While open floor layout is the best trick to saving space and making your unit seem larger than it actually is, open storage is the our key to making your space stylish and functional. Although this storage solution is prone to looking cluttered, there are ways you can incorporate it into your condo’s design style while still keeping it looking good. Here are a few tricks to do it.
1 Rail and S Hooks
Probably the barest of all storage ideas, this combination of rails and S-hooks can be a genius way to store away things you use on a daily basis: it’s so bare you almost only see what’s hanging, making it accessible and easy to clean! This open storage idea is most suitable for condos leaning on the industrial design style because of the ruggedness of the metal rails. However, this combo gets tricky when it comes to keeping it stylish. To make it work, use it more in the kitchen to store your pots and pans, herbs and spices, ladles, and pot holders. You can color-code so it looks clean or contrast the metallic finishes with wood or your tiny herb garden’s greens. READ MORE: How to Start Your Own Urban Herb Garden
2 Floating Shelves
This is perfect for those saving floor space and favor ample vertical space. It can be incorporated into any design style, from minimal to eclectic, and in any part of your condo. For minimalists, you can stick to a neutral color palette for your shelves and accessories. For rustic-industrial aficionados, you can expose the bolts and rails that hold your shelves afloat and put on display knick-knacks in warm tones and brass or rugged textures. For eclectic fanatics, you can play with colors and textures, incorporate baskets, bowls, or boxes of different styles and colors, books, vases, and trinkets.
3 Shelf Wall
For those who have a full wall or an under-stairs space that they don’t know what to do about, you can turn it into an open-shelf wall, like those you usually see in libraries. But don’t make it so boring like a library’s shelf; don’t fill it to the brim. Allow vacant or semi-filled spaces in the shelf to make it lighter to the eyes and incorporate statement pieces to make it more interesting. Put square baskets and other stylish storage bins to make it a little more decorative and more organized without compromising storage space.
4 Overhead Compartments
If you don’t have that bare wall to put up floating shelves on in your unit but still want that open storage, you can make use of overhead compartments like the top of your fridge, your breakfast bar, or your kitchen island. This is best for those who have a high ceiling. If you’re going for a full shelf, you can store here your glass canisters of different grains or your cookbooks. You can also make use of it as extra shelf for your growing collection of plates and antique cups.
5 Glass Cabinets
If you aren’t so fond of open storage solutions, you can opt for glass cabinets. These give the illusion of being open without actually being open. Whether it’s a combination of wood and glass or metal and glass, it can easily be integrated into any design style, not to mention, its surface can be another open shelf. This open storage solution (or illusion) is also lazy-people-friendly because it keeps dust away from your things, which means less cleaning or dusting!
