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I live in a one bedroom apartment. It isn't a bad place, I like the set up. I have lived here for 6-7 years now. My problem is my bedroom.
I have no storage here. Basically I have three closets in the whole apartment. They are full of Christmas and other Holiday decorations, old belongings, some of my daughters belongings, and a lot of other things. In my room I have a Queen sized bed, a table with my tv on it, a chest of drawers, a playpen crib thing for my grandson, an end table, stuffed animals and extra blankets and pillows all on the floor, as well as clothes that I have no other place for.
I Dread going in to this room! I go in and get into bed. I don't relax in there, I can't go in and read or anything in there. I miss my bedroom!!
I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how I can organized the things in this room to give me space, so I don't have to get clostraphobic anymore. Any hints or thoughts about how to set the room up?
ANYTHING PLEASE!
Thank YOU
Have you already organized your closets? Put everything into plastic or cardboard storage boxes and stacked them as high as they will go on the closet shelves?
I'm using one of these in my closet to give me more room. http://www.shoestorageorganizer.com/pic_imgs/WTD042.jpg
What about those under bed storage containers on wheels?
Our last house had some tiny bedrooms, so DH put wall shelves in the kids bedrooms at a height just above my head. They were up high enough that they didn't take up space and I could still reach things down. A lot of my DD's stuffed animal collection stayed on those shelves, along with books, etc.
Similar idea to this~ http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uima...08-books02.jpg We just used brackets and cheap shelves, nothing fancy.
Last, instead of taking up room with a table can you find some type of chest or maybe a small bookshelf to put your TV on, that you could also use for storage, or maybe like something here.Lillian Vernon: Wood & Wicker Storage Modules (http://www.lillianvernon.com/catalog/product_display.jsp?pdId=12972&name=Wood+%26+Wicke r+Storage+Modules&parentCatId=3&catId=150 - broken link)
How about those bags that vacuum into slivers with the blankets or clothes or stuff that you do not use all the time. I got a bed with 6 drawers under it. I now have 6 more drawers for stuff.
Get a playpen that collapses when not in use.
That's all I can think of at the moment.
I have the same problem in my present shack. It has three bedrooms but the one I use in the back has no closet.
There is a nook and cranny where the bed headgets pushed up against the wall. I'm in the process of building in large overhead permanent shelf's, that will give me like the equivalent of 20 linear feet of shelf space. This will use overhead space that is normally out of the way. The lower shelf is 26" x 60", upper is 24" x 48". The lower one has bunk lights built in using 5 under counter lights. Still not completely done or I would show you some pixs.
Solves a lighting problem along with the storage. I hate having to use the overhead light in that room. The new lighting will be 3-way switches with one next to the pillow area, the other on a wall that allows light control in bed on either side. Been a few manhours to get that puppy just about done so far. Very custom but hasn't cost much, most of the materials are recycle. Going to have to stand up on the bed to use the shelf(s) but should do the job. Huge volume available for use, takes up no floor footprint space.
I've done a lot of this stuff around the olde shack to gain additional space. Used the back of the pantry / basement door to build a breakfast chow storage area, stairs to basement got shelf system on one side, lots of storage units being built in the basement.
In that bedroom I have a wasted volume behind the bedroom that was part of a wedge shaped volume cut off by the roof angle. I eventually plan on putting thru the wall drawers above the bed and in that wall to attempt to use as much of that volume as possible. You just have to look around for nooks and crannies to built in custom storage. The store bought stuff does not work well.
The other biggy is, go thru all the present closets, storage and throw away all the junk or find another space. Prioritize space by importance of need. The real junk can go in the attic, above the garage, basement or even outside.
Well finally got the bedroom expansion shelf project done. Took a lot longer than planned. Very efficient use of space in a bedroom that has no closet. Storage of blankets and heavy stuff was eating up too much of my other closet space.
This is the bedroom space to start, lots of wasted space over the bed head area. Should be able to put two shelves in here and gain like 10 cubic feet of storage space. Will make the shelf's very strong to handle hundreds of pounds of weight. About 2 feet deep. Build in bunk lights with a his and her switch on each side of the bed. Store stuff like blankets, heavy sweaters and bulky stuff.
This is getting started on the lower frame. Had to be very precisely cut to fit just exact. Include some mounting for the bunk lights which will be coped in enough to just allow the lens to have enough room to be replaced
Showing the lower shelf underside with the cut outs for lights. The shelves could only be assembled with lower sides because the mountings would be long screws thru the frames directly into studs. Upper sides would be installed once shelves are mounted and gaps sealed up. Cost of the project is pretty well squat. This is old recycled wood paneling that I demo'd out of one section of the living room on the initial rehab. Final out of pocket costs might have been 3 or 4 dollars. Had to buy the 3 way switches for like a buck each.
Lower
Shelf assembled with out lights and painted, ready to install. Lights had to be installed after shelf was mounted, so wires could pass thru for switches and to a back storage area. Light mounting areas are blacked out with flat black paint so you can not see any voids by the light laying on the back in the bunk. Does make good reading light set up.
Final assembly and mounting showing both the bottom and upper shelf installed. Lot more man hours than it appears. Room was not repainted. Work area was gone over and then feathered into existing paint. Was a flat paint, worked pretty well. Think this is a good way to gain additional storage in many rooms without any negatives. Bunk lites were a 3 way switch set up. Allows not having to use overhead light. Had a spare string of under cabinet lights so they were used for the purpose. Pleased with the results, would hate to do this type project for money. Would have to charge a lot more than most folks would want to pay. Final result did not photography particularly well, dull gray day without any sunlight in the room.
I have a two bedroom mobile home I'm renovating from the passing of my mother. It's a 60s model and the 2nd bedroom is really a closet. I can't see how it's a bedroom. It's so tiny. A twin mattress takes up the entire floor space. Can you imagine that? It has a closet that spans about 4 feet wide, then has a half bath that has a toilet, enough room for feet, then a sink. It then has a space about 3 feet or so for a dresser opposite the sink wall.
I moved the closet wall and made it the headboard wall. I build the bed from 2 by 6's. Simple to do. The headboard is a poster that I framed, secured to the wall so it won't move.
In each corner of the room are corner shelves going up to the ceiling. There is a flat panel LCD tv in one corner, too up towards the ceiling slanted downwards. The bathroom door was removed and I put up a bi-fold 6panel door and I took that 'space' and built a closet and put up bi-fold doors.
Paint and trim are key. Choose a color palet that fits a light and happy mood. Go with great lighting. I have a light fixture in the middle (I painted the brass metal part the same as the trim) and put a dimmer) and then next to the bed I put a chandelier (small one from Lowes that had pink flowers) that was like on a rope chain...modified it so that it can be switched on and off while lying in bed. Thus no need for a bedside lamp! The chandelier hangs over the head area but high enough not to hit, of course. Use low watt bulbs for good atmosphere.
When I built the bed, inside the frame you can use as storage and then place the plywood down.
Being minimal is key as well. Less is more in a space like this. I got all my ideas from HGTV. Many places in NY City and in London are like no square footage. They live in tiny places but make them grand.
What I did with all my winter blankets in the summer was to put them inbetween my mattress, that way they stay together and you know where you can find them at, what I would do for more storage is raise your bed to the highest point possible, then use under bed for storage. If possible make a loft type deal put dressers under bed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DorrieMA
I live in a one bedroom apartment. It isn't a bad place, I like the set up. I have lived here for 6-7 years now. My problem is my bedroom.
I have no storage here. Basically I have three closets in the whole apartment. They are full of Christmas and other Holiday decorations, old belongings, some of my daughters belongings, and a lot of other things. In my room I have a Queen sized bed, a table with my tv on it, a chest of drawers, a playpen crib thing for my grandson, an end table, stuffed animals and extra blankets and pillows all on the floor, as well as clothes that I have no other place for.
I Dread going in to this room! I go in and get into bed. I don't relax in there, I can't go in and read or anything in there. I miss my bedroom!!
I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how I can organized the things in this room to give me space, so I don't have to get clostraphobic anymore. Any hints or thoughts about how to set the room up?
ANYTHING PLEASE!
Thank YOU
Make sure you are using space wisely in the rest of your apartment so your bedroom doesn't end up as the lone catch-all of extra stuff. If you have a coffee table, it could be a combination storage chest/coffee table. For example, my brother uses an antique toy chest as his coffee table and it holds a LOT of stuff. Great for blankets and treasured items that he can't part with.
Maybe you can pull the sofa out from the wall a few inches and stow the playpen behind it when it's not in use? It doesn't need to be stored in the bedroom. However, your daughter's belongings need to be at her place if your place is overflowing.
Get a bedframe that sits higher and provides drawers of storage underneath.
Get one of those vacuum bag thingies to compress out of season linens and blankets.
There is nothing wrong with renting a storage unit. Just put stuff in study plastic containers. That migh free up enough space to alleviate most of your issues.
Also the flat screen TVs have gotten cheap enough that buying one and putting it on a wall mounting system is actually a viable option for most people. That would clear the space from the table and TV stand.
I also tend to agree about closet organizers. I find that whenever I get things in order I am much better about tossing the excess, old or unused. I use the plastic bag/vacum seal storage bags some and I think the bigger space savings is from putting everything into one bag because aside from pillows I rarely get them to compress more than 30-35%.
If there is an extra foot of space in a part of the dining room, living room or a hall you could always get shelves with doors to allow you to hold the overflow. Corner cabinets are particularly great for squeezing extra space out of a dining room. I'm not the bigget IKEA fan but they have some great wall systems to eek out storage. And if budget allows you can find a nicer version or have something similar made to suit your taste.
And my hint: Watch the TV show hoarders. That has gotten my rear end in organizational and cleaning gear for the last couple of weeks.
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There is no magic answer..............
Lower 
