As families grow, the need for better home organization and storage emerges as a point of consternation for moms and dads alike. I get many calls from clients who are tired of tripping over sports equipment and shoes, staring at the multitude of cords associated with gaming consoles, and worrying about how to fit their growing kids into a small space. Below I outline some custom woodworking projects for families that have solved many of these issues.
Custom Mudrooms
As kids start playing sports or musical instruments, and carry large backpacks to and from school, the home landing space gets increasingly frustrating, Custom mudrooms allow the daily storage area to be designed for each family’s specific needs and desires.
For the Carmel home pictured above, my client was looking to fill a blank wall in her back hallway to help organize her family. The space was right next to the laundry room on the way to the garage and served as the “drop zone” for all their stuff when they arrived home. She wanted everyone to be able to hang their coats, as well as have a place to put their bags and shoes. Baskets for hidden storage were also important, and a bench to make taking shoes on and off easier. Another main goal was to keep items out of the pathway to and from the garage. Together we crafted a design that solved all of her problems. Read more about this project.
Next, a family in Zionsville sought me out to help them design a custom piece that would address their messy back room, which had become a disheveled gathering spot for totes, shoes, boots, hats and gloves. Everything always wound up scattered on the floor! Though they tried using some of their existing furniture, those items couldn’t function as needed. For the design, my clients had found ideas and pictures on Houzz and Pinterest to communicate what features and look they wanted. With a custom design, all options are open; we mixed several ideas together to create the perfect storage piece they needed, and made it stylistically look like it belonged to their home. Read more about this project.
Custom Cabinetry
Custom cabinetry not only offers storage for the things a particular family owns (rather than the things “everyone” owns) it also provides the opportunity to create a piece that complements the architecture of their home. Perhaps more importantly however, families can hide games, electronic cords, toys etc. that come with children these days!
For example, my clients’ family room had a lovely fireplace and mantle, but instead of much-needed storage on either side, the walls were blank. Even though we were placing different functional elements in each space, they both had to make sense and appear balanced. To accomplish this goal, we created the same open shelving for the upper portion on each side, which gave the project a bit of symmetry. We also mirrored the different openings on both sides. We then added different elements at the bottom of the cabinetry based on the needs of our client. Read more about this project.
Custom Living Space Solutions
Adding family members into a small home often required creative use of space. Off-the-shelf options rarely offer all the functionality required while offering efficiency and beauty. One of my favorite projects that addressed this issue was a loft bed designed for a young son to grow into.
My client was looking for the best way to fit a bed, desk and storage area into a small space. The room had many design elements that required custom details: one wall had the entry door, another wall had a closet door, and another wall had a window and the HVAC ducting. That left only one clear wall to house everything she needed. Together we created a general plan, but as we began to build the project the details were solidified. Creative problem-solving and truly custom design were central to the success of this project. Read more about this project.
The joys of family come with the challenge of containing the stuff of family. If you are looking to add custom organization solutions to your space, reach out to me! Send me an email or give me a call at (317) 679-5890.
