Make a Smaller Cottage Feel Big With These Four Storage Tips
Life at the cottage is all about the simpler living and peeling back the material layers of what we need in life in exchange for the serenity of nature!
Photos By: Pexels
But even the cottage lifestyle comes with its share of necessities, bedding, dishware, food items, cleaning supplies, family activities, and more. While many properties, like these cottages on Lake of Bays, offer a generously sized space for all your storage needs, this isn’t always the case for smaller cottages.
Functional storage solutions at your cottage can help it feel more spacious, thus keeping it in line with the relaxed feeling one seeks when on vacation. Here are four storage tips for making your cottage feel larger.
Multifunctional Furniture
Wall space can be in short supply in a smaller cottage, especially after taking areas like windows, doors, and cabinetry out of the mix. Fortunately, many modern furniture pieces exist now to combat this exact problem and double as a storage solution for tiny homes.
These furniture units exist for almost every room. For example, many brands of coffee tables, ottomans, and sectional couches all exist with liftable tops or drawers for the storage of additional pillows, throws, board games, etc. Likewise, bedframes with liftable mattresses or under-bed storage are available for the bedrooms.
Drawers and Cabinet Organizers
A kitchen is a place that can always use more storage. However, many cabinets have far too much space, with some having a foot of space between shelves. Replace these with customed shelving, dish holders, or storage baskets to allow for optimal use within them. Additionally, try utilizing shelving for kitchen storage on the back of the cabinet door for items such as oven mitts or assorted utensils – be sure the door can close properly, though!
In closets, removable or permanent hooks are useful for storing hats, scarves, hoodies, etc. Hooks can also help free up space for cleaning supplies, footwear, or linens.
Utilize Alcoves and Other Odd Spaces
Your storage doesn’t have to be limited to only your main walls. Utilizing smaller alcoves or niche surfaces such as support beams and bulkheading for smaller items such as home décor, books, firewood, electronics, etc., can allow you to utilize your main walls for other items. Just be aware of potential wiring and pipes when adding shelving to these spaces, as they sometimes exist due to structural necessity.
Open Space can be Decorative
While it can be tempting to hide all your material possessions away behind a closed door or under a lid, try using these pieces to add charm to your home. Items such as mugs, plates, and dishware can be used as décor in the kitchen, and things like blanket ladders or baskets could be displayed in the living room.
Some people choose to outright remove certain doors on their pantries and cupboards in favour of the exposed look, freeing up any space required for hinges and open doors.
