Murphy Bed
Life is full of stuff. You want or need these things in your home for their utility, but you don’t necessarily want to look at them all the time. Designers are people too – and we certainly understand that innate desire to have – and to hide! And so many creative design solutions exist for ways to hide stuff around the house while keeping it readily accessible. Sometimes this means camouflaged storage areas built right into the home’s structure. And sometimes it means furnishings that mask storage capabilities while still looking great. Either way, hidden storage is a win-win.
Sabbe Interior Design
One of the classic hidden design solutions dates all the way back to 1900 when William Murphy patented his Murphy bed design. Hide a bed? Quite a challenge, right? But for the uninitiated, a Murphy bed smoothly flips up vertically into a recess in the wall or into a dedicated wardrobe piece. When it’s tucked away, no one knows the bed is there and the room’s got plenty of floor space. When you need a place to sleep, the bed folds down and the room is transformed. What’s handy is that the mattress stays fully made, complete with sheets, blankets and pillows. Just pull it down and you’re ready to snooze.
Sabbe Interior Design
If you think a Murphy bed would solve a space problem in your home, check out the Murphy Bed Company that sells a variety of styles. We particularly love stylish, modern style Murphy beds that are cool and contemporary.
If the things you’ve got to store are smaller than a bed – and most things are - there are plenty of other spots in your home where storage can be discretely carved out. Architects and interior designers are masters at identifying empty cavities behind hollow walls or other underutilized areas. We’ve all seen the underside of a staircase made functional by built-in bookcases and coat closets. Cover this same area with flat panels or doors with touch latches, and the wall magically houses the same stuff out of sight.
Drawers in Stairs
One other staircase storage idea you probably never considered is storage inside the steps themselves. It takes some smart planning and a talented carpenter, but stair risers can actually become drawer fronts that pull out to reveal storage drawers under each individual step. In a tiny home, those drawers could make all the difference between a cluttered or tidy home.
Virtually any space behind a wall can mask storage space hidden from sight. Imagine linen closets, medicine cabinets, spice racks, pantries, toiletries all there behind your walls, hidden yet accessible. Below are some photos of clever storage ideas that we found irresistible. There’s a kitchen plan that cleverly conceals a whole pantry. Designers tricked the eye with a chalkboard and cabinet face that appear unmoving rather than hanging yet another standard issue door.
Spice Storage/de Giulio Kitchen Design
Or what about the kitchen with a secret spice alcove right behind the tile back splash? Wonderful! And, there’s a bathroom with a wall of pull-out storage tucked behind the tub. Most unique is this innovative design we saw for a built-in bath tub with paneled surround. Pull each panel forward and you’re rewarded with all your bath necessities neatly contained in a handy location.
If your home is short on storage space, we challenge you to look around your house and see where you might be able to add it, without flaunting it!
Hidden Pantry Door/Farinelli Construction
