Minimalism may be trending and decluttering in style, but there are some things in life that’ll always remain our Achilles’ heel. You know, stuff you can’t imagine throwing out, or items that you have painstakingly (or unwittingly) amassed over the years.
So don’t! Why feel guilty about having too much of the stuff you enjoy? Be it books, bags or BearBricks, celebrate your obsessions with the perfect places to display them; these 16 genius storage ideas are proof that more is more – with a bit of organization.
Too Many...
1. Plants
Line Them Up on Shelves
Interior Designer: Asolidplan
Green fingers? This is how you should keep your lush, leafy greens from looking like an unkempt jungle. Have a dedicated corner for putting up your plants, or mount shelves (if you have tiny, potted kinds) to line them up on your walls for a structured, linear look.
2. Bags
Build A Display Cabinet
Interior Designer: Free Space Intent
Interior Designer: Mr Shopper Studio
Your Chanel, Hermes and Gucci investment pieces are meant to shine in the spotlight, not kept in the dark. Make them the highlight of your space with a display that does literally that. In-built cove lights give these showcase cabinets a luxe, upscale glow – a refined fit for their equally luxurious carryalls.
Frame Them with Cubbyholes
Interior Designer: Dan's Workshop
Interior Designer: Fuse Concept
Bags may come in all shapes, sizes and colours, but one way display all of them without looking like a mess? Frame the accessory with uniform cubbyholes or boxy structures. Like these elegant set ups, the regular lines of the storage spaces take attention away from otherwise mismatched bag styles.
Create A Bag Wall
Interior Designer: The Scientist
You don’t need much space to do up a decent corner for showcasing your bags. Conveniently utilizing an extra wall by the corridor, the place has since been converted into gorgeous centerpiece that greets visitors into the bathroom. And, let’s not forget – a handy place for grabbing your tote of choice after a quick change.
3. Comic Book Figurines
Use Crate Boxes
Interior Designer: Inzz Studio
Be resourceful and make the best out of whatever you have. That means, even if you only have a tiny, boxed up area to display your collection of DC figurines, maximize what’s available by placing those pieces on top, upside down or around your boxes - just not necessarily inside.
4. Random Knick Knacks and Souvenirs
A Shipping Container
Interior Designer: Co.Prozfile Design
If you think your obsession with collecting toys and knack knicks are some next level madness, contain it with – you guessed it – a shipping container! Okay, this striking container-inspired feature isn’t the real one per se, but it definitely delivers a visual punch with its dash of striking red.
5. BearBricks
Integrate It To Your Feature Wall
Interior Designer: LemonFridge Studio
A little planning goes a long way; design a storage layout that revolves around your favourite collectible for a clean, minimal look. In this case, the designer came up with an integrated living cum seating combination to accommodate the homeowners collection of BearBricks in varying sizes - ranging from the usual 100% to gigantic 600% versions.
6. Lego Bricks
Sort Them Into Colour-Coordinated Niches
Interior Designer: Posh Home
One surefire way that’ll make your home look messy? Distracting colours. It’s time to appeal to your OCD side. Even though this homeowner is big on lego bricks, a quirky feature wall is built to sort and arrange each piece by colour, creating a display that’s eye-catching and ultra-organised.
7. Clothes
Allocate A Walk-In Wardrobe Space
Interior Designer: Mr Shopper Studio
Raise your hands if you’re an unabashed shopaholic! If decluttering isn’t an option for you right now (because your heart can’t take it – and besides, you haven’t even worn some pieces out yet!) it’s go big or go home.
Interior Designer: Corazon Interior
A typical 4-door wardrobe isn’t going to cut it; so, set aside a space within your bedroom, a separate room, or combine both rooms to convert into a walk-in wardrobe cum changing area. Posh.
Check Out: 9 Clever Walk-In Wardrobe Ideas for Small Homes
8. Foods and Condiments
Utilise Exposed Shelving (Wherever You Can)
Interior Designer: Asolidplan
If food is the spice of life, yours is absolutely burning hot - you’ve got condiments for every cuisine imaginable! Besides your kitchen cabinets, consider squeezing in open shelves and ledges in extra spaces to line up your favourite foodstuffs for easy reach.
9. Wine
Build A Wine Rack Into Your Wall
Interior Designer: Project Guru
A wannabe sommelier at home who enjoys collecting a vast range of vintages? The perfect place to store all those bottles might just be your concrete wall! Wine storage compartments set in dark, lacquered woods blend seamlessly into this home's décor, and double as a checkered motif that adds a little dressy glamour to the space.
10. Kitchen Tools and Utensils
Hang It Up With Wire Frames/Pegboards
Interior Designer: Linear Space Concepts
Maybe, you’re not so much of a foodie, but more a lover of pretty, practical objects – like your kitchen tools. Be it spatulas, pots and pans in a whole spectrum of patterns and colours, your gorgeous cookware is meant to be flaunted.
Interior Designer: Third Avenue Studio
Do so by hanging them up on wire frames (for a gritty, industrial vibe) or pegboards. This also makes it easy to access the right tools when you're in a rush to cook.
11. Books
Construct Full-Length Bookshelves
Interior Designer: Fuse Concept
An unabashed bookworm? If you have a collection that rivals that of a library at home, be one. Full, wall-flushed bookcases filled to the brim with all kinds of tomes add variety and visual interest to the area, thanks to its colourful spines.
Interior Designer: Urban Habitat Design
And if you’re feeling ambitious, convert your shelves into sliding partitions for a show-stopping, space saving twist!
12. Shoes
Put Them On Quirky Pedestals
Interior Designer: Dap Atelier
A guy (or girl) can never have enough shoes! Besides being a functional accessory, some shoes have transcended into sculptural pieces on their own (like limited-release sneaker models or sky-high stilettos). And if you’ve got a collection to match, why not put your favourite kicks up on display? Located near the foyer, this home’s industrial-style partition made of salvaged pipes work as a nifty pedestal for the homeowner’s sneaker collection.
Hide Them For A Pleasant Surprise
Interior Designer: Meter Square
You have shoes that are almost too pretty to wear them out – then you have those that have suffered constant wear and tear. Basically, nothing you’d want to air out for the whole world to see. Besides the bulky shoe cabinets, concealed bomb shelter doorways can be used to squeeze it some feet room. The extra gap between this false wall and bomb shelter is used to line up an array of shoes.
13. Vinyl Records
Store Them In Movable Record-Store Cabinets
Interior Designer: The Interior Lab
You scoff at those who hang up their vinyl recordings like artworks; how do you even get to listen to them now? You’re particular like that – mainly because you have amassed a decent collection that renders you a connoisseur. Recreate the buzzing atmosphere of finding a gem in a record store with a movable vinyl compartment that feels just like it. To complete the look, this home added a movable table for fitting a record player.
Storage woes, says who?
Not everybody is born a minimalist (or Marie Kondo). Need more storage to store your ever-increasing collection of stuff? An interior designer can do that (and more) - and we can help. Request for a quote here, and we can match you up with 5 interior firms, based on your budget and style.
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