Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

Modular shelves and storage units are appealing since they can so easily be moved, rearranged, and made to fit awkward room layouts (my bedroom and office are in a converted attic with ceilings that slant down, so I know all about trying to furnish awkward spaces!).

While the galvanized steel look might not be for everyone, these industrial cubes offer a lot of storage options.

The cube is the basic building block, and you can get them open or with doors, with or without wheels, and wall-mounted or free-standing. This simple arrangement allows you to build credenzas, book shelves, tv entertainment centers, closet storage units, desk, towers, etc. etc. etc.

Visit the Container Store’s “Galvanized Solutions” section to get an idea for all the uses you can find for these little cubes.

Prices depend on how many cubes you want to get and what you want to make, but examples of some possible systems are a galvanized cube storage table for $164, a bath storage unit for $430, or a complete wine bar setup for $970.

You don’t need a pretty safe to protect your valuables, but if you’ve got the money to spend, you can buy a high security luxury safe that looks as good (or better!) than the rest of your furniture.

German company Doettling has been constructing and restoring quality safes with handcrafted care for 80 years and has a line of luxury safes you can check out if you have the funds.

The safe shown here is from their Legends collection, which features antique safes, “lovingly restored to become modern eyewitnesses of historic craftsmanship.” You get to personally consult with Markus Doettling to decide on your safe’s outward appearance and inner workings.

Secure your valuables, and get a cool piece of furniture.

Doettling

Installing racks to hang your bike on the ceiling in the garage is nothing new, but you might not have seen the Claw bike storage system from GarageWorks.

It looks like it would make lifting your bike up and down a little easier, since you only have to get one wheel up there instead of both of them. Here’s the blurb:

“The Claw Advanced Bike Storage System device’s intuitive push-lock design takes the struggle out of storing your bike. Simply push upward once to activate its plunger-like mechanism, and two rubber-encased aluminum arms will thread through your rim and cradle the wheel securely. When it’s time for your next ride, simply push up again to unlock the mechanism and release your bicycle.”

If you dig this way of clearing up some space on the garage floor, you can pick the Claw up at Amazon for $60:

Gladiator GarageWorks Claw Advanced Bike Storage

In today’s junk, er, treasure-filled houses, furniture that comes with storage features is a big plus. We’ve looked at some coffee tables that do double duty (including storage, seating, etc.) before, and here’s one with a lot of extra space.

The solid alder coffee table trunk is made in Mexico and features two lids that can be opened to reveal lots of space for your blankets, couch pillows, slip cushions, etc.

Perfect for a “contemporary rustic” home, the large coffee table is available in four finishes: honey, tobacco, antique, and old world.

$850 at Direct from Mexico

If you have a substantial (but perfectly reasonable!) purse and handbag collection, then you might want to invest in an organizer to make it easier to find your favorites (and keep them off the closet floor). Fortunately, you can get systems designed specifically for purses and handbags.

These hanging purse racks (two are included in the set) are designed to fasten behind a door, keeping purses and handbags out of the way and yet easily accessible.

They come with 8 adjustable hooks and can also support clothes, hats, caps, scarves, and other such items that won’t fit in your overflowing closets.

$12 at Organize.com

You’ve probably noticed that urban (and even some suburban) lots aren’t that big these days. “Postage stamp” yard is the cute way to say it, but mostly they just mean small!

Even if you’ve got a small yard, however, you will probably have lawn and garden tools that you don’t want to cram into the garage (if you live in an older home, it might not even have a garage). The answer may be a compact “space saver” shed.

This 8′ x 4′ model from Smith & Hawken has enough room to store the mower and some patio furniture with a bit of space left over for home and garden tools.

The western cedar siding is attractive, and oils in the wood act as natural preservatives that resist decay and rot, sun, rain and moisture.

$2,000 (and you’ll need a couple people to help put it together)

It’s important to organize your lawn and garden tools, and store them someplace safe… such as under a rock.

Not any old rock, of course–a fake “storage rock.”

This storage rock and tool organizer from Yardiac is made to look like real stone but is actually crafted high density, UV-protected polyethylene and given a granite-looking hand-painted finish.

Underneath this faux rock exterior lies 13 cubic feet of storage space. You can use it to store your hose, watering can, gardening tools, pool equipment, or other outdoor items you’d like to keep handy. And when you’re done gardening, you can sit on the rock and enjoy the scenery.

$429:

Storage Rock Tool Organizer

Closet organization is important, especially in a smaller home where there isn’t a lot of extra storage space. In the old days, closets just came with a rod, and there was a lot of wasted space, but today there are all sorts of organization systems you can pick up to make the most of the room you have.

One thing you might want to check into is roll-out or pull-out laundry hampers. Since nobody really cares for a laundry basket sitting out on the open floor, the closet is an idea place to tuck it, but there’s not always room for a traditional basket. If you pick up hampers that are designed to fit in a closet and even have tracks so they can be pulled out, then you can get that eyesore off the bedroom floor.

Tuck the laundry baskets under a shelf, and you’re not taking up much space either.

The stylish pull-out double hampers shown here are available through California Closets, but just about any organization store can offer you something functional.

A dresser or a bureau is a pretty common piece of bedroom furniture, but these large items take up a lot of floor space. If you’ve got an over-sized master en suite, then it’s probably no problem, but if you’re living in a condo or a small house, you may need space-saving ideas.

Consider a closet organization system, complete with tiers of rods and even a section of drawers.

By shifting the drawers into the closet, you get rid of the need to have a bulky dresser in the bedroom itself. Hey, it’s always nice to be able to get out of bed and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without banging your knee on the corner of a piece of furniture.

Drawers and closet organization systems come in a variety of materials, styles, and prices. For less than $100, you can pick up simple off-the-shelf systems that you assemble yourself. If you’re ready to give your closet some extra class, consider a custom job–that will go a long ways toward increasing the value of your home. Of course, custom closets often cost a thousand dollars and up, so consider how much you’re willing to spend for those space-saving drawers.

If you have a barbecue grill or fireplace that you use frequently, you probably go through quite a few matches. I like the long wooden matches best, since they burn nicely and allow you to keep a bit of distance from the actual fireplace or grill (especially nice for those gas grills that light with a big whoosh that has you checking your eyebrows to make sure they weren’t singed off).

The long wooden matches, however, take up a bit more drawer space than a pack of the cheap paper ones, so if you light things often, you might check into a match holder.

This pine wood holder can be mounted to the wall next to the fireplace for convenience, and there’s even a spot at the bottom where you can attach the striking material that comes on boxes of matches.

The finish is a walnut stain with a beeswax and linseed oil rub to create an attractive matte finish.

$12 from Etsy seller JosWoodWork.