How to Fit a Whole Lot of Storage Into a Foot or Two of Wall Space

Believe it or not, a sliver of wall space can still offer some serious storage potential. Whether it’s a short bedroom wall or a cramped bathroom corner, even a narrow foot or two of free wall space can wind up being a total storage game changer for your home.

To prove our point, we’ve rounded up the smallest—but no doubt savviest—space-saving wall storage ideas we could find on the web. From floating shelves to picture ledges, here are ways to make the most of your limited wall space.

If you weren’t already hip to the IKEA FINTORP system now’s the time to smarten up. A rail-based organizer that comes with hooks and different sized wire baskets, this super slim storage hub can easily squeeze onto a tiny kitchen or bathroom wall without taking up a smidge of floor space.

Here’s a similar idea for hanging pots and pans, this one a DIY project, that’s not even in the kitchen. Ana and Zan created this hanging system from copper pipes and is a great way to use an unused wall between rooms.

Truth be told, there aren’t many storage problems that a floating shelf can’t fix. Not only are they short and slender, a handful of these wall-mounted wonders can transform just about any cramped corner or sliver of wall space. Make your own corner display à la A Beautiful Mess, pictured above, or just order a few online and mount them wherever you have a free foot or of wall space.

Available in a range of sizes and finishes, wall grids are a clever and affordable way to forge some extra storage space along your wall. Hang one (like this Urban Outfitters find) in the awkward area above your desk to stay extra organized while you work at home or place a small one (like this $10 Target pick) near your door for instant entryway storage.

Originally designed to hold frames, picture ledges have become a go-to hack for small space dwellers looking for a stylish way to store and display smaller or thinner items — just check out the kids’ bookshelf above from Daffodil Design. And while IKEA no longer sells their legendary Ribba ledge, they currently offer a nearly identical version for about the same price, as does Target, Amazon, and several of our other favorite retailers.

If you’re looking for a quick way to score some extra bathroom storage, consider simply hanging up a small basket. Whether it’s woven or wire, pre-made or DIY-style, hanging baskets are a safe way to create more storage without breaking your budget. The one above is discontiued from Dot & Bo, but here’s a dupe from Kohl’s for $39.99.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, a slatted bed base (snagged for $10 at IKEA) is a surprisingly resourceful small space storage solution. Not only does this design-savvy IKEA hack offer tons of vertical storage opportunity, you can cut and adjust the length of the bed base to fit onto your wall accordingly. Did we mention they’re only ten bucks?

Extra tall and unbelievably chic, the IKEA Lack Wall Unit is a storage gift that keeps on giving. Complete with seven open shelves, this 6-foot-tall storage system is less than 12 inches wide, making it an awesome solution for a slender bedroom wall for bathroom corner (and especially cool-looking when turned around).