My foray into DIY custom built storage
Why I'm passing on IKEA and tons of design inspo for closets, book shelves, entries, and more
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One of my favorite interior designers, Ilse Crawford, is adamant that a bare minimum of 15% of a home’s square footage should be dedicated to storage.
15 percent!
Wow, that’s way more than I would have thought. Our new house has one teeny tiny closet. Literally, that’s it. And, as you’ll see, I have some ideas for remedying that stat immediately. And making our home beautiful and functional in the process.
This is Ilse Crawford’s loft in London. How fun. Guess how much it would cost to build the bookcases in the frame?
Based on some quick, light research, I’d say under $200 including paint. What?! I have been living in the dark, and in case you have been too I am here to enlighten us.
Last week, I watched a Youtube video about building custom bookshelves that completely changed how I’m thinking about interior design.
The video in question showed me (or did it trick me? We shall see) that it is indeed doable and dare I say more affordable to build custom storage than it is to buy it. The materials will probably cost less than buying components from IKEA. Like, you can build an entire floor to ceiling wall of bookshelves for a little over a hundred bucks. Who knew!
I’ve gathered references for custom building simple, beautiful storage in our entry (practical solutions for the inevitable pile up of coats and shoes), bedroom closet, books (I need to see books everywhere - books are like art), and more.
Entry
The easiest and lowest cost opportunity to create storage is in our little boot room. To get my bearings, I first saved images of entries I’m drawn to - without regard to functionality.
Most of the images were of entries much larger than what we are working with. But what I like about them I think can still be incorporated: A small number of items (makes the room feel both inviting and finished while feeling airy and uncluttered), oversized pieces, some greenery, a console table, a lamp, a piece of art.
I love a piece of art that covers an entire wall. Even a textile hung without the frame can have just as much impact (and at a much lower cost). Or, buy a vintage frame at a charity shop or flea market. You can find huge ones for a great deal and simply replace the art inside. I am keeping my eye out for big ones.
Since our boot room is small, and the door and windows make two of the walls unbuildable, I don’t think the layout will allow us to actually build a closet with doors.
Instead, I’m thinking of throwing up peg rails, which are probably more functional anyway. Less fussy.
And a bench underneath, so shoes are tucked away. Realistically, shoes will pile up, and if they have a roof over them - so to speak - they look much better to me.
I like that these shelf brackets create cubby-like sections for hanging coats.
In my childhood home in Telluride, we had literal cubbies like this. With four kids in our family, it kept things in order. Everyone knew where to drop their things off when they came into the house and could easily find them when we were going out.