Good Question: How to Store Luggage in Small Spaces?

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Dear Re-nest,
I live in a small flat (around 400 square feet) and I've got two huge suitcases that I'm hoping to find room for in here. I can't stick them in the closet (because I don't have one) and I can't store them under my bed (well, right now I only have a mattress). I don't exactly want to resort to covering them with a bed spread and then leaving them in a corner. Do you have any suggestions as to what I can do with them, like a furniture piece?
Thanks,
Elaine

Elaine, we've actually written a lot about suitcase decor! Here are a few of our best posts:

Look! Suitcase Table at Oakland's Waterfront Hotel
How To: Create a Vintage Suitcase Table
Roundup: Suitcases as Furniture
5 Uses for Vintage Suitcases

Here's also a great Comments thread from AT:Chicago on where people in small spaces give their best tips for storing luggage.

Anyone else have suggestions?

Comments (5)

Those might work well for nice looking or vintage suitcases, but probably not so much for most modern ones.

Maybe it's time to build or buy a bed? Ikea has some very cheap options and you can build one for even less if you have a few basic tools.

You could also cover the cases with a cloth and stand them in a corner, or cover them and use it as the base for a coffee table or something.

I have a couple large suitcases from traveling back and forth from the US to Japan. My apartment in Tokyo is also very small. I ended up reusing a plastic bag from the bag delivery service to wrap my suitcase, then put it into a cardboard box I had from buying new furnature, then wrapped that in plastic again, and put it on the balcony in a corner. Maybe you could do something like that.

You could put a couple of hooks up high on a wall, perhaps behind or above a door, and hang them up. Or swap them for duffles that can be stuffed in a drawer or under the sink.

I also live in Japan and have a few suitcases that I use to travel back and forth from the US...My method for smart luggage storage involves packing smaller totes and duffles inside the larger suitcase or duffle to save space.

behind the sofa? if you have one?