Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

A grandfather clock has unique elements that can warm a home. The chiming clock peacefully acknowledges certain times of the day, and the display case keeps precious family heirlooms safe. However, one feature you might not realize a grandfather clock can have is a secret storage space.

Although grandfather clocks can be an expensive addition, building them on your own is an inexpensive project. Plus, you can design it better to fit your needs. For instance, you can create a storage cabinet on the bottom of the clock as well as a secret storage shelf above the clock mechanism.

The secret storage can be used to store valuable jewelry or even extra cash you have in your home. The outside display case can feature knickknacks or books, but no one will suspect what else the clock holds. Whatever you decide to use your storage for, the clock will be a functional and classic piece in your home.

Laundry rooms are often tucked away either in the basement or on the first floor in an isolated room. Even though you have to catch up on laundry, it doesn’t mean you should be stuck doing it in the dreariest and loneliest part of your house. If you’re a multi-tasker, laundry room closets can give you the freedom to be near your family while finishing chores.

As you get older or busier with work, lugging your laundry down to the basement can seem like a horrible chore in itself, especially if you have several children with mounds of dirty clothes. Relocating the laundry room to the first floor in a large kitchen closet can reduce some of the hassles associated with washing clothes.

This closet pictured below has the washer and dryer as well as other cleaning supplies on high shelves where they are out of your children and pet’s reach. You can keep laundry moving while having breakfast with your family.

Many new homes have tall ceilings, which is a visually appearing characteristic. However, high ceilings don’t serve a purpose other than creating the illusion of more space. A way to take advantage of this space is to create a library loft.

If you have a home office, a library loft is a practical way to store books that you don’t need to refer to often. Also, closed files can be kept up here too. Even if you create the loft in your family room or sitting area, it can be beneficial for your children or the book collector member of your family.

The ceiling trim can double as a baseboard, but you will need railings, a step ladder and bookshelves. More modern bookcases such as the KARTELL Bookworm shelf can make the loft more inviting and fun for children. If there is room, a Rhodes futon chair with a small table are some cozy touches.

Media wall units can be an efficient way to store your books, DVDs and television. IKEA has some modern TV storage units that even conceal your video games and VHS tapes. So once you install a media wall, how can you maximize its potential?

Large flat screen TVs might be the popular way to go, but the size of the screen should be dependent on your viewing area. Professional installers often recommend a distance of two to two and a half times the width of the TV.

To ensure that your acoustics are balanced, have an even amount of soft fabrics and hard surfaces. Also, a rectangular room can enrich the sound better than a square room.

Lighting is also important, because when you have less light, the TV screen becomes brighter. Installing dimmers in the ceiling above the media wall can enhance your viewing experience.

Don’t forget to leave enough room in the back of the shelves for wires and ventilation.

Hatboxes are not just for hats. They can be an attractive way to store candy and crafts, or you can leave them open and create displays for your bathroom or bedroom. In your master bathroom or guest bathroom, you can roll up extra washcloths and place small lotions and bubble baths in a decorative hatbox. Extra grooming supplies will be easily accessible, and the stylish boxes will create a spa like atmosphere. Sarah’s Hat Boxes sells fabric boxes in all different colors and patterns.

If you have any old antique trunks, you can store valuable or sentimental items in them such as family quilts or photographs. Trunks are also an easy way to store toys and other things you need to quickly get out of sight.

Hatboxes and trunks are easy stack, so you can easily maximize your storage and prevent clutter from building up.

Those magnetic dry erase boards that you can stick onto your refrigerator sometimes look tacky, and if you have a wood paneled fridge, you probably need to find a new place for it.

Thomasville Cabinetry has a Wall Message Center, which is built into the side of a kitchen cabinet. When you open the cabinet’s side panel, there is a space for your board, markers, erasers, notepads, keys, planners and any other small items you might need to grab on your way out of the house. Since it has a key rack, it might prevent the loss of car keys, and it might also encourage your children to leave a message before they leave for a party, soccer game or date that you forgot about.

This is a discreet way of storing your message board, because not all of your guests want to know when your next doctor appointment is or where you teenager went.

Mops, brooms, dustpans and other various cleaning supplies don’t usually stay organized in an open hall closet. So if you’re fed up with getting hit in the head with a mop every time you open the door, consider updated storage units for your kitchen.

Kraftmaid has a couple of options that can make your housekeeping easier and your supplies more organized. The Tall Cleaning Supply Pull-Out has an area for you to hang scrub brushes and brooms as well as divided sections for those bulky spray bottles, containers and buckets. This unit slides in and out of the wall, so it conceals those unsightly supplies from your guest’s eyes.

If you have too many products underneath the sink, the Sink Base Door Storage Unit is a simple way to increase your space. Plus, it can make those multi-purpose cleaners and sponges easier to find in an emergency when milk has been spilled all over the table.

If you often find yourself looking around and trying to remember where you put your spade, scissors, pruning knife, gloves, etc. when it’s time for an afternoon in the garden, you may appreciate this handy holder:

The over-the-door garden gear organizer lets you store everything close at hand.

“This hanging organizer has clear vinyl pockets for seed packets and other small items, two generously sized pockets for larger tools, plus both fixed and Velcro loops for smaller tools.”

The organizer is made from heavy-duty cotton canvas and brass hardware for hanging over the door, so it should last a while.

$50 at the Gardeners’ Supply Store:

Garden Gear Organizer

Hangers are so last century.  Today, we organize our closets by installing the precise instrument for the precise garment.  Take pants for instance…

How better to hang pants than with special stainless steel pants rods?

These guys offer an alternative to hangers, letting you neatly drape your pants in the closet in a way that keeps them from being mashed together and mixed in with shirts and other garments.  It’s easy to stay organized when each pair of pants has a specific place.  Also, it’s easier to see what’s clean and choose the right color pants for the day when everything isn’t buried in the back.

Choose the pants rods for an open closet or wardrobe where neatness counts.

From 18Ten Accessories

Looking for a place to hang your coat when you walk into the entry hall? How about on these wall lights that double as storage hooks?

The “Alone” coat hooks feature an illuminated circular outline that “casts an eye at the concept of a wall light.

“Its clear-cut, linear design is enhanced at the rear by an opal finish ring that fills with white light creating a bright halo focusing on the hanging garment. Alone can be used in various ways – on its own, in a row or randomly scattered – contributing with its light to outlining visual and functional paths, while furnishing and enhancing also the narrowest and dimmest corners on the home.”

I just like them because I dig multi-purpose furnishings (and usually if you throw your coat on a lamp, you have to worry about starting a house fire).

From Pallucco