storage furnitureStorage furniture is not just for small spaces, but it does work well if that is your situation. You may be asking what I mean by that term. Just like containers, there are a lot of pieces of furniture that would fall into the storage category.

The obvious pieces of storage furniture are bookcases, cabinets, armoires, dressers, desks, etc. There are also not so obvious pieces such as storage ottoman’s, benches and beds with built-in drawer’s underneath that do double duty.

These pieces of furniture double as storage so you get more bang for your buck and save space at the same time. When you’re downsizing from a large home to a smaller home, you are reducing the amount of your belongings, sometimes significantly.

Even though you’ve made the difficult decisions on what to keep or discard, you still may have more things than will fit comfortably in your new home. Having too much furniture may produce a cluttered effect. That’s why you may want to consider acquiring, or replacing some pieces of your furniture with storage furniture.

You may have noticed that I mentioned above to ‘replace’ some pieces of your furniture with storage furniture.  Many larger homes have larger rooms so the pieces of furniture we choose are also sizeable. Then you move to a smaller home with smaller rooms and that large furniture could fill up the space and consequently could lead to a cluttered space that is difficult to navigate.

When that happens, replacing pieces with built-in storage is a win-win strategy! Consider the following tips and options for storage furniture, as you’re downsizing for a move to keep your belongings proportionate to your living spaces and avoid the clutter effect.

Storage Furniture Tips

  • Before you buy any type of storage, determine what items will be stored there so you get the item that best fits your needs.
  • A basic organizing principal is to store items where you will use them.
  • Bookcases – many come with adjustable shelves. Determine the height of the items that will be stored on the shelves, then adjust them to maximize storage.

Double-Duty Storage Furniture

  • Storage benches – these are popular to use in mud rooms, or foyers. Some have open cubbies to put bins in for storage and you can sit on them to put on, or take off shoes. Others open up from the top with storage space inside.
  • Storage ottomans – many people use these for seating in a family room and also storage for the things they use in that room. These double-duty pieces of furniture are a good place to store pillows and throws.
  • Storage beds – drawers underneath save space if you don’t have room for one or more dressers.