How To Make the Very Best Use of the Space Under Your Bed

When you live in a small space with smaller storage options, a blank slate under the bed becomes valuable for storing, well, whatever will fit. We’ve rounded up smart projects, inspiring photos, and a useful shopping guide to help you make the most of your available bed-to-floor storage options.

Above:This image fromIKEAshows how a VEDDINGE kitchen cabinet door with a molding surround and wheels attached can double as a sliding shoe organizer. Talk about clever on wheels.

Smaller items like shoes and books—while not inherently bulky—can collectively take up a lot of space, so using extra storage under (or inShannon’s casearound the perimeter of) a bed can help keep items corralled and prevent clutter piles from forming.

The above (fromDesign Sponge) is a nice example of how luggage and storage boxes can functionally and attractively work under a bed.

In this instance, a bench creates the allusion of extra underbed storage and allows for extra storage space for books—but shoes, magazines, or decorative storage boxes could work in a similar way. Plus it looks great.

Storage boxes often get a bad rap as being flimsy and/or unattractive but there are lots of elevated options on the market, such asthese dark rattan boxes(similar ones alsoavailable here) that are functional storage units and perfectly lovely if peeped under a bed.

虽然年代篮子和箱子是一个显而易见的选择torage, for beds with a lower bed-to-ground threshold, the folks atWohnideehave turnedIKEA’s EKBY ALEXunit into rolling under bed storage. If this type of DIY unit isn’t in your future, a narrow storage box can work in a similar fashion.

For those who are interested in fashioning their own bed-storage unit, this past year we featured a smarthow-to tutorialfor building a DIY sleeping space with extra storage underneath.

If external storage is at a minimum, investing in a storage bed (like theWest Elm platform storage bed frame, $1,399,shown above) could prove to be a smart move. Check out ourAnnual Guide to storage bedsfor a wide variety of options.