Storage Ideas for Small NYC Living Spaces
When living in a small apartment or rental unit, storage creativity is a must
5 Min Read
5 Min ReadNew York City offers a world-class lifestyle, opportunities, and amenities, but it’s also one of the most competitive rental markets and tightly woven webs in the world. The population density in NYC, as one would suspect, is extremely high, and newcomers to the city may not have considered how much they will need to economize in terms of living and storage space.
Develop an Eye for “Dead Space”
While many people will look at an average NYC apartment and bemoan the lack of storage space, savvier renters will see the space limitations as an opportunity to be creative.
Renters in New York City have learned to see the dead or negative space in smaller units. People can rethink both floor and closet space, as well as unconventional spaces such as above or under beds, high on bathroom or kitchen walls, and so on.
Ditch Duplicates
One of the simpler storage ideas for small spaces is to simply get rid of doubles of all items, particularly if the item is inexpensive to replace and a renter plans to live with a roommate.
It’s very likely that a renter has an extensive inventory of cookware, plates, and small kitchen appliances accumulated from previous moves. Many of these items can be replaced new for only a few dollars, and space is so valuable in certain New York City apartments that space-hogging items like these can go from assets to liabilities.
Decluttering is key. If a renter opts to live with a roommate, paring down doubles – hair-dryers, blenders, pots, and pans, etc. – can go a long way toward freeing up more room in a small apartment.
Switch to Slim Hangers
Veteran residents of New York City know that closet space is truly limited, and more clever renters have realized that basic plastic clothes hangers take up more space than the clothes themselves.
To address this problem, manufacturers such as Joy Mangano have created lines of slim clothes hangers, which save a significant amount of vertical space in a small bedroom and hall closets.
Slim hangers like this are fractionally wide – sometimes a quarter-inch or less – and the better ones don’t leave marks on clothes as cheap wire hangers would.
Build a Better Closet
Thinking along the same lines, due to the ordinarily tiny closets commonly seen in many New York City apartments, many renters opt to construct their own closets. This has proven to be one of the better storage ideas for small spaces, as a little creativity can turn an unused corner into a very modern closet or changing area.
While one approach would be to use a rod and decorative curtain to draw off a certain section of a living room or bedroom, an alternative that might free up more space would be dedicating a full wall to clothes storage and investing in something like the PAX Wardrobe from IKEA. This would free up an apartment’s actual closet to store clunkier items while opening up room for one’s wardrobe.
Reconsider or Replace the Medicine Cabinet
A lot of older apartments in NYC has a very small, standard mirrored medicine cabinet above the bathroom sink. These type of cabinets can hold about four bottles of aspirin and a package of Band-Aids, leaving no room whatsoever for even the most basic toiletries.
A novel storage idea would be to remove and replace the existing medicine cabinet with something more spacious. There are very few other items which could go above a bathroom sink, and it’s likely that the small medicine cabinet in the unit can be removed very easily.
It’s always a good practice to clear alterations with a landlord, but it’s likely that the landlord will have no problem with a minor replacement such as this. In some cases, renters could triple or quadruple the amount of available bathroom storage space, making this one of the more subtle but effective storage ideas for small spaces.
Opt for Dual-Function Furniture
For renters who move into an unfurnished apartment, picking up furniture that comes with some storage – think couches or ottomans that also flip open – can be one of the smarter storage ideas for small living room spaces.
A renter’s ingenuity is the only limit when it comes to storage ideas. A number of sectional couches and daybeds have pull-out sections that a renter can use as additional storage space. IKEA also makes a bench with added shoe storage, another two-in-one furniture piece that helps create room in tight apartments.
Cat -owners can take this idea to the limit by purchasing an item such as the Merry Products Furniture Hidden Cat Litter Box Enclosure. This clever device places a cat’s litter box in an attractive end table, solving two problems at once and creating a good chunk of floor space.
Making the Most of Limited Storage
There are countless storage ideas for small spaces, limited only by a renter’s ways to think outside of the box. While economizing the space in a small apartment is the only option for some people, other people looking for short-term housing may have a better alternative at their disposal.
Renters in New York City looking for additional storage can consider Blueground as an alternative. A large number of furnished Blueground apartments offer dedicated storage units outside of the apartment, as well as ample closet space with hangers provided.
Additionally, many Blueground homes include a bevy of space-saving features, including beds with storage drawers, ottomans that flip open, and other multifunctional furniture pieces. Future guests can look at the available Blueground properties in NYC, and see the which apartments might meet their space and storage needs.
