kitchen. Alternatively, like our Natura 1 Bed design, we have built an area between the bathroom and kitchen for two double wardrobes with a shoe storage drawer and towel drawer above each wardrobe. This area is also great for adding laundry baskets and washing machines.
Wall Cavity Storage
Similar to ceiling cavity storage, walls are just as useful. Think of additional wall storage for game consoles, DVD players or something as simple as a hidden bookshelf. In the bedroom, you could design his and her hidden wall cupboards that hold underwear, jewellery and other items such as hairdryers.
Bed Placements Ideas
Not everyone is fond of an upstairs bedroom. Living tiny means you get to design your home to suit you and with a clever design, you can hide beds within walls, under floors or simply have them drop down with them being suspended on the ceiling.
Additional Space (Decking/Outdoor Spaces)
Should you be building your home in a permanent spot, you'll have to opportunity to build outwards. Image a sturdy deck with space for growing your greens? Additional features could be a tarp for shade or the use of waterproof sheeting with a wood burner for an outdoor room? When it comes to outdoor space, the possibilities are endless, and so here's a few cool ideas that we think would suit the British climate!
That's it from us at The Tiny Housing Co. If you have any ideas or your favourite storage solutions that we haven't shared, please get in touch!
