Exciting interior news coming up guys! After my boyfriend and I redid our living room and kitchen last year, it is now finally time to deal with our plain boring bedroom. There’s basically a bed, two night stands, two sideboards, an open closet and a whole lotta empty white walls in it. The boringness of it all (let’s call it “minimalism”) is however not what bothers me the most: it is my ever expanding wardrobe that is not fitting my closets anymore! Solution? Get my priorities straight and… get extremely creative with my limited amount of storage! 🙂
For this really fun project I have a very exciting guest to present you: say hello to IKEA! Yup, my favourite Swedish friends are going to help me optimizing my space in order to reorganize, declutter and get optimal use out of every damn centimeter in the room. First thing on the to do-list: list simple and affordable tricks to store clothes, shoes and books! I thought it would be fun and useful to share these little tricks with you, so heeeere we go:
If you’re limited in square meters like me, make sure you don’t forget to use your walls to exhibit your favourite pieces! Shelves or DIY-ed wine crates make for perfect storage opportunities, and not just for a few pretty photo frames. Think books, jewellery, plants, wine glasses or even shoes. A cool idea is to glue some beautiful wallpaper inside! Looks really really pretty. Another wall solution is a simple wall mounted coatrack that does not only offers extra space for your coats, it can easily hold hats, scarves and necklaces as well. Lastly, a simple nail can be very convenient when you want to hang your next day outfit in sight already (on a clothing hanger, obv). Getting inspired yet?
Curtains are your best friends
Yesss, here’s a favourite of mine! When I grow up, I’d love to live in a large loft so I can simply divide my rooms by curtains and closets. Yes mom, I know that they attract dust by the kilo BUT oh the cozy! And they ingeniously hide ALL of your clutter. I’m also a huge fan how IKEA managed to create a desk in the bedroom of the last picture that you can completely separate or use in a very open way. This is probably the best idea ever when you don’t have an extra wall left to place your desk to! Now, which curtain(s) to pick? I personally love the neutral colours in these examples, especially when they match the walls. A sheer curtain will still let through a lot of day light, which can be easy when you don’t have too many windows. A heavier version however is perfect to protect your clothes from daylight and wear!
1. Decor8 2. IKEA catalogue 3. My Scandinavian Home 4. IKEA catalogue
Extra storage = extra seating space
This little trick here is especially useful when you really need to cramp all of your stuff into a smaller home, studio or student room. Just create your sofa or dining chairs on top of a low closet! I realize it may not be the most comfy seat you’ve ever had, but when you’re in need of some extra seats this might be very handy. Another fun idea is to use those really cool trunks! These things are so massive I would probably lose about 5 pairs of shoes in them. And how much extra character add they to a basic room? Yup, if I would just have some extra centimeters left…
1. IKEA catalogue 2. Home Inspiration Design 3. Olsson & Gerthel 4. IKEA catalogue
Integrate your closet and bed
Why not share your favourite place on earth: your bed? There’s plenty of room for your books, shoes or towels as well! Build your own Dexter’s Laboratory by turning your bed into the perfect secret hideaway place; you’ll be surprised how much stuff you can actually store away in your bed. Think of shelves or boxes underneath your bed, secret nooks in your headboard or actually building your closet over or around your bed. So clever!
1. Apartment Therapy 2. Designspiration 3. Pallets 4. IKEA catalogue
Boxes, boxes, boxes
Okay, this one might be slightly obvious. But since I’m sick and tired of having everything displayed in my open closet, I have a huge crave to throw every damn thing in a box so everything looks neat, minimalistic and organized. The problem I usually have with boxes, is that I entirely lose track of what is actually in it. Which leaves me with more trash. But then I stumbled upon Christina‘s amazing closet (picture top right), with her shoes stored in boxes on top of it. These boxes all have pictures with the pair of shoes in it, so she can easily find the pair she wants to wear. How did I never think of that?! You can do it with anything basically. Just take a cute polaroid or write a little note about the content of your box and tadaaa, organizing problems solved!
1. IKEA catalogue 2. Passions For Fashion 3. StyleCaster 4. A Bowl Full of Lemons 5. AD Design File
Now, time to reveal YOUR secrets: what’s your ultimate storage tip for me?
This post was written in collaboration with Ikea! <3