SPACE UTILIZATION AND STORAGE

One of the hallmarks of the contemporary look is a certain degree of spaciousness and freedom from unnecessary confusion. With the increasing shortage of space in the modern-day, it becomes very difficult to have more space in small apartments and ultimately either the apartment looks like a storehouse or we have to sacrifice upon the furnitures to have more space. However making space in small apartments without sacrificing anything is possible if a few important guidelines are followed.

Effective and ample storage is one of the key elements of contemporary style, and it doesn't have to be difficult or expensive to create. There are storage techniques to fit every budget. The type of storage appropriate for any given room depends on what will be stored and your own tastes, but the first step in developing any storage strategy is to sort through your possessions according to three principles: necessity, accessibility and frequency of use.

If you happen to have an gigantic empty attic or basement that's just waiting to be filled with stuff you don't use but want to keep, well then lucky you-but most people, lacking ample ready-made storage space, find that in order to keep their living space free from clutter they have to throw some things away. It's painful when you're doing it, but you'll be surprised at how little you miss the things you get rid of. After you've cleansed your life of things you don't require, then it's time to sort according to priority. Divide everything-clothes, hardware, even cooking utensils-into three groups: stuff you use all the time, things you use once in a while and things you almost never use but just can't bear to part with. These groups represent the three levels of storage: easy access, accessible-sometimes and "archive" storage. Things in the last category might go somewhere like the attic, a basement storage compartment, whiles the other two categories will remain in the actual living space.

The accessible-sometimes items might go on the top shelves of a closet, on a storage platform suspended from the ceiling (a great idea in a small apartment), in boxes under the bed, or in sofa cum beds or divans specially designed for storage purposes. The basic idea is to have them out of sight and out of the way, but in a place where you can get them pretty easily when you want them.

As for everything else, the things you use all the time, you can decide what you want to keep in view and what you want hidden. Those who like the truly stripped-down look might do well to hide an entire wall of shelving and/or drawers behind a screen, curtain or even a wall panel on a hinge. This is a favorite technique among cautious architects, and it goes a long way toward creating that nobody-lives-here feel that some people love, some people hate. For a less minimal but very neat look, modular storage units have become quite popular lately.