Smart Ideas to Deal With Your Home’s Clutter Hotspots
Need somewhere to store your outerwear, post, toys, spice jars or TV cables? Take a look at these clever solutions
A little creative thinking can help you design an organised, calm home. Check out these ideas from our Houzz Tours to find inspiration for tidying toys, handbags, laundry and other clutter culprits.
Tidy up the toys
Clean lines and minimal clutter are key for highlighting the incredible light and beautiful materials in this kitchen-diner by neighbourhood studio. However, the room is also part of a family home, with plenty of space where the children can play. To clear away the kids’ clutter in the evening, the designers built this neat wooden cabinet and bench seat.
The back of the bench is slanted slightly to make it a comfortable spot for reading, and the seats can be lifted up to reveal space below for storing toys.
Tour more of this old lean-to that became a clean, fresh kitchen-diner.
Planning to build some bespoke storage? Find a carpenter or joiner in your area.
Clean lines and minimal clutter are key for highlighting the incredible light and beautiful materials in this kitchen-diner by neighbourhood studio. However, the room is also part of a family home, with plenty of space where the children can play. To clear away the kids’ clutter in the evening, the designers built this neat wooden cabinet and bench seat.
The back of the bench is slanted slightly to make it a comfortable spot for reading, and the seats can be lifted up to reveal space below for storing toys.
Tour more of this old lean-to that became a clean, fresh kitchen-diner.
Planning to build some bespoke storage? Find a carpenter or joiner in your area.
Conceal cables
A tangle of TV wiring and cables can clutter up a room and make a small space appear cramped and untidy. Here, however, the team at John Wilson Design have cleverly created an area that appears to be just furniture and artwork, rather than a functional TV area.
The television hangs on the (short) wall and resembles a painting, while a wall-hung cabinet below hides the digital equipment and TV wiring.
See the rest of this dull ex-rental that’s become a characterful city home.
A tangle of TV wiring and cables can clutter up a room and make a small space appear cramped and untidy. Here, however, the team at John Wilson Design have cleverly created an area that appears to be just furniture and artwork, rather than a functional TV area.
The television hangs on the (short) wall and resembles a painting, while a wall-hung cabinet below hides the digital equipment and TV wiring.
See the rest of this dull ex-rental that’s become a characterful city home.
Banish bedside bits and pieces
If you don’t have much space for bedside tables, where do you put your book and water? Here, for example, a bedside cabinet on the right would have blocked the wardrobe doors.
The designers at Indie & Co came up with the smart solution of building two square recesses into the wall. They’re just large enough for bedtime essentials, and there are even switches inside the cavities for the wall lights that hang above.
Take a look around this calm, minimal home full of natural finishes and texture.
If you don’t have much space for bedside tables, where do you put your book and water? Here, for example, a bedside cabinet on the right would have blocked the wardrobe doors.
The designers at Indie & Co came up with the smart solution of building two square recesses into the wall. They’re just large enough for bedtime essentials, and there are even switches inside the cavities for the wall lights that hang above.
Take a look around this calm, minimal home full of natural finishes and texture.
Corral ingredients
Packets of rice, pasta and other dried goods can quickly become untidy in a kitchen cupboard, as can a collection of tiny spice jars. When Emma and Ross Perkin of Emil Eve Architects designed their own flat, they came up with a better idea for storing these clutter culprits.
The duo bought pieces of solid ash cut to size and put them together to create an open shelving unit. The dimensions perfectly fit a selection of jars, which hold all the couple’s dry ingredients and spices.
Find out how this one-bed flat was transformed into a two-bed home.
Packets of rice, pasta and other dried goods can quickly become untidy in a kitchen cupboard, as can a collection of tiny spice jars. When Emma and Ross Perkin of Emil Eve Architects designed their own flat, they came up with a better idea for storing these clutter culprits.
The duo bought pieces of solid ash cut to size and put them together to create an open shelving unit. The dimensions perfectly fit a selection of jars, which hold all the couple’s dry ingredients and spices.
Find out how this one-bed flat was transformed into a two-bed home.
Streamline the hallway
In a small entrance, there might not be enough space for a console table, but there are still ways to clear the clutter.
Here, the team at Kia Designs have added a few simple elements that make a big impact on the tidiness of the room without encroaching on the space. There’s a key box, hooks for coats and umbrellas, and a rack for post.
Visit more of this once-dull flat that’s become a guest-friendly home.
In a small entrance, there might not be enough space for a console table, but there are still ways to clear the clutter.
Here, the team at Kia Designs have added a few simple elements that make a big impact on the tidiness of the room without encroaching on the space. There’s a key box, hooks for coats and umbrellas, and a rack for post.
Visit more of this once-dull flat that’s become a guest-friendly home.
Clear the kitchen
If a renovation where rooms have been knocked through has left you with two entrances to your kitchen, consider sacrificing one to create more storage. This kitchen had two entrances, so the designers at Smartstyle Interiors blocked up one to slot in a huge larder cupboard.
By using the space wisely, they’ve managed to build a cabinet that’s large enough to house all the owner’s dry foods, as well as those items that are tricky to store, such as tins, small appliances and wide serving dishes. In addition, the larder’s location next to the fridge makes it easy for the owners to unpack their shopping.
See how this 1920s house was revamped for a family of five.
If a renovation where rooms have been knocked through has left you with two entrances to your kitchen, consider sacrificing one to create more storage. This kitchen had two entrances, so the designers at Smartstyle Interiors blocked up one to slot in a huge larder cupboard.
By using the space wisely, they’ve managed to build a cabinet that’s large enough to house all the owner’s dry foods, as well as those items that are tricky to store, such as tins, small appliances and wide serving dishes. In addition, the larder’s location next to the fridge makes it easy for the owners to unpack their shopping.
See how this 1920s house was revamped for a family of five.
Slot in a laundry zone
Housekeeping equipment and laundry appliances are often located in the kitchen, and can take up valuable space. Avoid a pile of laundry on the kitchen floor and a cupboard full of brooms and sponges by trying a clever idea like this one.
Eva Byrne of houseology moved the kitchen cabinets 135cm away from the back wall and built a partition behind the units…
Housekeeping equipment and laundry appliances are often located in the kitchen, and can take up valuable space. Avoid a pile of laundry on the kitchen floor and a cupboard full of brooms and sponges by trying a clever idea like this one.
Eva Byrne of houseology moved the kitchen cabinets 135cm away from the back wall and built a partition behind the units…
The tall door on the right opens up to reveal a laundry zone behind the kitchen where the owner’s utility clutter can be kept out of sight.
Tour this tiny house made to feel bigger with smart design tricks.
Tell us…
Which of these ideas would work in your home? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tour this tiny house made to feel bigger with smart design tricks.
Tell us…
Which of these ideas would work in your home? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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Here’s a nifty dumping spot for outdoor clutter by architect Cristina Barrón of Barronkress: the tall unit has been fitted with a recessed niche, the perfect size for the owner’s handbag. There is also a plug socket at the back of the shelf area, which she can use to charge her phone.
An idea like this is relatively simple to install in a piece of cabinetry, or within a stud wall. The key is to decide what you need to store in it, and to locate it somewhere that’s easy to access.
Discover how small space tricks made this flat big enough for guests.