9 Free and Creative Bedroom Storage Ideas

Your home should be a sanctuary and your bedroom the perfect place to rest your head. These 9 ideas will help you save storage space in the most important room of the house, without spending a cent!

Classic Under-the-Bed Storage

The first creative bedroom storage idea is also the easiest one. When in doubt, just stick it under the bed. This strategy isn’t for the lazy. It can also be very smart. Under-bed containers are great for clothing and other items that don’t need to be accessed regularly. It’s easy to use crates or old boxes around the house and then there are bed frames that come with their own storage (see picture).

Picture courtesy of: Brosa

Even if you don’t have a bed frame with storage, remember that things like backpacks, old clothing and small appliances can easily be stored underneath the bed or even in amongst the springs.

Ikea Modding

If you don’t possess a bed frame with storage, Ikea sells sliding drawer units that fit smartly under beds, mimicking the look of drawers. Storage bins are just as good an option.

However, those who live in cramped urban dwellings may understand the need to maximise every inch of space they can find. As such, modifying that extra bit of IKEA furniture into a more streamlined, practical storage solution might help.

Cleaner Closets

You might ask if this fits the bill for being creative. Well, we think so because, before opting for bulky dressers or fancy armoires, the closet is the most underutilized space in the bedroom. We have all thought of hanging and shelving but the creativity stems from planning and design.

That’s right: closets hold so much potential. Unlike bed storage, there are usually ways to improve the closet space to hold things of any size and use. Have an underutilized bookcase? Use it for shoe storage.

Image courtesy of decorium.us

Double Rods

Double rodding works by installing some rods further away from the wall, while another rod is hung for items to lie behind these. If it isn’t clothing that needs storage, then consider how these items can be organized before creating a closet storage solution.

This can be DIY for those who are planning to use old bathroom rods, or even just wood scraps found in the back of a local hardware store. While this might seem like an unorthodox idea, many professional projects make use of this idea to double the space for clothing.

Use Based Storage

Another great closet design tip is to consider what you need access to on a daily basis. This is common in Japan, where even the beds are sometimes stored away for more space!

Your infrequently used items may not need to be stored with things that you use every day. This might be a number of things like rarely worn shoes; we often accrue more shoes than we need. For those who have a large collection, a shoe rack may not be enough. 

Organization Hack

For heavier storage needs, it might be time to get mental. Start by analyzing what is needed and how you plan to keep it. Decide whether these items would be best stored through additional shelving or drawers, like a creative shoerack. Using old shelves or even shoe boxes to store clutter can make things a bit more bearable before the next project rolls around.

Image courtesy of Brosa.com.au

Bed-Office

Some of us work from home and don’t have the leisure of a room devoted entirely to work. Writers, programmers, and others may know the feeling of waking up, going to the kitchen, only to report back to the bedroom-office.

Desks can often get cluttered with various non-work related stuff. Investing in a quality paper tray or even making one from old appliance packaging can work. Paperclips, tacks, and erasers can all be held in small dishes or trays easily available at your local goodwill. 

General Area

This may be the final frontier. After the closet, desk, and leftover luggage from holiday trips long past have been successfully stored away, it’s time to target habits: the general floor space of the bedroom is often where we leave clutter that we can’t find any other place for.

If coats or clothing always end up on the bed, this is a closet issue. However, if magazines, tea cups, and other items are usually strewn about, then it is time to organize a tea caddy, magazine rack and other containers for those things causing the most headaches. 

Tie It All Together

There may be a need for a shelving themed on access. For example, shoes used every day to go running will need a priority placement on top while shoes that are only worn for special occasions can be located on the bottom.

Taking this into consideration, remember that a more organized bedroom means a better decorating job overall. Getting rid of clutter means you can concentrate on really making a bedroom into the best it can be.

Kate Smith, Interior Designer @ Brosa Furniture

Kate is the resident interior designer at Brosa and mother of two. She has decorated hundreds of properties over her career and is responsible for styling all of Brosa’s amazing product shoots. Kate loves helping people make the most of their homes (whatever their size). Check out her latest post: 24 Amazing Bedroom Storage Ideas & Hacks.