39 Ways to Sneak Storage Into Your Home

One way to maximize efficiency in a small kitchen: assign each area a specific task. Two narrow shelves and a (pink!) marble-topped buffet serve as a coffee station in an otherwise unused corner of this Florida cottage.

A vintage ladder is a smart and stylish way to organize blankets, like in this California bungalow.

To convert this armoire into a kitchen pantry, the owner of this Minneapolis loft added extra shelves and magnetic door closures.

Outfitted with hooks, the cherry shelf adds storage to this snug loft bathroom.

Spray-painted yellow and topped with plywood, three Goodwill filing cabinets—bought for $25 total—morphed into a bright storage space in this Washington home.

Vintage breadboxes provide sneaky storage for table linens in the kitchen of this Texas ranch.

The owner of this Kentucky home devised ingenious barn-wood stairs, which store linens, candles, and games.

Construct a pantry from a pair of metal storage units. This one is painted blue with individual metal bins taking the place of drawers; labels placed on the shelves help identify the bins' contents. White enamelware, a wire basket of potatoes, and an entire shelf of mineral water break up the geometric pattern of the bins.

Rather than let a rarely used fireplace go to waste, the owner of this North Carolina home stacked collectible books with colorful spines inside.

The owners of this Austin home replaced awkward upper cabinets with shelves and hooks that makes kitchenware easily accessible.

The owner of this Atlanta loft covered cardboard boxes—which hold arts-and-crafts supplies—in old French maps and newspapers.

Since our 2013 House of the Year was damaged by Hurricane Sandy, the owner requested elevated storage to protect cherished belongings from flooding. So we carved out a mini-attic above the bathroom ceiling, then rendered it accessible via Rockler's wheel-and-rail kit that turned this wooden cast-off into a rolling library ladder.

The owners of this Pennsylvania home removed the cabinet doors underneath the window seats to create a clever spot to stash logs for the woodstove.

Faced with reclaimed white pine in the bedroom of this New York retreat, the gas fireplace's chimney hides a surprise: a flat-screen TV.

Plus: 97 bedroom ideas you'll want to steal »

Rather than waste a kitchen's closet on buckets and a broom, the owner of this California home transformed the area into a pantry with six-foot-tall pine shelving units that also maximize corners.

Stack antique pieces to use them as 'drawers' that can increase storage space in tight corners. (This idea is best for storing off-season items you don't need to access every day!)

Plus: 6 more ways to declutter your antiques pile »