Storage, storage, storage
Cupboard cleverly concealed above the loo in a west London powder room.
Storage is often an issue in London homes and we like nothing more than to come up with clever ways of making the most of the space available to our clients. Here are some things we consider:
1. We always look up
The space above doors is often overlooked but can be a great place for storage. We have found this particularly helpful in small bathrooms. If you have room for a deep enough shelf you can even use baskets to keep things tidy and out of sight. A shelf works particularly well if it runs from wall to wall which can be good for rooms with a vestibule.
Use the ceiling eg install a kitchen maid clothes airer (always check it can be fixed to joists to take the weight). You could consider a wall-mounted pull down airer too.
2. We bring 'dead' space to life
We love to create a hidden cupboard above a loo. Where you are using a wall mounted loo with hidden cistern you can use the void above for a cupboard. Doors can be wallpapered or mirrored to either make a feature or help them disappear. If you stop the doors short, that leaves a gap which allows for a shelf or niche for candles, paperbacks or loo rolls.
If you are not carpeting your stairs, open up the tread of the first few steps of a staircase to create handy shoe storage. The treads can be hinged to make access easier. Adding compartments inside can also be good for hats and gloves, dog coats and leads, keeping everything to hand but out of sight.
Consider putting a bed against the chimney breast in a bedroom, then create custom joinery either side in the recesses with drawers. Then fix the headboard to the chimney breast and push the bed up to it. You then have a handy surface for lamps, clocks etc with drawers below and can hang art or mirrors above.
3. We make your furniture work harder
Ottomans and footstools can double up as storage. We recently tailor made an ottoman on castors as a window seat for a bay window which was made to be the perfect size to store carry-on luggage.
Consider storage bed for bedding, sheets and towels. We often suggest ‘ottoman’ storage beds which lift at the base, and can be very helpful in smaller rooms where drawers in the side would be inaccessible.
4. We plan multifunctional rooms
Allow rooms to have multiple uses by carefully considering the design of joinery either side of a fireplace. A bookcase can either be fully fitted or appear freestanding and contain bookshelves at the top with a hidden desk below by using pocket doors and a sliding shelf for laptop and keyboard. The age of ‘WFH’ demands we get clever. Workspaces can be disguised within a pair of bookcase or even wardrobes if located in a guest bedroom.