10 WASTED SPACES IN YOUR HOUSE THAT COULD BECOME STORAGE

Published by: Bradley
Published date: July 29, 2026
Last updated: July 29, 2026
Estimated read time: 10 minutes

You don't have enough storage.

I believe you.

But before we start discussing additions, storage units, or whether you really need the fondue set you've moved through three states:

I'd like to see your walls.

Because houses—especially older Salt Lake City homes—are full of completely useless little spaces we've collectively agreed to ignore.

Three feet above the washing machine.

The weird recess beside the fireplace.

That dead zone beneath the stairs.

The twelve inches between a cabinet and the wall.

The entire vertical dimension of your garage.

You may not need more square footage.

You may need to stop wasting the square footage you already own.

Here are ten places I'd look first.

1. UNDER THE STAIRS

Harry Potter got a bedroom.

You can at least get some drawers.

The space underneath a staircase can be one of the most underused areas in a house because the sloping geometry makes normal furniture difficult.

Which is exactly why custom carpentry works so well there.

Depending on the staircase and construction, the space might become:

• pull-out drawers

• cabinets

• open shelving

• shoe storage

• a small pantry

• a dog station

• cleaning-supply storage

• a compact desk

• bookshelves

The key is designing around the staircase instead of fighting it.

A freestanding cabinet wants square walls.

A carpenter has accepted that your house contains triangles.

One caveat: stairs are structural assemblies, and enclosed spaces can also conceal electrical, plumbing, HVAC, or other systems.

So before you start attacking the drywall because Pinterest showed you some adorable drawers:

Find out what's actually in there.

Your new shoe cabinet does not need to begin with the discovery of a plumbing stack.

2. ABOVE YOUR DOORS

Look up.

There's probably two feet of wall above the doorway doing absolutely nothing.

In the right room, shallow shelving above a door can provide storage for things you don't access constantly:

books,

baskets,

display pieces,

linens,

or other lightweight items.

You can even continue shelving around portions of a room to create an architectural feature.

This works particularly well in:

offices,

libraries,

bedrooms,

small dens,

and rooms where floor space is limited.

Does every doorway need a shelf above it?

Absolutely not.

Please don't finish this article and build a wooden halo around every door in your house.

But in the right room, vertical space is free real estate.

Use it.

3. THE WALL ABOVE YOUR TOILET

I'm sorry.

We have to discuss it.

Bathrooms in older Salt Lake homes are not always generous.

And yet one of the largest blank areas is often sitting directly above the toilet.

You can use that wall for:

shallow cabinetry

open shelving

towel storage

toiletry storage

extra toilet paper

or a small built-in designed around the room.

The word here is shallow.

I do not want you standing up and headbutting a 16-inch-deep cabinet.

Good storage should improve your life.

Not concuss you.

4. THE SIDES OF YOUR FIREPLACE

This is custom-carpentry catnip.

Fireplaces frequently create two awkward areas beside them that are:

too narrow for standard furniture,

slightly different dimensions,

interrupted by trim,

or just empty.

So people put:

a basket on one side,

a dying plant on the other,

and call it done.

No.

Depending on the house, those spaces can become:

built-in bookcases

closed cabinets

media storage

display shelving

wood storage

or a combination of open and closed storage.

And because the cabinetry can be designed around the fireplace, the whole wall begins to feel like one architectural composition instead of three unrelated objects standing next to each other.

This is one of those projects that adds storage while simultaneously making the room look more expensive.

I approve.

5. YOUR ENTRYWAY

Your entryway isn't necessarily too small.

It may just be badly employed.

Think about everything that enters the house with you:

keys,

wallet,

mail,

shoes,

coat,

hat,

bag,

dog leash,

sunglasses,

packages,

and whatever object you were carrying in from the car that you will now leave by the door for six weeks.

If none of those things has a designated home, congratulations:

Your entryway becomes the storage system.

Instead, even a relatively small wall can potentially hold:

a narrow bench,

shoe storage,

hooks,

a shelf,

small drawers,

or shallow cabinetry.

Custom storage is particularly useful here because entries often have weird constraints:

doors swinging,

vents,

windows,

light switches,

narrow walkways,

and limited depth.

We don't need a twelve-foot Pinterest mudroom.

Sometimes 36 inches of intelligently designed storage fixes the whole problem.

6. UNDER YOUR WINDOWS

People put furniture beneath windows constantly.

So why not make the furniture part of the house?

A window can be an excellent location for:

a storage bench

drawers

low cabinetry

bookshelves

or a proper window seat with storage underneath.

This is particularly useful when taller furniture would block the window anyway.

Instead of wasting the lower wall, you gain:

storage,

potential seating,

and an architectural feature.

In a bedroom?

Blankets and linens.

Living room?

Games, books or media.

Dining room?

Serving pieces.

Entry?

Shoes.

Dog's favorite window?

Fine.

We build the dog a throne.

Everybody wins.

7. THE ENDS OF HALLWAYS

This one makes me crazy.

You walk down the hallway.

And at the end:

wall.

That's it.

Maybe there's one sad framed photograph floating in the middle of it.

Depending on the width and circulation space, that dead end could potentially become:

a shallow linen cabinet,

built-in bookshelves,

display shelving,

a narrow cabinet,

or another compact storage feature.

Notice I keep saying shallow.

A hallway still needs to function as a hallway.

We're trying to create storage.

We're not constructing a domestic obstacle course.

But even 8–12 inches of appropriately placed depth can provide useful storage for smaller items without requiring a full-size cabinet.

8. THE LAUNDRY ROOM WALLS

Your washer and dryer occupy the floor.

The wall above them is apparently reserved for:

nothing.

Why?

Laundry rooms are ideal for vertical storage because so much of what belongs there is relatively small:

detergent,

cleaning products,

irons,

paper products,

extra towels,

baskets,

rags,

pet supplies,

and whatever collection of objects your household mysteriously stores beside the washing machine.

Depending on the layout, add:

upper cabinets

shelving

a hanging rod

folding surface

or a combination.

If the room is tiny, go vertical.

Your laundry detergent does not require ocean views.

Put it upstairs.

9. YOUR GARAGE WALLS

This is probably the biggest offender.

People tell me:

“My garage is too small.”

Then I walk inside and discover 400 square feet of completely unused wall.

Meanwhile the floor contains:

bikes,

tools,

totes,

coolers,

sports equipment,

holiday decorations,

yard equipment,

camping gear,

automotive supplies,

and one unidentified box labeled MISC that hasn't been opened since 2014.

Get it off the floor.

Depending on the garage, you can use:

heavy-duty shelving,

wall-mounted storage,

pegboard systems,

tool storage,

cabinets,

bike racks,

workbenches,

or properly designed overhead storage where appropriate.

Garage storage doesn't need to be beautiful.

It needs to be:

strong,

accessible,

organized,

and designed around what you actually own.

Your Christmas decorations don't care whether the shelves have dovetail joints.

10. THAT WEIRD LITTLE SPACE YOU'VE GIVEN UP ON

You know exactly which one I mean.

Every older house has one.

Maybe it's:

between the chimney and wall,

beside a closet,

under a sloped ceiling,

between two doors,

next to the refrigerator,

inside an alcove,

behind a door,

or approximately 27 inches wide for reasons known only to a carpenter who died in 1974.

You've tried putting furniture there.

Nothing fits.

So now it contains:

a plant.

Or a laundry basket.

Or absolutely nothing.

This is where custom carpentry earns its money.

If normal furniture doesn't fit because the space isn't normal—

stop buying normal furniture for it.

Build:

shelves,

drawers,

a cabinet,

a bench,

a tiny desk,

a bar,

a bookcase,

a charging station,

or something designed around the actual dimensions.

The weirdest space in your house can become one of the most useful.

BONUS: YOUR CLOSETS ARE PROBABLY TERRIBLE

We're at eleven again.

I'm apparently incapable of respecting my own article titles.

Open your closet.

If the interior consists of:

one rod

and

one shelf

stretching across the wall—

we can do better.

Most closets don't actually suffer from lack of volume.

They suffer from terrible use of volume.

There's probably several feet of unused space above your clothes.

The floor is probably chaos.

The corners aren't doing anything.

A better closet system might include:

double hanging rods,

drawers,

adjustable shelving,

shoe storage,

upper shelves,

hooks,

or purpose-built sections based on what you own.

And this is where custom doesn't necessarily mean elaborate.

Sometimes three intelligently placed shelves accomplish more than a $4,000 closet system with mood lighting.

WHY OLDER SALT LAKE HOMES NEED THIS MORE

Many of Salt Lake City's 1940s and 1950s houses were designed during an era when both houses and consumer lifestyles were different.

Rose Park, Glendale, Poplar Grove and other postwar areas contain plenty of modest homes that can still work beautifully for modern households.

But they weren't necessarily designed around:

70-inch televisions,

home offices,

Amazon deliveries,

sixteen pairs of sneakers,

Costco,

robot vacuums,

three gaming consoles,

and the apparently mandatory American possession of 47 charging cables.

You can fight the footprint.

Or you can use it intelligently.

That's why I like built-ins and custom storage in older homes.

We're not trying to turn a 1,300-square-foot house into a 3,000-square-foot house.

We're trying to make all 1,300 square feet earn their keep.

WHAT STORAGE PROJECT SHOULD I DO FIRST?

Don't start with the prettiest idea.

Start with the biggest annoyance.

Ask yourself:

WHERE DOES CLUTTER CONSTANTLY ACCUMULATE?

That's telling you where your house lacks storage.

WHAT DO I KEEP MOVING FROM PLACE TO PLACE?

That item doesn't have a home.

WHAT ROOM ALWAYS FEELS TOO SMALL?

Look vertically.

WHAT WALL DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING?

Interesting.

WHAT PIECE OF FURNITURE ALMOST FITS?

Very interesting.

WHAT DO I OWN THAT'S CURRENTLY STORED LIKE AN IDIOT?

Now we're getting somewhere.

Storage design starts with behavior.

Not cabinetry.

CLOSED STORAGE V. OPEN SHELVING

This depends on what you're storing.

Open shelving is excellent for things you actually want to see:

books,

art,

plants,

glassware,

collections,

and attractive everyday objects.

Closed storage is excellent for:

everything else humanity owns.

Cables.

Paperwork.

Cleaning supplies.

Dog food.

Board games.

Medicine.

Extra toiletries.

The air fryer you use twice a month.

Your home doesn't need to display evidence of every purchasing decision you've ever made.

A combination usually works best.

Display the good-looking stuff.

Put doors in front of the bullshit.

DON'T BUILD STORAGE BEFORE YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING IN IT

This sounds obvious.

Apparently it isn't.

Before designing shelves, I want to know:

What are we storing?

How many?

How big?

How heavy?

How often do you use them?

Do you need to see them?

Will your storage needs change?

A shelf designed for paperback books is different from one holding vinyl records.

A cabinet for linens is different from one holding power tools.

A garage shelf holding empty Christmas decorations is different from one holding 400 pounds of automotive parts.

Build for the load.

Gravity remains undefeated.

CUSTOM STORAGE DOESN'T NEED TO LOOK “CUSTOM”

This is important.

The best built-in storage often disappears into the architecture.

It doesn't need:

ornate molding,

twelve kinds of wood,

decorative corbels,

LEDs synchronized with your Spotify account,

and brass hardware imported from a monastery in France.

Sometimes it's:

three shelves,

two cabinet doors,

clean trim,

good proportions,

done.

Especially in Salt Lake's modest mid-century houses, restraint usually looks better.

The goal isn't:

“LOOK AT MY CUSTOM CABINET.”

The goal is:

“Of course there's a cabinet there.”

THE BRADLEY RULE

Before deciding your house is too small:

Use the whole house.

Look:

up,

down,

under,

between,

beside,

and behind.

Especially in an older home, there are probably cubic feet of potential storage hiding everywhere.

And if a normal piece of furniture fits perfectly?

Buy it.

I'm a carpenter.

I'm still going to tell you that.

But if you've got some bizarre little section of your house that IKEA has absolutely no idea what to do with?

Send it to me.

That's where this gets fun.

GOT A SPACE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH?

Take a picture.

Actually, take three:

one of the entire room

one straight at the weird space

one from the side

Then measure:

width

height

available depth

And tell me what currently doesn't have a home.

Shoes?

Books?

Tools?

Towels?

Kids' stuff?

Dog stuff?

A deeply concerning quantity of vinyl records?

That's enough to start.

I'll tell you what I'd do with the space.

Call or text Bradley:
(801) 644-3329

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