15 DIY Storage Solutions to Get Hung Up On
Personalise your storage solutions with a little DIY magic to create a unique feature for your home
You buy a new pair of earrings here and a few hair accessories there, and suddenly you’re faced with the challenge of finding a place to store all of these little (but important) things. These creative homeowners show that you don’t need a lot of space or many materials to create a hard-working storage piece. Here are 15 ideas from some Houzzers from the US and other areas around the world to inspire you to add that just-right amount of storage for your own home.
2. Ace of storage in Rome, Italy
For Federica Raddi, an artisan who works in interior and furniture design, objects old and new have starring roles in her live-work apartment in Italy. In her bathroom, she’s repurposed a vintage tennis racket to display earrings and organise hair accessories.
Hobby-nurturing spaces for enthusiasts
For Federica Raddi, an artisan who works in interior and furniture design, objects old and new have starring roles in her live-work apartment in Italy. In her bathroom, she’s repurposed a vintage tennis racket to display earrings and organise hair accessories.
Hobby-nurturing spaces for enthusiasts
3. Multi-purpose entryway shelf in San Francisco, USA
Eunice Chang created this wall-mounted rack as a quick project. The piece of wood is an old floorboard found at Urban Ore, a salvage yard, and the decorative hooks are from Cost Plus World Market, a discount retailer in the US. The groove in the top holds postcards from family and friends. The rack extends the length of the entry hallway, making it both impactful and practical.
Door painted in ‘Fountain City‘: Dunn-Edwards
Eunice Chang created this wall-mounted rack as a quick project. The piece of wood is an old floorboard found at Urban Ore, a salvage yard, and the decorative hooks are from Cost Plus World Market, a discount retailer in the US. The groove in the top holds postcards from family and friends. The rack extends the length of the entry hallway, making it both impactful and practical.
Door painted in ‘Fountain City‘: Dunn-Edwards
4. A really crate organising idea in Ohio, USA
When it comes to storing odds and ends, the more creative, the better. For Chelsea Mohrman, a ceramic egg crate from Cost Plus World Market organises her earrings, and a vintage can serves as a pen holder.
When it comes to storing odds and ends, the more creative, the better. For Chelsea Mohrman, a ceramic egg crate from Cost Plus World Market organises her earrings, and a vintage can serves as a pen holder.
5. Pane-free accessory storage
Kim Smith of Ellensburg, Washington, took a reclaimed window, added some chicken wire and mounted it just inside the master bedroom. It acts as both an art piece and an easy-to-access jewellery and sunglasses holder.
Artistic ways to display jewellery
Kim Smith of Ellensburg, Washington, took a reclaimed window, added some chicken wire and mounted it just inside the master bedroom. It acts as both an art piece and an easy-to-access jewellery and sunglasses holder.
Artistic ways to display jewellery
6. DIY doorknob hook in Montreal, Canada
“You always want to hang your clothes on the doorknob, so I made a strip of wood with doorknobs,” Dominique Leroux says. He made the custom hook using a leftover scrap of wood and recycled porcelain doorknobs from ÉcoRéno.
Leroux made the curtain holder using curved electricity pipes.
“You always want to hang your clothes on the doorknob, so I made a strip of wood with doorknobs,” Dominique Leroux says. He made the custom hook using a leftover scrap of wood and recycled porcelain doorknobs from ÉcoRéno.
Leroux made the curtain holder using curved electricity pipes.
7. Multi-purpose laundry room ladder in Florida, USA
Gany Lalo Bernal and Jimmie Bernal’s laundry room features a number of multi-purpose storage items. They hung a ladder from the ceiling for air-drying laundry, a plumbing pipe became a paper towel holder, and a wall-mounted paper roll doubles as a handy place for lists and notes.
Gany Lalo Bernal and Jimmie Bernal’s laundry room features a number of multi-purpose storage items. They hung a ladder from the ceiling for air-drying laundry, a plumbing pipe became a paper towel holder, and a wall-mounted paper roll doubles as a handy place for lists and notes.
8. Bedhead-turned-hallway-storage in Los Angeles, USA
Joel and Sara Gasparotto repurposed a twin bedhead into a console table for their trim apartment hallway as a space-saving solution. Small candlestick lamps help light the entry. Also displayed is one of Joel’s paintings.
How does your hallway storage stack up?
Joel and Sara Gasparotto repurposed a twin bedhead into a console table for their trim apartment hallway as a space-saving solution. Small candlestick lamps help light the entry. Also displayed is one of Joel’s paintings.
How does your hallway storage stack up?
9. Barn-wood wardrobe in a Connecticut, USA, farmhouse. There was no wardrobe in Ellen Allen’s bedroom, so she had one built. “It is a closet on one side and has a ridiculously large flat-screen TV on the other,” she says. “It separates the dressing area from the rest of the room. We used recycled barn wood and, to keep it from looking too massive, we used glass-paned French doors on both sides and lined them with lace…”
10. Bedhead-turned-shelving-unit in Los Angeles, USA
Ken Pelletier and Maritza Gualy of the Mount Washington neighbourhood of Los Angeles used a wooden Ikea bedhead as a modern shelving unit opposite a bed in their guest bedroom. The couple use the open shelves on the wooden slats to display framed photos and other cherished pieces.
Ken Pelletier and Maritza Gualy of the Mount Washington neighbourhood of Los Angeles used a wooden Ikea bedhead as a modern shelving unit opposite a bed in their guest bedroom. The couple use the open shelves on the wooden slats to display framed photos and other cherished pieces.
11. DIY card catalogue storage in Los Angeles, USA
Pelletier and Gualy also found a vintage library card catalogue and restored it, then added hairpin legs to create a stunning entry-area storage piece.
Pelletier and Gualy also found a vintage library card catalogue and restored it, then added hairpin legs to create a stunning entry-area storage piece.
12. Moulding-turned-shelving in Saratoga, New York, USA
Amanda Crames repurposed some old wall moulding to create a corner shelf above her toilet. Displayed on the shelf are random pieces that caught Crames’ eye, including a Victorian print of a fine lady with a horse, some gilt frames, an older Jennifer Lanne original artwork, a vintage shaving mirror and some wine goblets.
Amanda Crames repurposed some old wall moulding to create a corner shelf above her toilet. Displayed on the shelf are random pieces that caught Crames’ eye, including a Victorian print of a fine lady with a horse, some gilt frames, an older Jennifer Lanne original artwork, a vintage shaving mirror and some wine goblets.
13. Branch shelving in Queensland
A few weeks after Lauren Modi and her husband, Sunny, brought their son home, they realised his nursery didn’t suit him. “It was way too soft…. I have slowly been trying to change it, adding more boyish things,” Lauren says. She gave this Ikea bookshelf a quirky edge by adding a tree branch from which to hang his clothes.
Decorating for free with found objects
A few weeks after Lauren Modi and her husband, Sunny, brought their son home, they realised his nursery didn’t suit him. “It was way too soft…. I have slowly been trying to change it, adding more boyish things,” Lauren says. She gave this Ikea bookshelf a quirky edge by adding a tree branch from which to hang his clothes.
Decorating for free with found objects
14. Hard-working pegboard in a Texas, USA, mudroom
It can be challenging to figure out a way to keep your cleaning supplies organised, but Brandi Hines found a creative way.
The combination laundry room and mudroom provides a cosy sitting area for removing shoes, and a spot to hang jackets and leashes. A pegboard and some cheeky chalk outlines keep her family’s cleaning supplies organised.
It can be challenging to figure out a way to keep your cleaning supplies organised, but Brandi Hines found a creative way.
The combination laundry room and mudroom provides a cosy sitting area for removing shoes, and a spot to hang jackets and leashes. A pegboard and some cheeky chalk outlines keep her family’s cleaning supplies organised.
15. Smart salvage in Pennsylvania, USA
Used ammunition boxes have a more peaceful purpose in the entry area of Sara and Zach Wasser’s Lancaster Colonial home. The couple repurposed them into entryway cubbies and a coat rack. The entire home celebrates Scandinavian simplicity, with well-placed pops of red, like an antique toolbox on the floor.
YOUR TURN
Have you created your own personalised storage solutions? Show us photos by uploading them in the Comments below.
MORE
9 Salvaged Cast-Offs Reinvented as Storage
World of Design: 11 of the Globe’s Most Creative Storage Solutions
My Houzz: A DIY Queen’s Sweet Suburban Dream
Used ammunition boxes have a more peaceful purpose in the entry area of Sara and Zach Wasser’s Lancaster Colonial home. The couple repurposed them into entryway cubbies and a coat rack. The entire home celebrates Scandinavian simplicity, with well-placed pops of red, like an antique toolbox on the floor.
YOUR TURN
Have you created your own personalised storage solutions? Show us photos by uploading them in the Comments below.
MORE
9 Salvaged Cast-Offs Reinvented as Storage
World of Design: 11 of the Globe’s Most Creative Storage Solutions
My Houzz: A DIY Queen’s Sweet Suburban Dream
Lara Van Lannen of Winthrop, Massachusetts, made a necklace holder for her master bedroom from a piece of driftwood found at a local beach and pretty knobs from Anthropologie.