Storage ideas for modern functional living spaces

AS homes get smaller in an increasingly urbanised world, storage space has become even more crucial for homeowners.

At the All About Homes workshop series last weekend, IKEA Malaysia interior designers Rohayu Mohamed Ramli and Aileen Malik in their sessions entitled “Inspiring and affordable home furnishing solutions” offered some practical storage ideas for small spaces.

“Interior design has become more important today because it is essential to make small living spaces modern yet functional. There are ways or tools to optimise a space to build your own storage while the storage itself could also become part of your interior design,” Rohayu said during her session on the first day of the workshop series at IKEA Cheras.

The 2-day workshop series was organised by IKEA, TheEdgeProperty.com and S P Setia Bhd and was held at IKEA Cheras and IKEA Mutiara Damansara last Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Rohayu said there are many “hidden” spaces in a home that could make wonderful storage spaces, such as under the bed, on top of a cabinet or cupboard, on the wall or the space below the staircase.

Aileen shared that compartments and baskets are the must-have items to keep things tidy.

“Utilise your wall! Your wall is your best friend to keep things organised. Things that you will not use often, put them into a box with a cover and place the box on the shelf above the door frame. Things that you will use often, keep them in the TV cabinet. You can also hang a magazine slot on the wall and arrange your magazines vertically!” she added.

She also suggested that smaller transparent containers such as water jars and herb containers be used for smaller kitchens. “Transparent containers allow you to look for the ingredient that you want at one glance without having to check each container one by one.”

Here are more of IKEA’s storage tips for small spaces:

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on Sept 30, 2016, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.