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A sweet reader named Lisa wrote in with this question:
Hey Jamin and Ashley! We love your home renovation and find it so inspiring. My partner and I are dreaming of finding a fixer upper a lot like yours, in a practical place for our family. We love the idea of making it beautiful just like you have made yours beautiful but more importantly, practical. Everything is so pretty and I know that you only make changes that really work for your family. Watching you over the years has brought in so much enjoyment for me. Your changes that you bring in are smart. So thank you for sharing this with us. I was wondering what your big changes to your home that made a big impact for you? What changes are you glad you made in terms of storage? Thanks so much…
This is actually a really great topic, and we love readers like you who write in with the best questions! Our home is a 1976 fixer upper and had not been touched since the early 80’s. We believe it was the addition of carpet on the main level, which they laid over some seriously stylish linoleum. {I documented it with photos during demo, it was amazingly classic.}
So when talking about the changes we were going to make with the house, we made some fairly big moves like removing all the walls in our main level and raising the ceiling. Or renovating the basement into a living space.
But we also had to be very smart and considerate with the smaller spaces and the storage that we already had, since we were limited on square footage {and something called a budget}. Removing walls is no joke when you’re taking down the possibility to tuck an additional closet here ore there.
So without further ado: Storage solutions to consider in a home remodel
Expanding the closets
One of the best choices we made, hands down.
This closet was a mirror reflection of the one, on the other side of the kiddo’s rooms. Right now, the younger two {boy + girl} share a closet with their older brother, but the idea is that this will eventually be the boys rooms that join.
Either way, it works.
So we knocked out the wall in between both closets, and added some barn doors to save space. We also added shelves to one side, and rods to the other for hanging storage.
This allows for their clothes to have optimum storage with baskets galore. We love the large walk in space, and think that it adds to much to their rooms. It doesn’t seem like a big change, but it really was.
Even if they do insist that the closets be closed at night – which actually cracks us up, since they know who is on the other side. But imaginations.
It added a ton of additional storage and we’re oh so glad we did it.
See: Artisan Hardware for awesome hardware options that really added character to the space.
I guess it’s smart to look beyond the “expected” to see what might work for you.
The same situation was going on with our own bedroom: we had the option of doing something with the crusty dated bath on the other side, and decided to go for it.
So we knocked the entire thing out, and gave ourselves about a foot of space on the bathroom side, bringing everything forward, expanding both sides of the closet.
Now the bath has a walkway through the middle of the closet, which fully utilized both sides, and gave us more bathroom and closet space.
That tiny bath needed all the help it could get. And there was no way that small closet before was working for us.
We added a one of a kind door {we have this thing with doors} to save space and add major character. With the help of the fabulous artisan hardware, it made the barn door thing possible. Doors make smaller situations better, in my book. They’re like a pretty bandaid. The good kind.
The alternative entryway
We finished our basement, and that was a big deal, but the biggest of all deals, was adding lockers along the new entryway.
Oh my goodness… hands down game changer.
It depends on what you like and prefer, but we just couldn’t function as a family without this right beside the door. It’s the biggest helper ever.
Before the basement was finished, our main entry was the front door, while all the construction went on downstairs. So we were so glad to see that happen, and I think because of that, we appreciated it even more.
Yes, we have to work to keep it clutter free… just like every space in our house. That takes team work and being aware of all the things. But it’s great for backpacks and shoes – especially if you’re a shoes off family. It keeps their closets from becoming too clogged up with coats in the winter, too.
If you need a place to corral all the things, be sure to look into an alternative entry/hall tree area for your family.
You won’t regret it.
Splurging on Shelves
Along those same veins, we have to say that taking the time to add built-ins was a huge yes for us in the basement.
We know it’s a considerable amount of additional expenses, but we couldn’t recommend working it into your budget, more. It’s worth waiting for.
Our kids are to that age where they still have quite a few toys left, so we were thrilled to add baskets and cabinets along the bottom section.
But they’re also into video games and legos mostly, and said cabinets offer much more accessible storage.
And it’s the same in my office. Who knew I’d enjoy spending the majority of some days in my little corner studio?
Yes to storage for all the wide variety of things… it’s wise to be smart with consideration to what you really need.
From tile samples to supplies and so much more, it’s definitely one of our best choices we made.
A MUST HAVE if you work from home and plan on renovating anyway.
So these are the biggest changes we’re so glad we made, when it comes to thinking smart about all things storage. Next up on our list is utilizing our outside storage, and finishing off our attic {with flooring and storage to help with all things additional accessibility – yes, we still haven’t tackled that.}
Yay for space! We hope this helps shed some light on the subject, Lisa!
Bonus round: Something else I’d like to mention is storage on the front of our kitchen island. We don’t actually have a ton of cabinets – just the right amount. But I use the front part of our island for styling shoots and more… which is another big bonus for us. I use it for all the things we don’t use every day, and it was great for that little extra opportunity to use more space.
What are some of your favorite storage solutions to consider in a home remodel? We know our home is just a tiny tip of the iceberg for possibilities, so we’d love to hear from you. Let us know what you’ve tried, or wish that you did.
Have an inspired day!
Jenna says
This advice is amazing! Such great perspective on how to utilize everything and think outside the box. Love this guys!
Ethan Mills says
It looks like you guys took advantage of every space in that remodel! It’s amazing to see those transformations take place. I recently read a post about keeping hardwood floors happy and healthy. It looks like you have a lot of wood floors upstairs.
https://www.nhance.com/lowcountry/preserve-hardwood-floors/