Sometimes, it’s not the size of the space, but how we use it, and with the right storage solutions, you can transform the most overlooked corners in your home into beautiful, functional spaces.

First up, cupboards of doom, let’s face it, we all have them. Will you follow Frenchic Expert and @DIYmum Kayleigh’s utility cupboard hack, where she adds a KALLAX unit to give everything its own place or give Kirsty’s calming two-tone laundry cupboard of dreams a whirl?

If you’ve got a BILLY Bookcase (IKEA reports that one is sold every five seconds around the world…), did you know, that at 28cm, they’re the perfect depth to fit behind a door?

If you want to go upwards, Neutrals Expert Abi utilised wasted space and got rid of her tumble drier and installed a ceiling airer instead. Or maybe you’re all about the cosy, and fancy re-creating Kirsty’s inviting reading nook. These organisational hacks bring not only better systems to your home and a sense of peace, but a dose of personality too.

Which is your favourite?

Kayleigh whipped everything out of her utility cupboard, including a lot of old towels and bags, and added in a tall four-cube KALLAX unit – with storage baskets so that everything has its own place. On the colour front she went dark and colour drenched the cupboard’s interiors with Frenchic’s Chalk Wall Paint in Black Forest, that she had left over from painting her hallway, and painted the KALLAX with Black Forest in the Al Fresco range to match.

Kirsty’s ‘Monica cupboard’ was full of towels and junk, while she had a laundry basket that was overflowing in the hall. Sound familiar? Her solution to sort the
space, was to create this gorgeous laundry cupboard. Kirsty did a two-tone
effect, painting the calming colour of Bradstock, and used the pale green of
Eye Candy to bring in some light.

Attaching wavy edges to the shelves and painting them in Clay Pot, really make the space pop and adding inexpensive 67cm draw handles to the shelves, made the towels look super neat and stay in place. The addition of the two laundry bags, finally stopped the constant flow of missing socks.

Abi colour drenched her stylish utility room in Funky Dora to create the most
relaxing space to do laundry in. To create extra space in the room, Abi
made the bold move of getting rid of her tumble drier and installing a ceiling
airer. Using a stud finder to locate the joists in the ceiling, Abi drilled into the ceiling and screwed in the casters of the ceiling airer. Then she tied the rope in place and knotted it off – and says the best thing is the little dopamine hit she gets every time she lowers and raises it.

The wasted space behind a door, is not something you really ever think about, but when utilised properly, it can actually add a lot of storage to your room. In Kayleigh’s house, her son George, needed more shelves in his room for his ever-growing collection of football trophies and, good old BILLY Bookcase was the perfect solution. She painted it with three coats of Smooch in the Chalk Wall Paint range and splattered it with Dazzle Me! in Al Fresco. Follow Kayleigh’s full guide on how to upcycle and personalise a BILLY Bookcase and put one behind every door…

Kirsty had a square if wasted space in her hallway, which she used to transform into a much-dreamed of reading nook. After finding two second-hand bookcases that were slightly smaller than the space, Kirsty created a platform for them to sit on and joined them together. She then created an MDF frame in front and popped an old IKEA desktop, on top of them.

Kirsty then panel pinned in a dado rail around the whole landing around a third of the height from floor to ceiling and used a screwdriver to hammer the pins flush. Kirsty painted the walls in Ghost and contrasted the reading nook in Sundowner, with Beach Hut on the shelves. Adding wallpaper to back of the book nook and floral box cushions brings a playful touch.

IKEA furniture and Frenchic paint are a match made in heaven and following our
step-by-step guide, will give you the perfect results. First, give it a good
old clean with Frenchic’s Sugar Soap and make sure it’s thoroughly dry before
going in and sanding with a 120-grit sandpaper. Wipe off any dust and let it
dry. Then for the fun part, Abi used three coats of Smoke Signal from the Chalk Wall Paint range and let it fully dry between coats.

Abi added two little screw eye hooks and mounted an extendable curtain pole that she jazzed up with Frenshimmer in Golden Oldie and popped on a curtain. The result? A chic piece perfect hallway or porch storage that hides messy bags, with added baskets for the kids to fling their shoes into when they get home from school…