Clutter can be a big problem. It can contribute to feelings of anxiety and can make your home harder to clean. It can even make your home more difficult to sell by adversely affecting your home's overall aesthetic. Maintaining an organized home can be a challenge, but it helps to have effective storage solutions. Shelving, cabinetry, baskets and drawers all give you a place to stash your stuff.
The professionals at Litchfield Builders are experts on home storage options. For over 25 years, we've helped Connecticut homeowners build and remodel their homes, and we've worked one-on-one with homeowners to devise home storage solutions. From under the stairs storage to walk-in closets, we've seen it all. If you're committed to getting organized this year, and you're in need of a contractor to help install storage solutions in your home, here's what we suggest.
1. Under the Stairs Storage
The area under your home's staircase might seem like wasted space, but you can turn it into a storage area for holiday decorations, cleaning supplies, coats and hats, and other household items. Whether you're building a closet, adding drawers, or installing built-in shelving, installing staircase storage is both charming and practical.
When taking on this kind of project, it's important to consider the aesthetics of the space, especially if the staircase is in a very visible location, like your home's entryway or foyer. Your contractor may even be able to disguise your closet, installing a door with molding that matches the molding on the walls, and a subtle door knob that you might not notice unless you were looking right at it.
2. Custom Designed Walk-In Closet
Who doesn't dream of a custom-designed walk-in closet? Built-in shelves, drawers and cabinets make organizing your shoes, clothes and even your jewelry easy and rewarding. When you're installing a walk-in closet, it's important to install sufficient lighting to eliminate dark corners, making your belongings much easier to see. This means installing lighting over shelves and in cabinets.
Do you have a lot of shoes? Built-in shoe shelves or even narrow shoe drawers help keep your shoes organized. Leave plenty of room for hanging clothes, and if you like to change clothes in your closet, leave space for a mirror on the wall.
3. Butler's Pantry
A butler's pantry is a very large pantry space that contains shelves or cabinets to hold goods like food, holiday cutlery and dinnerware. Some butler's pantries even feature a countertop where you can leave loose items.
Not everyone has room for a butler's pantry, but if you do, you'll never regret having space for this kind of kitchen storage. With a butler's pantry, you can stock up on extra food that you use frequently, without worrying about having room in your kitchen cabinets.
4. Special Kitchen Cabinetry
If you're installing new cabinetry in your home, consider special cabinetry options to make kitchen organization easier. Some cabinets to consider:
- Pull-out drawers for small jars and spices. Avoid losing your herbs and spices with a narrow pull-out drawer that allows you to look at your selection from both sides.
- Built-in utensil caddy. Utensils can take up a lot of space in ceramic jars on your countertops. Keep those utensils hidden with a drawer that features a built-in utensil caddy.
- Deep drawers for pots and pans. It's hard to reach pots and pans when you keep them hidden in your bottom cabinets. The solution? Install deep drawers that are large enough to hold big pots. With this feature, you'll do less crouching to reach items that have been shoved all the way to the back of your cabinets.
- Closet hidden in a cabinet. Hide your pantry behind a door that looks like it's built for a cabinet. This cool feature adds continuity to your kitchen and makes your pantry a more integrated part of your kitchen design.
5. Corner Pantry
Have you always wanted a pantry? Turn an an under-utilized kitchen corner into the pantry of your dreams. Hire a contractor to put up walls and install shelves inside, giving you space to hide your extra foods and kitchen utensils.
6. Rolling Ladder to Reach High Shelves
People like to put storage high in the air when they need more space to stash their things. Cabinets and shelves placed high off the ground can be hard to reach. Your contractor can easily fix this problem by installing a rolling library ladder against the wall.
Rolling ladders can be pleasing and practical, giving your space a unique feature that is attractive as well as useful. Consider a rolling ladder in your living room, utility room, pantry, or any space where you build high shelves.
7. Built-In Cabinetry Hides Clutter In Plain Sight
Built-in cabinetry is practical and high-value, and can be used in a variety of spaces. Install built-in cabinetry in rooms like the laundry room, garage, toy room or in any space where clutter is an ongoing problem.
An experienced contractor will have suggestions for making your built-in cabinetry more functional. For example, they may suggest a combination of drawers, shelves and cabinets to give you added flexibility. Installing electrical outlets or USB outlets inside drawers and shelves adds another dimension to the way you can use your built-in cabinetry.
Install Beautiful Storage Solutions With a Home Remodel
Need a more organized home? Hiring the right Connecticut contractor for the job is an important first step. Litchfield Builders offers a free guide to hiring a licensed Connecticut contractor.
We're also happy to be a resource for your upcoming home improvement project. Call today to learn more about how we can help you with your upcoming home improvement project.
