Small Space Storage: Shabby Chic

I live in a 188 square foot apartment, but I'm a long way past my dorm days. Crates and desk stackers have been left in the past. Back are the softer things: the romantic and whimsical ones. By this point, I've inherited the mementos of my childhood, including my own baby quilt and stacks of old photos and stories.  So... I need a way to store everything -- a grown up way, but a thrifty one.  The style I have opted for is shabby chic.

Shabby chic is a natural for small, cozy spaces, but when the square footage goes too low, a person has to modify the style a bit.  Some traditional shabby chic storage items are functional only in a large space.  In a studio apartment, for example, you might not want the little dressing table with the hatboxes and bitty jars.  You'll value some of the things that are common to adults in little city apartments: closed storage, tall furniture, double-duty and multifunctional items.  But there's room for natural fibers, antique finishes, girly touches, and things that coordinate but don't quite match.  There are a lot of creative and fanciful options.

You'll want some of your treasures out, but if you have too many little things laying around, the place will look cluttered and small.  There are alternatives to closed cupboards, and they can be created in an impromptu way on open shelves.  One option is baskets; those big ones with the linen liners work especially well. You can also use hatboxes and larger decorative boxes.  Some of these items even nest together.  Of course, you probably won't display them nested -- you'll more likely have them filled to the brim and ordered or otherwise arranged.

I think it's good, in a small space, to have two or three items that match, and to stick with a theme. You may want hat boxes or baskets, but not both.  And you may want to stick to a color scheme (more or less). 

Your shelving units don't necessarily have to face forward with all those little trinkets and gizmos showing.  Use one to carve out a work space or other little alcove in your room. Try facing the furniture backwards with the sleek wood side showing.

This is my alcove/ craft area. The sturdy little shelving unit holds a lot, and the top shelf pulls out for easy access.  It would be rather short for a studio apartment -- not the most efficient use of space -- were it not wearing a dollhouse.  The dollhouse in the photo there is a 'functional' one, but I've seen pictures of dollhouses reborn as bookcases and random storage.  So if you've got one, and it's living back home at mom and dad's house, you might want to grab it.  If nothing else, it makes a scenic magazine rack. 

Shabby Chic Studio Apartment
The low down on living in one room... and doing it up cottage style.

The Inspired Room
This blog is about a small house, not a small apartment, but the person is clever. (How about taking an old ladder painted in antique blue... and hanging it on the wall?)