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- Decorating and organizing a small space can be difficult because you have to be more calculated with your decisions.
- When I first moved into my small NYC bedroom, I was stumped on how to fit everything in the room, keep it organized, and hopefully make it look nice, too.
- I spent a lot of time researching products to make my space efficient, practical, and feel like my own. It took me a while, but here are the five products that transformed my small bedroom.
If you scrolled through my search history from the past few months, you’d find an abundance of queries like "space-saving hacks," "small bedroom hacks," and "how to make a small bedroom look bigger."
When I first moved into my apartment, it became pretty apparent that I’d have to get creative with my space. In college and my younger years living with my parents, I was never particularly neat — I had gotten good at hiding my messes in plain sight, pushing piles of clothes and other miscellaneous items to the corner of my room to be dealt with at a later time. In a small bedroom though, organization becomes a necessity and the only way to keep your room from feeling like a glorified closet. In order to be neat, I knew I’d need the right tools.
After spending far too much time searching for the perfect products to make my small space feel neater, bigger, and truly homey, I think I’ve finally done it. I’m sharing the tools I used to transform my small space so that hopefully you can get your space in order a little faster than I did.
Keep reading for five products that have transformed my small space:
An over-the-door hook rack
Bed Bath & Beyond
Heavy Duty Over-the-Door Hook Rack, available at Bed Bath & Beyond, $14.99
With very limited closet space, my bulky jackets, towels, and robe didn’t seem to deserve hangers. My puffy winter parka takes up the same amount of space as multiple shirts, and I wasn’t willing to get rid of clothes just to make space for a jacket come winter, so I got this heavy duty hook rack instead. You simply slide it over your door — it’s cushioned so it doesn’t scratch the wood — and it adds tons of hanging opportunity to an area that would otherwise be dead space.
It has four hooks, but each hook is made up of two prongs and a circular top, so you really have twelve hooks worth of space to hang things on. I like to use this for products that need to be accessible — my bathrobe, towel, and sometimes a jacket or two. Many hook racks of this kind make it difficult to fully shut your door, but with this model that’s no problem — the over the door hooks are very flat, so they don’t affect your door at all. At $15, this item is a no-brainer to me — it adds a ton of space-saving value at a low cost.
A custom nightstand
The Container Store
White Melamine Tops, available at The Container Store, from $9.80
White Elfa Mesh Drawers, available at The Container Store, from $12.60
White Elfa Drawer Frames, available at The Container Store, from $25.20
One of the items I struggled most to find was a nightstand. I wanted something that looked nice, but actually had a decent amount of storage. Ultimately, I decided to create one of these Elfa drawers at The Container Store, and it was a great decision. While not the cutest beside table on the market, the plain white color goes with everything and the amount of storage I gained is unbeatable.
One of my favorite things about this product is that it can be customized to fit your organization and space needs. You pick a frame based on how tall you’d like your drawers to be, then choose what size drawers you’d like, and top it all off with a surface of your choice. I opted for all white, as it matched my room best, though there are also silver options. For my drawers, I choose four different sizes, so I could neatly store lots of different items. In the smaller drawers I have paper goods and little things I use every day, while the larger drawers hold bigger items like tech and extra toiletries. This was one of the more expensive products I bought, but it’s versatility and utility made it truly worth the price.
Cotton storage bins
The Container Store
Grey Laguna Cotton Fabric Storage Bins, available at The Container Store, from $6.99
I’m lucky to have a good amount of shelving in my room, but keeping shelves looking tidy without constantly having to fold everything is difficult. These fabric storage bins have saved me from that issue. I keep them on my shelves and use them to store cold weather accessories like scarves and hats as well as socks and underwear.
Since they’re made of fabric, they have some give, so you don’t have to worry about them breaking from being stuffed to the brim. They do a great job of keeping my items concealed, and more importantly, all in one place. The heathered gray cotton also looks great and adds a nice aesthetic to any shelving unit.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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Source: Business Insider