Clever ways to create storage space

There are ways to create storage space in just about every room of the house. From the kids' bedrooms to the kitchen, find out the tricks to putting every nook and corner into service.

Hallways and corridors can make up a large percentage of a home, yet they're rarely used as storage spaces.

• Why not put every nook and corner to work with custom-fitted shelves?
• Home-improvement stores offer modular, multi-use shelving systems that can stretch your available storage space to the max without stretching your budget.

• Install a shelf or shelves over the front door or along one wall in the foyer, along with some well-placed hooks. This will make it easy to better organize coats, boots and shoes, scarves, hats and sporting equipment.
• You can use matching pull-out baskets to make everything look tidy and attractive. Or you might want to conceal it all behind a curtain or a blind.
• Or don't hide the shelf away, but showcase it instead. If you equip the shelf with halogen spotlights, it will create a welcoming island of light in the entryway.

Another great idea is to build a small custom-made office or chest of drawers to go beneath a staircase in the hallway.

• A desk made exactly to fit and one or two shelves are perfect for using this potentially dead space.

Children's rooms simultaneously serve as the place where kids play, learn and sleep, so they have to perform miracles when it comes to providing adequate storage space.

Over time, most kids' bedrooms accumulate a mind-boggling assortment of toys, clothes, books and crafts, all of which has to be stored somewhere.

• Consider putting a loft bed in a kid's room that has little space — it will have plenty of room underneath for a desk, seats or storage unit.
• No shelf space? Hang a bag made from sturdy material or a mesh net from a ceiling hook for storing stuffed animals, balls and other toys.
• Use colourful baskets, boxes and chests to stash toys for the evening. Make it easy for kids to sort and put away their own toys by gluing a magazine picture of the contents (e.g., cars, blocks, doll clothes) on each container.

A cozy kitchen will quickly become the hub of the entire home, which is all the more reason to make sure there's enough storage space to keep it neat and uncluttered.

• Store larger items such as pots, pans and small appliances in the kitchen's bottom cabinets. For up above, choose overhanging cabinets that are the right height. The topmost shelves, which you may only be able to reach with a stepladder, should contain seldom-used appliances like the fondue pot or the waffle-iron.
• Install tall cabinets with vertical slide-out drawers that are accessible from two sides. They are versatile space savers, while a corner cabinet with a lazy Susan makes good use of a space that often goes to waste.
• Use a nook to hold a garbage can or a kitchen towel rack.