The Smartest Small Space Storage Ideas We Saw in 2018

There’s no doubt about it: As well as being cozy and adorable, stylish small spaces also hold a TON of smart storage ideas. The ones below are some of the best solutions we saw in small house tours this year. No matter your home’s size, you’ll find inspiration for how to store more stylishly in 2019.

When a professional organizer lives in a tiny studio apartment, expect great ideas, like these floating wall-mounted IKEA cabinets that were hung close to the ceiling. They barely register as storage, nearly invisible against the white walls.

When you’re faced with few walls—or in some cases, no walls—to place big pieces of furniture against, double up, putting your bed in front of a bookshelf. You get a big statement headboard visual, plus extra storage.

In the same studio apartment as above, you can find this cute little DIY shelf/pipe/storage combo, which organizes jewelry and is adorable doing it.

When you choose a rigid-wall storage container, you’re constrained and risk losing potential storage centimeters in between the containers. These storage baskets are malleable and offer plenty of storage, and also look good doing it.

Small spaces sometimes necessitate custom storage solutions, and in this tiny home, they varied the depth of a bedside storage unit so as to still provide room for storing stuff, but not block precious natural light.

You’ll be able to see what you have, fit more clothes in your drawers, and in general have a more serene getting-dressed experience.

Sometimes living in a small space is a matter of figuring out where you can even put more storage. Using a low shelf that’s open as a divider in this tiny studio apartment’s living area offers visual distinction between functional zones and extra room to store things.

Just because your home is under 400 square feet doesn’t mean you can’t make room for a teeny tiny art studio, like this hanging one behind a door.

Also in that same studio apartment as above: a cute corner shelf by the bed, a stacking washer and dryer in the closet, and this DIY storage bed.

Not everyone has a floor level change that could facilitate extra long drawers like the ones in Matthew’s tiny house, but you can see where they offer up tons of additional storage.

It doesn’t necessarily help add more storage, but the cute Dutch door in this tiny house helps the closet feel more organized by visually dividing it into laundry room and hanging clothes storage.

Rather than waste the tiny amount of space at the end of his bed, Matthew commissioned these pull-down drawers that use up every inch of space for storage but allow function in a teeny space.

You’ve heard of over-the-door storage, but this tension rod-based storage system from IKEA—I believe originally intended for shoe storage—is used here in a novel way by being placed partially over a wide room opening. It leaves plenty of room for egress but adds a ton of storage.

When you have less than 300 square feet to live in, be sure to purchase furniture that pulls double duty, like this couple did in their small apartment with this coffee table buy.

Smart storage solutions for small spaces don’t have to be pricey, as the clever storage furniture—on casters for easy movement—in this apartment were DIYed!