Once you have decided upon an approximate idea of the size, basic components and layout of each of the rooms in your self-built house, it is a good idea to make initial sketches of designs for them. Measure the furniture you will be using to scale and draw them onto graph paper. Cut out the various items and play around with the replica models until you find a layout that works best for you. Allow space for doors and windows then show your plans to your architect to make sure you have not forgotten anything.
Even if a space initially seems small, this can be altered with the clever use of different storage solutions. Decorative shelving and clear plastic storage boxes provide optimal storage space, whilst appearing innovative and making the room overall seem larger.
In the bedroom, for example, there are a number of things you should bear in mind when planning:
Shelves or shelving units – you might want to keep books near you. Please bear in mind that they tend to gather dust in bedroom, so a small collection may be best in the bedroom.
Lights – think about where you want them positioned. You may want to read in bed, so a reading lamp over the bed would be useful. Wall lights on the other walls or a ceiling light should also be considered.
Bedside cupboards – these might be necessary or perhaps shelves should be considered, since this increases the amount of floor space available.
Hanging space – you should decide whether you need more or less hanging space than you have at the moment.
Folded clothes and other items – decide whether a chest of drawers or a tall boy is needed or shelves in a closet.
There are pros and cons when it comes to deciding whether to install book shelves or book cases in your home. Although it may seem like a simple decision, it is one that should be considered with a wealth of knowledge.
The advantages of a book case are:
• It can be moved from one place to another in the room, and it can also be moved from one room to another.
• It is generally easy to assemble and indeed disassemble to make for ease of transport if you are moving house.
• It is versatile in that you can use it to store not only books but DVDs, CDs and computer games.
The disadvantages of a book case are:
• It is a fixed unit in terms of height and width and cannot be designed to be narrower, wider or higher unless you are building it from scratch.
• If it becomes too full, you will need to buy another book case that might only have one or two of its shelves being used.
The advantages of using book shelves:
• They are easy to make, even if you have only the most basic of workshops.
• You can make them as wide or as narrow as you like.
• There is no limit to the number of shelves that you can install.
The disadvantages of using book shelves:
• If you do not have a workshop at all, you will have to buy them separately and usually pre-packed. This will eventually make them more expensive than a book case.
• Storing DVDs and CDs on them is more risky as if they are not stored carefully, for example they are attached too high, they may fall off.
Although many people just view lounge, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom doors as objects to keep in the warmth and provide privacy when needed. The enterprising person sees a way of storing things away. In the kitchen, for example, the under the sink cupboard door can be converted into a rubbish bin by the simple addition of a frame from which to hang a carrier bag. Not only giving a little extra floor space in the kitchen but also a way of recycling your shopping bags. Shelving can be affixed to the wall for extra storage of crockery or spices.
The storage of seasonal items is always a nightmare, gloves, wool caps, scarves, mittens which are not needed during the warmer weather which occasionally occurs in Britain, are sometimes thrown into drawers never to be seen again.
A better idea would be to hang a shoe or sock storage rack from the back of the spare bedroom or cellar door and store them away there, ready to be used again in the cold weather.
Coat racks that can be hung from the door are also available as are single coat hooks. These hooks may also be used as a place to suspend a multiple clothes hanger. These particular hangers are ideal for the storage of ties, trousers or sports gear.
A shoe rack hung on the inside of the bathroom door may also be utilised as a perfect place to store extra toilet rolls, bathroom cleaning items, spare face flannels and shower gel or bath salts. In the kitchen a similar storage could be used for kitchen cleaning items.
The one place in the garage that is probably disregarded more often than any others as a storage space is the ceiling. For example, it is the perfect place to store bicycles while they’re not being used. Seasonal items such as skis, snowboards, tents and camping equipment could be placed in this storage space. If you have a storage box for the car-roof that is only ever used on holidays then the garage ceiling might prove to be an ideal storage place for it. The Christmas tree, lights and decorations would be another ideal collection of seasonal things to be stored here as well. Ladders are another item that could also be easily stored under the ceiling.
Manual hoists with load bearing capacities from 45 lb to 250 lb are available with both single and double pulley systems although typically only the lighter load bearing hoists would employ a single pulley system. You could also use a hoist to secure a purpose built rack that can be lifted and lowered to store your smaller items. Electric hoists are also available and are typically very easy to install and use.
For a more permanent solution, several sizes of platforms are usually available that are lightweight and constructed from steel and steel mesh to make them strong and durable. It is possible to use them to store plastic storage boxes that will hold a variety of small and large items such as children’s toys, document boxes and files and other odds and ends.
Many people now store their video and music collections on disks, either DVD or CD. Some will have downloaded them from the Internet, legally of course, and burnt them to disc so they have a hard copy in case their computer breaks, but now have the problem of storage. If you are an avid collector; your selection of music and video soon begins to take over the room unless you find an effective and space-saving method of storage for them.
Carousel storage racks that have a relatively small footprint with optimal storage of disks are always popular. Racks that fit against the wall on top of your computer desk are also a good way of keeping your collection of downloaded music or video organised and tidy. Sometimes, if you have bought your recordable DVDs in a spindle and stored the recorded videos in a canvas container, the empty spindle can be reused to store your computer media. If you have, for example, a sheet of plastic that would otherwise be thrown out, you could make separators out of it, to keep the disks from being scratched so easily.
As far as video is concerned, a DVD recorder with an installed hard drive will store quite a few hours of films and shows. Although it is a good way of storing the media, these devices can be quite expensive. The more storage time on the hard disk then the more costly it will be. Music can be stored on the PC’s hard drive but has the disadvantage that it takes up room and begins to slow your computer down. It is also useful to have a backup in case your computer malfunctions and all the data is lost so having adequate CD & DVD storage is a must.