We all love the Container Store, but sometimes the best solutions for storing your stuff is the tried and true. From old crates to apothecary jars to salvaged metal lockers, there's plenty of options out there to help keep you organized.
There's really no trick for vintage storage finds. Literally anything can work. Search flea markets, junk stores, garage sales, eBay, Etsy even our very own Marketplace!
Keep your eyes peeled for multiples (four old-timey mail crates are better than one) or objects with lots of compartments. It's a great way to sort things like tools or underwear. And don't pass something up just because its rusty and dusty. A little Formula 409 and some elbow grease goes a long way. Other than that, happy hunting! And organizing.
(images: 1 Pieter Estersohn for Elle Decor; 2 An Angel At My Table; 3 Grace Shu; 4 Janie Lee; 5 House Beautiful; 6 Ingrid Rasmussen for The Independent; 7 Gregory Han; 8 The Interior Revolution; 9, 10 Taddietales)
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I really like #8, 9, and 10! I definitely agree that it's the multiples that make the look.
Swoon.
I want multiples of this old file with doors:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/45215876/vintage-black-prescription-record-case
bitdot - i love it! very expensive though but so beautiful!
i recently bought four metal file cases at a thrift store - each $2.50!!!! They look awesome stacked on top of each other & allowed me to perfectly organize my jewelry supplies. Here's a photo:
http://craftscafe.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/my-craft-room-among-the-most-creative-on-marthasteward-com/
I especially like that one of them was mustard color & the other three were gray... Someone must have gotten rid of them all at once. Each was labeled with a different decade from 50s to 80s... No idea what they were used for before!
Love the vintage Louis Vuitton.
I like a lot of these. At an antique shop near my house I have been eying an old cabinet from a dentist's office with a marble top and slim glass-fronted drawers--it's beautiful. I have no idea what I could use it for but it is stunning. My problem with a lot of these storage "solutions" is that they don't hold much besides what they were originally intended to.
craftscafeoneetsy - I *think* that those are storage boxes for slides - that might be why they are labeled by decade.
craftscafeonetsy - nice finds for 2.50 each!
Aw, therapy4me, give 'em a break! Maybe they are cobblers as a side business.
I absolutely love these inspirational photos of Vintage storage ideas and shared them with my readers today!
http://brightboldbeautiful.blogspot.com/2010/04/vintage-storage-ideas.html
Thanks!
Recently picked up a shelving unit on craigslist. Can someone help identify...
http://www.designaddict.com/design_addict/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread_show_one/thread_id/10045/