Storage Ideas for Small Spaces: Measure First, Then Go Under, Up and Behind
Short answer
In a small space, storage has to fit four measurements: the width, the depth, the height you can use (up to a window sill, a shelf or a sloping ceiling) and the floor you can keep clear in front, about 24 inches for open shelves and a drawer’s pull-out plus 18 for drawers. Then look first where storage costs no floor you walk on: under the bed, up the walls, behind doors and over the toilet.
4
measurements to take
24″
in front of open shelves
+18″
beyond a drawer’s pull-out
Measure four things first
- Width: wall to wall, or to the next piece, at the narrowest point.
- Depth: out from the wall, past any baseboard, outlet or radiator.
- Usable height: to the window sill, a shelf or a sloping ceiling, whichever comes first.
- Floor in front: the clear floor you can give up, as far as the bed, a chair or the main path. Open shelves need about 24 inches; drawers need their pull-out plus 18 to stand.
Those are the numbers our Storage Finder asks for; it shows which shelf, drawer and wardrobe sizes fit all four.
Room by room: where storage fits
| Room | Where storage fits | Sizes to know |
|---|---|---|
| Bedroom | Under the bed; a tall chest; shelves above the desk; the door | Boxes 7–7⅞″ tall; a tall chest 15¾″ wide; shelves 10¼″ deep |
| Closet | Double rods; the shelf above; the door and floor | Rods at 81¾″ and 40½″, or one at 66″ |
| Bathroom | Over the toilet; shallow wall cabinets; slim gaps | A 25⅝″ over-the-toilet shelf; cabinets 6–6⅝″ deep; a 7⅛″ cart |
| Entry or hallway | A shallow shoe cabinet; hooks | Shoe cabinet 7⅛″ deep; keep 36″ to walk |
| Living room or studio | Storage bench or ottoman; a bed that stores | Bench 14¾″ deep; lift-up bed, no floor beside it |
Each room has its own guide: small bedroom storage ideas, how to organize a small closet, small bathroom storage ideas and under-bed storage.
Under: beds and benches
Most IKEA bed frames leave 7⅞ inches underneath, and its under-bed boxes are 7 to 7⅞ tall, so measure before you buy. A box needs as much clear floor beside the bed as it is deep to come out, 19 to 25 inches for most. A lift-up storage bed needs none: the IKEA MALM storage bed has 79⅞×60¼×10⅝″ under its base.
Seating can store too. An IKEA KALLSÖ storage bench is 31½×14¾×21⅞″, with a drawer that pulls out 6¼ inches, at the end of a bed or by the door, as long as the path past it stays wide enough to walk.
Up: walls and tall furniture
The wall above a desk, a toilet or a dresser is storage that costs no floor. Wall shelves like the IKEA LACK are 10¼ inches deep; bathroom wall cabinets about 6. When storage does stand on the floor, taller is better per inch of wall: a 15¾-inch tall STORKLINTA chest holds about half again as much per inch as the low 55⅛-inch one.
Anchor tall pieces. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises anchoring dressers, bookcases and other tall furniture to the wall, and keeping heavier things low.
Behind: doors and the entry
- Doors: racks hang on the back of a hinged door. IKEA’s fit doors up to 1½ inches thick, and interior doors are 1⅜.
- The entry: an IKEA TRONES shoe cabinet is 20½×7⅛×15⅜″, shallow enough for a hallway. A hallway needs at least 36 inches to walk; our hallway width guide has what fits beside the path.
Studios and small apartments
In a studio one room does everything, so the bed and the sofa decide how much floor is left. Our studio apartment layouts show what fits in 200 to 600 square feet, and a Murphy bed folds a bed into 15.6 to 20.3 inches of depth. Then add storage in the same places as in any room: under the bed, up the walls and behind the doors.
Free tool
Enter the width, depth and height of an empty wall or corner, and the floor you can keep clear in front. The Storage Finder shows which shelf, drawer and wardrobe sizes fit, and why the others don’t.
Questions people ask
How do you make more storage in a small space?
Measure first, then use the places that don’t take the floor you walk on: under the bed, up the walls, above the desk and the toilet, behind doors and inside closets, with double rods.
How much space do you need in front of shelves or drawers?
About 24 inches in front of open shelves, and a drawer’s pull-out plus about 18 inches to stand in front of drawers, as our Storage Finder counts it.
What is the best storage for a studio apartment?
Storage that doubles as furniture or uses height: a bed with storage under it, a storage bench, tall chests and wall shelves. A lift-up storage bed needs no floor beside it to open.
Should tall storage furniture be anchored?
Yes. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises anchoring dressers, bookcases and other tall furniture to the wall.
How deep should storage be in a small room?
As shallow as what you store allows: wall shelves 10¼ inches, bathroom cabinets about 6, a shoe cabinet 7⅛. Every inch of depth comes out of the floor in front.
Sources
- Anchor It! (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission): anchor dressers, bookcases and other tall furniture
- IKEA US product pages: TRONES shoe cabinet, KALLSÖ storage bench, MALM storage bed, LACK wall shelf, STORKLINTA chests and the under-bed boxes and bathroom cabinets in our room guides
- Nest In Small Storage Finder: about 24″ in front of open shelves; drawer pull-out plus 18″ in front of drawers