Turn to the Wall for Space-Saving Storage

Houzz.com latest piece assures you that your home will function better with this problem-solving approach to finding a place to put things.

Storage: You can’t live without it. But storage furniture that sits on the floor, such as chests and bookcases, has a space-stealing footprint that lessens its effectiveness. With these clever wall-focused solutions to common dilemmas, however, you can have your storage and floor space too.

No room for a coat closet? A coat rack running the length of your hallway can provide enough hanging space for the family’s outerwear.

Choose one with a shelf above to maximize hat and bag storage, and squeeze in a narrow bench (even just the depth of the shelf) beneath to keep shoes neat too. Paint it all to match the wall for a tidy finish.

No space for a dressing table? Custom wall storage comes in handy for stashing jewelry and makeup. Install shelves just above head height to make the room’s footprint feel as big as possible and to leave space for rails with handy hooks beneath. “Custom” makes it sound expensive, but you can DIY this look.

Don’t like wall cabinets? You can keep the kitchen feeling spacious with open shelving tailored to your storage needs.

Don’t waste an inch: Use the underside of the shelves to suspend rails and hooks, and don’t plan to stand or stack anything that can hang instead (mugs and wineglasses, for example). Keep the whole area looking good by finding coordinating accessories to display.

No desk space for an inbox? You don’t need an inbox if you have a pin board or pegboard. This one is just big enough for a few bills, business cards and the odd reminder or two.

If you’d rather cover a bigger area, choose a color for your board that matches the wall behind to help it blend in. Or cover a padded pin board in a bright coordinating fabric.

Not enough cabinets for cookware? When closed kitchen storage is lacking, you can simply hang your pots and pans from hooks or a rail. Putting them on a wall is great; suspending them overhead is marvelous (if the kitchen has the ceiling height).

But if you’re really short on space, consider putting a rod or two across a window. This may block a little light, but if your cookware is made of sparkling stainless steel, it’ll reflect light back into the room too.

Don’t like standard shelving? Modular cubes can turn your displays of books and knickknacks into an artful arrangement.

They work best in groups, and you can up the visual interest by creating a defined shape with them and by choosing ones in different but complementary colors.