Using slivers of space

[trish2]

Since we all are into living well in small houses, how about some tips and tricks to maximizing space?  
Example: Currently we are re-doing a small kitchen that has 5 base cabinets.  We are installing "secret" drawers utilizing a portion of the dead space in the toe kick.  Each drawer is about 19 inches deep and the width of the cabinet.  THe drawer is about 3 inches high; just high enough for hammers, screw drivers and other relatively flat tools.  Also this will accomdate some cookie sheets , baking pans and other kitchen utensils that are relatively flat in nature.

  Since the drawer is recessed it uses only a portion of the toe kick space; when standing in front of the cabinet you cannot see or feel that the  drawers are there.  The drawers in no way interfere with the normal function of a toe kick; that is, allowing the feet to occupy floor space when standing close to the counters.

The 5 extra drawers help in a small kitchen where every inch of storage space is precious.

Anyone else have storage tips for the kitch or other areas of the house?

[Daddymem]

Great topic Trish!  My sister-in-law puts casters on drawers from throw away bureaus.  She then rolls these drawers under furniture like couches or other bureaus.
Ikea makes a line of cabinets that have feet instead of  kick plates.  They make drawers with wheels on them to slide under the cabinets, between the feet.

[glenn-k]

A friend of mine has a closet with a false front and infact a false closet behind the false front- behind that is his weapon room - lots of nice guns and ammo- and the kids don't get hurt - (as long as they don't know too much)  what a great idea.

You can break my arms and legs-- I'll never tell who it is.

[spinnm]

Shallow cabinets built into framing members.  Great for bath jars and bottles.  Great for spices and small pantry items.

Widen a hall by a foot or so and it becomes a library.

Shaker peg rail can hold all sorts of things up off the floor.

I've seen the same kitchen several times the last few years.  FHB and some coffee table books.  Most of the kitchen is underneath the stairs.  Very clever.

[trish2]

Shelly-
In your post you used the abbreviation FHB.  What does FHB stand for?
Thanks
Trish

[Daddymem]

Fine Homebuilding
http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/index.asp

[Amanda_931]

I may post this twice, once in books.

Azby Brown's Small Spaces has a lot about that kind of thing.  He's talking about somewhere between very efficient and just plain weird small(ish, sometimes) Japanese houses.  Really big on level changes, lifting up parts of the floor to reveal boxes, stair treads as box tops, some just plain bizarre Japanese built-in appliances--a dishwasher that fits part of the corner cabinet (p. 55),  an ultra-efficient place for a single woman to put on her makeup (p. 42, although the good picture is of her communications center).

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/4770020848/qid=/sr=/ref=cm_lm_asin/104-2081348-2872731?v=glance

Not sure how you get from there to giving John a cut when you buy.

If I haven't gotten to Amazon on a search, I start putting www.amazon.com into the address line, and one of the drop-down suggestions does contain "countryplans.com."  I hope that works.

[glenn-k]

Sometimes if I get to a book from other sources, I just come back to Johns Amazon search link at the bottom of his book page and re do the search by title or author from there.

I even go there to search for non building related books and things Amazon has.  Gotta try to help support the site.

[Okie_Bob]

Hey Shelly, can you give me any references for the
'kitchen under the stairs' you mentioned in an earlier post? I have a design underway that could definately use this idea.
Thanks in advance,
Okie Bob

[spinnm]

I'll try Bob.  Reference books are packed away, but think I've seen the box.

[spinnm]

It's in The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka.

Pages 60 and 91.

Don't seem to see a fridge.  

[Laura21]

Hi

The Not so big house has great reviews. I read chapter 1 of books one and 2 from her website. It has some good information. I have not bought it though. I think I need a designer to help with my project. I have a long 15 by 25 roon to turn into a living area, office and dining area. and it has 4 openings, high cielings and a ton of windows. I should probably get started but I am a bit overwhelmed.

Any book ideas or websites would be great. This is an extremely low budget project.

Laura

[Daddymem]

Sarah's books are full of idea....her implementation of them are typically on the "upscale" end of things.  You'll notice that while she goes toward the smaller houses, her final costs are the same if not more than the bigger houses.  If you have the money, then by all means get one or more of her books, but you could always just borrow it from a library then copy the pages that interest you (lots of pictures in her books).  
If there is a modular manufacturer nearby, take a tour through their model homes, you can get a ton of ideas for free, they usually don't mind if you take pictures, and quite often they have floorplan figures available.

[Amanda_931]

I agree with Daddymem there.  And those of us used to thinking small already go, "But these houses are soooo BIG!"  I do like her columns, first in Fine Homebuilding, now in another Taunton publication, Inspired House probably.  One of the newer books is a collection of the columns.

Browsing the real bookstores is a good idea--used to be a quip about Nashville, that we had no idea what a the library was, unless it was Davis Kidd, the big, and at that time locally owned bookstore.

Think function.  If this has to double as the living area, it's possible that you don't need a dining table at all--one or three people, counter stools at a combination storage/breakfast bar, more than that, use the breakfast bar as a buffet, they can eat on their laps or TV tables.  Storage section of the breakfast bar can be used for table linens, good silver if you have it.

Office--will strangers be coming in?  think partition or screens to give yourself some privacy.

That space probably looks huge right now.  Get a couch and a couple of chairs in it, and then try to cut out an office and a dining room, and all of a sudden it's teensy.

[Epiphany]

Rolling drawers under the stairs, tables that raise up for dining, lower down for coffee table, false ceiling / floor / wall with storage, washer/dryer combo under bathroom vanity, bed on top of soaking tub when not in use.  Also I saw an apartment in Paris which had a bed that went up into the ceiling when not in use.

[ketdryn]

I have a couple of suggestions to add.  

IKEA has a line of interior fittings for its kitchen cupboards (called Rationale - I think) that lend themselves to installation in other areas.  For example, the pot lid rack that is normally hung inside a cupboard door makes a great wall mounted magazine rack.  They also have low cost rail and hook combos typically used for mounting kitchen utensils on the wall that can also be used in the bathroom, over a desk, in a porch, etc.

Simple rail and bracket shelving systems can become wall mounted sideboards and display shelves, store entertainment equipment, serve as a desk top and office space, etc.  If its on the wall, it can save on your floor space.  Its cheaper than most forms of furniture and you can reconfigure the shelves and brackets as needed.  If you paint the shelves out to match your wall, they will visually recede.  Keeping smaller items in similar colored storage boxes will help keep things from looking too "busy."

Gateleg tables are great space savers in a kitchen.  IKEA has a double gateleg table with a drawer in the end that is reasonably priced. Pair it with folding chairs that can be hung on a wall or stored in a porch when not in use, or stacking bent plywood and steel chairs.  You can find versions of both of these also at IKEA.  

(And no, I don't work for IKEA - I just love their space saving ideas).    

[John Raabe]

In a project I'm helping a client design the owner came up with the idea of combining the entry with a home office. We are making the entry area about 2.5' - 3' wider than normal to accommodate a deep desktop, drawers, etc. and then the chair uses the entry floor area to roll around in. The office has a spacious feel and it is a good use of an area which is often underutilized.

I suppose it might help you keep the office organized and neat as well  .

[trish2]

(And no, I don't work for IKEA - I just love their space saving ideas).    

Speaking of IKEA, has anyone picked up their new catalog?  It comes out every August.

[Laura21]

I find Sarah's houses to be quite large. I do have a fairly large amount of space 1280 sq ft including 2 patios which total about 125 sq ft. which accomodates 2 beds, 2 baths, a kitchen, dining living and small office (hopefully) I do have some bad use of space in one bathroom (space for a separate tub) and am looking for ideas.

Laura

I have visited a few model homes but I find that the larger sizes does not make it possible for me to incorporate most of their ideas. Sites like these are the most helpful.

[trish2]

If you're looking for small bath ideas, instead of model homes try model RVs, especially the park models.  The makers of these critters are adept  at using space wisely.

[MountainDon]

I sometimes have a look at the Who's Online area just because I'm curious. Occasionally I see someone, usually a guest, viewing an old, but interesting topic. That's what just transpired. I'll bet that most of today's active members have never seen this one. Scroll through and have a gander.   

[Jens]

I remember this one, but it sure got abandoned, didn't it?

[Alasdair]

Lets revive this one then..
I'd suggest a trip to a boat yard/builders for anyone looking for ways to save space or even better a trip on a boat. It is rare to find an inch of wasted space on a well built boat. (You may need 3 elbows in each arm to reach things out of the lockers but that's another matter!)

[BobHHowell]

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70137919



I saw this wall desk idea in Ikea.  This looks easy enough to build.  Further, this could be built into an interior wall and the door would be flush with the wall when closed.  In the house I am planning, I am building something like this into the interior wall outside of pantry/wash room.

The computer will plug into an outlet in the pantry.

[trish2]

Wow--a blast from the past.  I started the 'slivers' quite some time ago and had forgotten about it until I saw it brought back from the dead.
Ok--so here's my  space tips.

1. Ikea Plastic Trones--think I mentioned them once before somewhere on the Forum.  They were originally designed as shoe holders, but they make dandy alternatives to dressers.  The trones are light weight and easily mount on the wall with two screws. They hold sox, undies, pjs, T-shirts, and swim suits/shorts  just fine.  Also good in mud rooms for hats, gloves, ear muffs, etc. Trones are 6 inches deep by 21 inches wide and 14 inches hi; you'd be amazed at the amount of clothing you can get in those cirtters. A friend uses them in her boys room. Since the room is VERY SMALL, she mounts them about 8 inches off the floor so the boys can still have the floor space to play with their cars and other toys.  Cost: 3 trones for around $40.

2. L-shaped twin beds at two different heights. Not as high as bunk beds so mature adults can easily sleep in them  One bed is about 9- 12 inches off the ground.  The second bed is around 36-42 inches off the ground,  The foot of bed one slides cross-wise under the foot of bed #2  The beds are not attached so the rolling over of one person does not shake the bed of the other person. Less total sq footage is used than if you had two twin beds side-by-side.

3. When looking for a dining table, look for one with one pedestal or 2 pedestal supports in the middle of the table.  It's easier to squeeze in extra guests when you don't have to worry about someone strattling a table leg. Also easier to vacuum or sweep when you don't have to worry about hitting  table legs on the outside of the table.

Ok--those are my tips.  Currently hubby and I are living in a small house and use #1, & #3 to stretch the flexibility of our space.

--Trish