8 Creative DIY Storage Solutions for Narrow Spaces

 

 

As we head into the fresh start of a new year, I know many of you are looking for ways to better organize and solve some storage issues. As you think about ways to get organize and come up with solutions around your home, I wanted to pull together all of my DIY projects for storage solutions for narrow spaces that we have done over the years that solved big storage/organization trouble spots around our home.

All of these projects that I’m sharing today have project links to plans I have drawn up and step-by-step instructions that I shared over the years on the blog.  Really more than anything, I really wanted to show you through our projects, just what you can do and encourage you to look at areas of wasted space because even in the narrowest spaces, there is always a great workable solution.

 

1) Narrow Mudroom Storage Wall

In the narrow hallway by our back door, I had always wanted a mudroom for all of our coats, shoes, etc.. I took measurements of the space and determined that I had about 5-6 inches (depth) that I could spare without infringing on the walk space.  So with 5.5″ of depth, we added bead board to the wall, hooks and framed it with standard 1 x 6’s (which are actually 5.5″);

 

 

This project was under $200.00 to do and it has made all of the difference in our home!  You can see the plan and get the details here if you are interested in creating your own.

 

2) Narrow Garage Pegboard Storage Wall

We actually did the exact same thing in our garage as we did in our mudroom, but instead of bead board, we used pegboard.  I took measurements with my car door opened and determined I had about 5.5″ of space that I could spare and we maximized every square inch of wall space to store tools, supplies and spray paint (my spray paint ledge holds up to 96 cans of spray paint!).

 

This project was also very inexpensive to do and as you can see, it solved a huge storage issue we were having.  For the details and the plan, you can find it all here.

 

3) Narrow Media Center 

In our family room/craft/studio/office space, we only had 250 sq. feet of space to work with, so creating narrow wall storage solutions was critical for us.  We also needed to create these solutions on a very tight budget, so we used standard size wood widths (no special cuts needed) and used the open wall as the back of the units.

 

 

For the details and ways to save a lot of money on built-ins, you will find the post here.

 

4) Narrow Built-In Open Cabinets

 

In the other side of our family/craft room, we did the same thing as the media center but made the shelving/open cabinet longer.  We used store bought inexpensive pre-made kitchen cabinet bases on the bottom.  While these particular bases that we used we’re not necessarily narrow, they come narrower if you’re looking for that option.

 

 

You can find all of the details on how we built our open cabinets here.

 

5) Narrow Built-in Bar

I wanted a built-in bar area for my home for entertaining and storage but I never thought I had the space.  I took a close look at a corner of our dining room that was just wasted space and determined that I had about 14″ (depth) of space that I could spare without infringing on walk space.  We came up with the plans for this built-in bar that also created tons of additional storage for all of our glassware.

By going almost all the way up to the ceiling, you can see that we created tons of storage by going up (each narrow shelf can hold 10 glasses or multiple serving pieces).

 

If you’ve always wanted a built-in bar/glassware storage but don’t a lot of space, this plan is very basic and easy to DIY and as you can see, it really holds so much! You can find the plan and details here.

 

6) Narrow Built-in Storage Buffet

Whenever I begin to think about creating a storage solution, I try to come up ways to create dual purpose solutions.  For instance, in my dining room, I wanted a buffet for entertaining but I desperately needed to create additional storage for my china collections, serving pieces, etc.. As I drew up plans, I designed the piece to meet all of our needs.

 

 

This piece has been such a life saver for us for storage and entertaining.  Again, this piece is also another very basic design, you can see the plan and details here.

 

7) Narrow Ikea Billy Bookshelves with DIY Tweaks

If you want to come up with narrow bookshelves for any area of your home and you can spare 11″ in depth, the Ikea Billy Bookshelves are a great solution and you can DIY tweaks to add molding and modifications to customize it.

In my daughter’s room, we used the Ikea Billy and customized it.

 

 

8) Narrow Pegboard Outdoor Toy/Sports Equipment Wall

Using the exact same layout and plan as our garage pegboard storage wall, we created this quick and easy DIY solution for all of my daughter’s outdoor toys and sports equipment.

By the way, the way we built our pegboard storage wall would work well anywhere in the home and not just in the garage. It would be great for a basement, craft room, laundry room, etc..  This is a great way to utilize the wall, especially in narrow spaces! You can see the details and get the plan here.

I hope my projects have inspired you to look for areas of wasted space to create DIY solutions in your own home.  Even if you do not DIY yourself, you can always hire a contractor to help you build any of these solutions.  Again, the plans for each of these projects can be found in each post 🙂

I have big plans this coming year for more solutions around our home and I can’t wait to get them finished and share them with you.  If you’re looking for more creative organizing ideas and solutions, I have several boards on Pinterest here with links to some amazing projects and tips.

Happy New Year friends!

Cheers!

Cyndy