Music to your ears, huh? This time around we are going to break-down the bedroom to gain some extra storage. The bedroom – a place we retreat to rest, unwind, revive. Naturally, it is best if this space is organized and equipped with all of the right fixings. We have found this one of our biggest challenges in our farmhouse. No storage, small room sizes and deep interrupters (like radiator covers and closets, windows on most of the wall space). It is a total puzzle with obstacles in every corner. We’ve slowly started to tackle these issues in hopes of keeping our bedrooms tidy, clean and a place we can’t wait to rest our heads.
Our daughters’ rooms are the tiniest of the bedrooms. We’ve moved their furniture configuration around so many times that I cannot even remember what design layout we started with at this point! If I had them set-up the way I want them, we wouldn’t have room for additional dressers, etc. We are in the process of updating our oldest daughter’s room. (We have high hopes that if we decide to add-on a small master bedroom in the next 3-5 years, her room will become a guest room.) With that in mind, we are trying to be strategic about anything newly added. One of the obstacles in this particular room is that the furniture does not look good in just any layout. There is not a lot of space to work with and to satisfy most of her needs (clothing storage, books, desk space, the list goes on and on…). We realize we need to go a step further! We’ve played around with this plan for years. The final decision seems to be adding a set of built-ins. During our original renovation, we added a closet on a wall we would not have placed any furniture. We’ve decided to keep that in place. On an adjacent wall with a window, we will be adding a window seat with a built-in desk and cabinet on either side of the window seat. This will be home to new drawers and closet space as well as a proper desk that she can use for her homework, drawing, etc. We also think this would be a great temporary set-up for guests to eventually utilize. The planning on this has begun and my husband hopes to start working on the cabinet/shelving built-in design in about a month. I will be sharing more of this design down the road, so hang in for more details.
In the meantime, we had to help get her and our other daughter organized during this temporary transition. To be honest, we started these temporary and functional design works a few years ago. Naturally, when the pandemic started, we set up a desk spot. The hand-me-down antique desk that she uses (that we love!) has only one big shallow drawer, so we knew we needed to add more storage somewhere (anywhere!!). I came across lovely, simple and easy-to-install wall shelving and they have lived up to their description! We love them so much that we chose to add them to our youngest daughter’s room as well. In an old farmhouse there is a lot of re-configuring, living in your space before designing and rolling with it. When it comes to our bedroom storage, we’ve checked all of those boxes.
A few tips for extra bedroom storage ideas (whether temporary or permanent!):
- Is there wall space you can spare for wall shelving, folders or another piece of organizational furniture? This option also helps modernize a small farmhouse bedroom.
- Don’t forget that shelving can come in all shapes and forms. Shelving can also act as part of the decoration (adding pretty books on them, strategically placing keepsakes in a decorative fashion).
- Building out the inside of an original closet can consolidate your belongings while maximizing your space.
- Think outside the box. Maybe a day-bed will work better than a twin? Does that chair from your Mom or Grandma have to be in there? Or will that space be better served with some extra cabinetry or shelving?
- Think back to our storage post for the office space. Are there some desk-top boxes or drawers you can consider purchasing to help organize some bedroom essentials?
Organization is never easy, but sometimes breaking it down and laying it out makes it less overwhelming and more visible. This process also helps clean out the unnecessary. Good luck getting your sanctuary space organized and inspirational!
