It’s a new year, and I’m willing to bet that many of you have made resolutions to be more organized. Am I right? Getting organized involves two main aspects – decluttering and creating more storage opportunities. I’m gonna let Marie Kondo help you out with the decluttering part, and I’ll help with the stylish storage solutions.
There are tons of storage ideas out there for organizing every space in your home, but let’s be honest…they aren’t always the most attractive solutions. I mean, don’t get me wrong…organization in any form is beautiful, but rainbow-colored plastic bins in your living room is not exactly a designer-approved solution. So let’s talk about some attractive and stylish storage solutions that can help you get organized in the new year.
Window Seats
If you need a little extra storage for games or toys in your living room, kids room, or play room, a window seat is a great option! Adding a window seat bench with storage cubbies is not only functional, but it creates a cozy seating area, too. Fill the cubbies with baskets, create a seat cover with a foam pad, add some throw pillows, and you’ve got a stylish little nook that everyone will love.


You can build in a custom window seat, but one of my favorite inexpensive options is creating a bench from IKEA’s KALLAX shelf unit – especially for kid spaces!
Decorative Storage Baskets
Baskets are a fantastic and stylish storage solution for any room in your home. A large basket can be used to store throw blankets in your living rooms or toys in a kids room. Interior designers love to use wicker baskets in a room because they not only offer more storage, but they also provide beautiful texture, which is an important design element for a room. If you’re on the hunt for the best storage baskets, I recommend shopping at The Container Store, Pottery Barn,ย and World Market.

Wall Shelves
When you’re short on storage, you’ve got to think vertically! Any bare wall can be transformed into a storage haven by adding wall shelves, floating shelves, or a hanging wall system like Elfa’s Decor Bookshelves. Wall shelves are a great way to showcase your decorative items or stash items you need easy access to. Open shelves are perfect for any room of the house, but I especially love to use them in the living room, home office, kitchen, and even the bathroom (over the toilet).



Cabinetry in the Laundry Room
There’s just nothing pretty about a builder-basic wire shelf in the laundry room. It doesn’t hide the mess, and it doesn’t make good use of the vertical wall space in your laundry room. By adding a wall cabinet (or two), you’ll be amazed by the amount of storage you’ll gain, and the aesthetic improvement is well worth the expense! Check out the difference adding cabinets made in our laundry room. And the best part? I was able to store three times as much stuff, neatly hidden away behind cabinet doors.
While cabinetry can get fairly expensive, there are some inexpensive options from Home Depot that are perfect for the laundry room.
Built-ins
I am a complete sucker for built-ins, and have added them in every home we’ve owned. If you have a home with limited space, built-ins are a great solution. Not only do they provide more storage, but they add so much character, and completely elevate the design in a room!ย Yes, built-ins can be expensive, but any designer will tell you that they are one of the most efficient ways to add more storage to small spaces, and one of the most beautiful. I’m sure you’ve seen gorgeous pictures of built-ins around the fireplace, like this one…
…but just take a look at some other creative ways to incorporate built-ins in your home, that you may not have thought of.
Built-ins Around Doorways & Openings
Just because your wall has a doorway or opening, doesn’t mean you can’t add built-ins!

Office Built-ins
Your home office is the perfect place to add built-ins. Not only are built-ins a great opportunity to add closed storage for your office essentials, but they create a gorgeous backdrop for your online meetings

Built-ins Around a Bed
Adding built-in bookshelves around a bed is a beautiful way to frame the bed, add tons of storage, and create some major wow factor while you’re at it. This can be a great storage solution for small rooms, where it’s super important to make use of vertical space.

Dining Room Built-ins
A built-in storage unit in the dining room can keep your full collection of china and serving dishes within easy reach.

Bathroom Built-ins
If you haven’t considered built-ins for your bathroom, this next picture might just convince you. Such a perfect example of adding vertical storage in a stylish and sophisticated way.

Built-ins in the Hallway
Hallways can have under-utilized space that you can take advantage of with built-ins. From linen storage to homework stations, the possibilities are endless.

Cloffice
Do you have a bedroom closet that’s not being fully used? Why not create a closet-office or cloffice? Closets can become a perfect little nook for a desk, computer, and some shelving. And, you want to know something else? They are a great space to go bold with the design, and show off your personal style!


Closet Conversions
While we’re on the subject of closets, coat closets are probably the worst offender when it comes to wasted space. You’d be surprised how much additional storage you can create in a closet by installing a good closet system, shelves, or dividers. Take a look at these examples for some inspiration.


If you don’t think you need much hanging space for coats, you should think about converting your coat closet into a cute mudroom instead!


Laundry Sorters
Ah, the laundry…always piling up, and so often ending up on the floor. If your dirty duds are spilling out into the common areas of your home, or taking up valuable floor space in your bedrooms, you’ve got two choices. You can either a) do laundry more often, or b) increase the size of your hamper. Of course, option a) sounds like a smart choice, but may not be practical for you and your family. So, let’s take a look at how you can get more storage for your dirty laundry, while improving the look of your space.
There are hundreds of laundry sorters out there that are great for the inside of laundry rooms, but did you know that there are also some that look like a beautiful piece of furniture? Just take a look at this gorgeous tilt-out laundry hamper from Etsy.

Medicine Cabinets
Small bathrooms can really benefit from creative storage solutions. If you have a small bathroom, and just a simple wall-mounted mirror above your sink, you are missing out on a huge storage opportunity! Installing a wall-mounted medicine cabinet is an easy (and stylish) way to increase your storage space in the bathroom.

Storage Coffee Tables
There will always be a place for the modern look of a streamlined coffee table, but if you’re after more ways to stash your stuff, you’ll want to shop for storage furniture. Coffee tables with drawers, or a media unit with cabinet doors can offer an easy way to improve your storage options in the living room, without sacrificing style. Here’s a great storage coffee table from Amazon that features a lift top for convenient working or eating.

Stylish Storage for the Kitchen
There are tons of organizers you can buy for your kitchen drawers and cabinets, but what do you do when the drawers and cabinets are all full? Use the walls! There are some great kitchen wall hanging systems out there that can add much-needed storage, and bring a charming, rustic feel to your kitchen. Take a look at these next two wall-mounted kitchen storage ideas for some inspiration.


If you’re looking to get more organized in the new year, decluttering is a necessary first step. But, once that’s done, it’s extremely important to add more storage solutions to your home to neatly tuck everything away. Not all storage solutions are pretty, but this post shares some of the best storage ideas for balancing functionality and aesthetics. I hope you’ve gotten some great ideas and been inspired by the beautiful and stylish storage solutions I’ve shared with you today. Best of luck on conquering your organization goals!