Small Spaces: Tip #2

Tip #2: take advantage of the things you already have in your home.

I’m not sure this even needs to be said, but just in case…

Hello, my name is Maggie and I live in a cozy apartment in Los Angeles with my husband, our two young children and our wild dog. We’re constantly looking for better ways our home can serve us without spending too much money, especially because we’re knee-deep in freeing ourselves from our debt. Hooray!

And that is exactly how a few months ago we found ourselves looking for a “new” piece of furniture to place our TV upon. We had just two rules to follow: use something we already have in our home (no new purchases), and for the TV stand to be multi-purposeful (a small space must-have).

My mother-in-law actually came up with the idea. She’s a home decor & layout transformation genius, but she disguises herself as the owner of a northern Michigan bridal shop. With her last visit I took full advantage of her talents, I have no shame in admitting that.

Months back, when Cindy came up with this idea, we were doing a massive apartment overhaul, literally flipping out entire apartment around. The two main changes we experienced not only gave us our living room back (where our queen-sized bed used to be), but they gave me a decided place to work on Caroline-made.

Prior to Cindy’s visit, I had been feeling like our cozy apartment wasn’t serving our family as best as it could, and having her visit would be the perfect opportunity to make a few changes. While working on the inside of our closet she noticed a bookshelf from IKEA (similar), which we used to store extra bedding and shoes.

Here was the thought process:

• What if we moved the bookshelf to the living room, then tipped it on it’s side?
• Then, what if we put the white canvas storage bins back inside each cubby? These bins would be perfect for discreetly storing diapers/wipes, extra baby blankets, and soft baby toys — items we’re always needing with our infant daughter?
• And lastly, what if we drilled a few holes and installed a set of black furniture risers (similar) to the bottom side of the bookshelf to store our shoes underneath?

Nearly five months have passed and the furniture risers have been a great addition! Because of their height they instantly raised the corners of the bookshelf up about six inches, which makes me feel less nervous about having sharp corners as little children run around. (Because of the height we gained the corners are out of the way.)

This simple DIY has been life-changing for our family of four living in a small space. Our living room is a multi-purpose room, so this bookshelf-turned-TV stand has been a perfect blend of storage meets function.

Do you have any small space questions or tip suggestions? Leave a comment below or send me an email :)