I just doubled my storage, and no, I didn’t move apartments. I got a new bed frame. 

Upgrading my classic IKEA Malm bed to the lift-up storage model gave my towels, bedding, books, winter coats, and tote bags a proper home. While I’ve always kept those items under my bed (usually crammed inside a random suitcase), to get to anything in the center, I’d have to manually lift my mattress and balance it on my back while crouching over and pulling up the wood slats. It wasn’t a pretty picture, and may or may not have led to some chronic back pain. 

The classic and storage Malm beds are almost identical, but while the classic comes in four colorways and four sizes, the storage version comes in just two colorways and two sizes. Luckily, the size and color I wanted, full and white, came in both. The prices also differ quite a bit; for the full size, the upgrade takes you from $329 up to $659. My favorite difference: Rather than open-air sides, the storage version is completely closed. That one seemingly simple difference is what ultimately inspired me to make the swap. I knew this tiny upgrade would make my entire apartment feel so much cleaner—all of my stuff would be out of sight and, more important, it wouldn’t be such a pain (literally) to access stuff. 

Malm Storage Bed, IKEA ($659)

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The Assembly

The bed was delivered the next day (yes, you read that right) for $39. Delivery didn’t include assembly, so I hired a TaskRabbit. After watching the skilled professional with a 5-star rating take a full two hours to build the bed, I knew I had made the right choice. Paying him $150 saved me what would have been an entire weekend of frustration.

Now I simply pull a strap at the foot of the bed and—voilà!—my mattress opens to a 45-degree angle. 

The Organization

I have what I like to think of as a brand-new closet (it’s just one that lays flat on the floor!). Rather than reverting to my old ways and keeping my belongings in old suitcases, I went back to IKEA and tricked it out with interior storage compartments. Because there are so many options, I asked the interior design leader for IKEA U.S., Abbey Stark, for some pointers. She recommended a combination of Skubb and Parkla, both of which are soft zippered containers, as well as Kugis, a lidded plastic box. Full closure keeps dust at bay, and handles make them easy to pull out.

Before I put my order in, I got out a ruler and graph paper and drew the bed and containers to scale so I could play around with different orientations. After landing on the below layout, there were no surprises once my order arrived.

So what goes where? I started intuitively, putting anything that was soft and flexible (table linens, bedding, pillow inserts) in the fabric containers, and any hard objects, like books and extra taper holders, in the structured Parkla boxes. Because the Skubb boxes are the largest (they’re 36.5-by-21.75-by-7.5 inches), I saved them for bigger items like towels, and relegated smaller collections like tote bags to the Parkla containers. The nice thing about the soft containers is that they’re both sheer, so I don’t need to waste brain space remembering what is where. 

Skubb, IKEA ($7)

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Parkla, IKEA ($2)

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Kuggis, IKEA ($30)

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The post I Treat the IKEA Malm Storage Bed Like the Linen Closet I Never Had appeared first on domino.

Over the course of the pandemic, the second bedroom in our Brooklyn apartment morphed from a place where someone might sleep every night to our home office, a library, and where my husband plays music. Since then, one corner has been designated the home gym, which, until recently, has housed a supremely unorganized pile of resistance bands, recovery tools, and foam rollers. Another stash of stuff like gels and electrolyte powder resided in the closet that’s partially blocked by our Peloton, not a total impediment but always another step.  

A few months ago, I was at the brink: I couldn’t take another morning of rooting around for the proper gear to get me out the door on a run, or trying to magician an uncluttered look when out-of-town friends come to stay. I started searching for a solution—whether that was to be bins, floating shelves, or something else entirely—and landed on the Container Store’s website, as this dilemma often compels someone to do. Scrolling around, I caught a glimpse of an over-the-door product styled with gym equipment. Funny enough, once the page loaded, it showed wrapping paper, ribbons, and all manner of gifting supplies stuffed in baskets and hanging on the utility board. That didn’t deter me: I could see yoga mats fitting where those rolls were. I clicked the “add to cart” button. 

Elfa Classic Mesh Gift Wrap Door & Wall Rack

All of the components arrived swiftly within a week. Packaged well without too much plastic, the epoxy-bonded steel racks and pegboard as well as the wire-mesh baskets felt solid yet totally lightweight upon first hold. Installation requires little more than a Phillips screwdriver and an Allen wrench, and you don’t have to drill any holes—a win for renters who want their security deposit back. 

Installation, in four steps, took all of 15 minutes: Position the brackets in the center of the door, fit the rack into the bracket so that it will tighten without being too tall, and then screw it in. Attach the different components onto the rack (mine came with a gift-wrap holder, pegboard-style utility board, boxes, hooks, and two medium baskets). The pegboard can be finicky, so make sure it’s properly secured. That’s it. That’s all she wrote. Our interior doors aren’t painted, so we see a small sliver of the brackets on the other side, but if you have white doors, I bet you’d forget they’re there. 

Price-wise, there are certainly other organizers from Rubbermaid or Amazon off-brands that are cheaper. But what I love about the Container Store’s version is threefold. It’s part of the larger Elfa system, which means it’s compatible with all kinds of different baskets and bins made for the line, so you can tweak it over time as your needs change. It’s not terribly unattractive, as far as visible organizers go. Lastly, the durable steel construction means it won’t buckle under heavier loads, and very few plastic parts makes it more sustainable. 

A true testament to its versatility? I liked the rack so much that I picked up another version for our teeny entry closet. It fits right between a few existing hooks we still use, and where there was once a top shelf loaded with cleaning supplies and toilet paper, there is now room for other things we’d like to hide away, too. How’s that for creating something out of nothing? 

Elfa Classic Mesh Gift Wrap Door & Wall Rack, The Container Store ($160)

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Elfa Utility Mesh Over the Door Rack, The Container Store ($161)

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Ivar, Pax, Kallax, Billy. These IKEA storage systems might come to mind when you want to declutter your home for good. But for the frequent mover or small-space dweller, the front-runners can fall short when you realize you barely have room for a dining table or that the cabinets in your galley kitchen just won’t cut it. When nothing seems to fit, we turn to the Swedish retailer’s modular marvel: the Besta. Whether you stack them, paint them, or mount them on a wall, it’s easy to make these units your own. From a color-blocked filing system to a minimalist book nook, these IKEA Besta hacks are the absolute best.

Besta Frame, IKEA ($65)

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Besta Shelf Unit With Doors, IKEA ($157)

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A Besta Breakfast Nook

Kendra Joseph, the Bay Area–based designer and founder of Rise Up Home, combined two Besta base units in this kitchen corner, topped them with a waterfall of wood, and painted the bottom with Benjamin Moore’s Midnight. The result is a $300 banquette that makes room for everything from morning coffee to midnight snacks. 

A Facebook Find

Jacky Mack, a DIY dabbler based on the Dorset coast of England, came across her Besta unit on Facebook Marketplace—for free. She initially planned to use just the doors for another project in her living room, but after measuring the base, she found out it was the exact width of her king-size mattress. She plopped a long cushion on top, and now the benchlike cubby lives at the foot of the bed and corrals extra pillows in between sleeps.

An Artful Perch

As an artist, Agi Raw couldn’t resist tackling a few hands-on projects in her 580-square-foot Berlin apartment. As well as creating foam picture frames and tiling a nightstand, her IKEA Besta hack included adding a slab of stone to fancify the unit in her main living space. Extra seating, ample storage, and a spot to display objets d’art are all part of the masterpiece.

A Jewel-Toned Moment

Kelly Mindell’s colorful take hinges on the plywood frame she added to the top and sides of the original item. The wood is infinitely easier to paint than the original glossy surface. The seasoned DIYer gave the piece a vintage touch by swapping the drawer fronts with cane inserts.

A Fluted Seat

For her daughter’s bedroom, Chelsea Foy sandwiched a Besta unit in between two bookcases to create a cozy window seat. The Lappviken doors she chose have a smooth finish that allows wood glue to grip onto them, which was key to her plan to cover them with 3/4-inch wood half-round trim.

A Picture-Perfect Pass-Through

Ashley Rose made her IKEA Besta hack look truly built in by covering the open space underneath it with a toe-kick and buying fresh doors from Norse Interiors.

A Marble Marvel

Leftover marble scraps from this Brooklyn kitchen renovation came in handy in the living room. Designer Crystal Sinclair had the offcuts honed to fit on top of the Besta cabinets that line the TV wall.

A Chunky Support System 

Sarah Sherman Samuel’s cabinet looks like it’s sitting on the ground, but the two Besta units are actually hooked into the wall with suspension rails. Using an orbital sander, she flattened the top and bottom of four wood balls and screwed them to the bottom of the furniture so they look like proper feet. To get a flat plane on the balls, the designer recommends holding the sander as still as possible. If your floors aren’t level, sand a bit, test it out, sand a bit, test it out, until it’s perfect.

A Floating Bedroom Credenza

Ashley Rose wanted to give her daughter’s bedroom a more mature look while still making it easy for her to put toys away. She used the shell of the high-gloss Besta shelf as her base and upgraded the top with a panel of aspen, cut down to size and stained at her local hardware store. 

A Family Room Bench

Designer Laura Melling went for a custom millwork look in this family room by pairing crisp wood paneling with a configuration of mounted Besta modules. To take her wall-to-wall storage solution one step further, Melling incorporated a gray felt bench in one corner that can double as a reading nook for little ones or a bonus seat for guests.

A Daybed for Days

Sarah and Wes Day of This Maine House wanted to create a space near their kitchen where they, along with their little one, could comfortably lounge post-dinner. A daybed-and-bench combination with soft closing drawers proved to be the perfect fix. The couple went outside the box with brass cabinet knobs from Schoolhouse Electric and five coats of Sherwin-Williams Inkwell paint.

A Little Side Action

Here, Sarah Sherman Samuel used her Besta storage unit as a building block for a larger credenza made from birch plywood, and incorporated sleek side channels into the design for added stability. It’s easiest to build around the Besta if you assemble it upside down. For every joint, she used wood glue and a ton of screws.

A Color-Blocked Cupboard

Ashley Rose’s other big IKEA Besta hack comes in the form of a rainbow-infused credenza. Before assembling the doors, the blogger coated each front in spray paint, adding a clear shellac coat on top to seal the vibrant hues.

A Shaker-Shiplap Scene

Erin Broege of The Heart and Haven used a Besta TV unit as a divider between her shiplap built-in shelving units. She swapped out the original doors for Semihandmade’s supermatte white Shaker fronts in order to seamlessly merge the piece with the farmhouse-fresh look of the built-ins.

An Adult-Approved Toy Cabinet

DIY blogger Angela Rose also opted for a natural finish with Semihandmade fronts. To complement the design of her newly completed mural, she chose the brand’s Cove doors by Chris Loves Julia and bone knobs from CB2. Semihandmade’s cabinet fronts come with the hinge cup hole already drilled. When you’re drilling to make pilot holes for the screws, be sure not to drill all the way through the door.

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If you’ve ever found yourself rummaging through a mountain of mismatched food storage containers, you’ll agree that Tupperware sets are like the socks of the kitchen. You somehow always have too many and yet never any perfect pairs. And instead of going MIA in the dryer, they disappear into the depths of your corner cabinets. We’re happy to let you know that your days spent searching for elusive plastic lids are over. Here, pro organizers and interior designers share their best Tupperware storage ideas to manage the mayhem for good. 

Buy in Bulk

Container Collection, Our Place ($65)

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Nothing beats the satisfaction of having four or five separate sets neatly stacked inside of each other in size order. You keep your cupboards looking decluttered without having to compromise on the amount of Tupperware you have. —Laura Price, founder, The Home Organisation

Find Them a Good Home 

SpaceFlexx® Organizing System, Nobilia ($55)

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Since these are typically everyday items, we recommend storing them in easy-to-access lower cabinets. There’s nothing worse than having to rifle overhead for what you need or risk a waterfall of containers falling on your head. If you’re storing in a drawer, use little boxes or drawer dividers to separate your lids and bases. If you’re using shelves, consider installing a glider insert so you don’t have to dig in the back. —Jennifer Verruto, founder and CEO, Blythe Interiors

Keep Them Together…

Mepal Microwavable Nested Storage Bowls, Food52 ($61 was $77)

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The golden rule of storing Tupperware is to never put a container back in the cupboard without a top on it. It’s nature’s great mystery as to how they manage to lose their lids, but they do. A lot. Store them as a complete set so you never have to worry about mismatched pieces clogging up your cupboards. —Laura Price

…Unless You Don’t Have Space

Nest Lock Food Storage Set, 10 Piece, by Joseph Joseph, Amazon ($27 was $30)

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One of the easiest ways to keep containers organized is to store them stacked in a drawer or cabinet with the lids on, but if you don’t have the room to stack, nest the containers inside one another, and line up the corresponding lids right next to the bottoms. If you’re really tight on space, I recommend getting a nesting set with lids like this. —Amy Berryhill, founder, Spiffy Chicks

Take Care With the Tiny Ones 

Pull-Out Drawer Organizer, mDesign Nate Home by Nate Berkus, Amazon ($39)

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Store smaller pieces, particularly sauce and dressing containers, in a small basket at the front [of the cabinet]. This way you never run the risk of losing the little ones in the abyss of the cupboard. —Laura Price

Don’t Toss Mismatched Pieces

Inevitably, a lid will get separated from its bottom, but that doesn’t mean you have to toss it! Tupperware bases become great bath toys, craft storage, or under-the-counter toiletry organizers. One of our favorite uses for extra lids is as furniture movers. Place them underneath the legs of something that needs to be moved to prevent scratching your floors. —Jennifer Verruto

The post 6 Clever Tupperware Storage Ideas to Keep Your Cabinets in Check appeared first on domino.

The most surprising thing about the 120-year-old carriage house that my husband and I rent in Brooklyn is not its bundle of quirks—spanning from the more charming layout and windows with comically large molding to the more taxing absent dishwasher and barely there bathroom. No, the biggest revelation is a true New York rarity: bedroom closets that afford an unusual amount of storage space.

Although I am grateful for this unique bonus, with extra square footage comes a need for organizational discipline, something I don’t have a knack for when it comes to closets. Our previous setup consisted of one metal bar and a long shelf—the result, as you can see, below, was lacking big-time. After three years, a global pandemic, and no will to invest in more bins that I wouldn’t maintain, I was excited to hear that Pottery Barn was rereleasing its classic ’90s Hold Everything Essential Closet. Before Marie Kondo took the world by storm, there was Hold Everything—a brand of organizational solutions launched by Williams Sonoma back in 1983 and later picked up by Pottery Barn in 1993. For the two decades that the line was around, its products were a favorite among home organizers. 

While other systems exist, Hold Everything appealed to me as an ideal in-between of off-the-shelf and custom. (I also own a Vitsoe 606 Universal Shelving System, but that’s for display, not hiding away.) Plus, after the product line’s return, it became a favorite among Domino readers, topping our best-seller list for February. When the opportunity to review the legendary Essential Closet presented itself, I committed to installing it without hesitation. To find out whether or not it helped our closet—and me—reach peak storage potential, read on.

Pottery Barn Hold Everything Essential Closet

The System

Finding the right Hold Everything system begins with a choose-your-own-adventure move: Are you looking to outfit a reach-in or walk-in closet? The main difference is in the posts—for reach-ins, you get a single post that connects to the wall in two locations at top and bottom. For a walk-in, it’s a double post that connects to the wall only at the top. 

Modular in design, there is just enough customization for either style without catapulting things into “I am paralyzed by the choices” territory. The post height is just over 7 feet tall, and widths vary between 4 feet and 8 feet. Optional components include basic shelves, shelves with rods, shoe racks, dresser drawers, cabinets, and cabinets with glass fronts. 

If you are looking for color or darker wood, this is not the system for you. If you’re hoping to keep your closet light, bright, and devoid of anything that borders on industrial, you’re in the right place. Everything is made either from white powder-coated steel (brackets, posts, rods) or MDF finished in white (shelves, drawers, cabinets). 

Essential Reach-In Closet by Hold Everything, 8′ Hanging System with 4 Drawers​, Pottery Barn ($3,061)

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To maximize the large size of our bedroom closet—and to avoid putting a dresser in the room, an already tight space—we opted for an 8-foot-wide reach-in style featuring several regular shelves, shelves with rods, and two 4-drawer dressers. Note: Measuring ahead of ordering is advised again and again by Pottery Barn, and being precise in this step is necessary for the system to fit properly (more on that later).

The Price

The systems are constructed from solid, coated MDF and metal frames, which helps justify the cost (the walk-in versions range from $1,123 to $4,305; the reach-in styles are anywhere between $763 and $3,061). These numbers are comparable to many full-priced options you’ll find at the Container Store, and the look is leaps beyond anything from Rubbermaid or what you’d see on Wayfair. We’re not talking custom California Closets, but there’s definitely a finished look at the end, which feels decidedly upscale.

The Installation 

Pottery Barn recommends hiring professionals to install the Hold Everything system. In an effort to get as close a look as possible at the entire process, my husband and I decided to do it ourselves. 

We collected the products at our doorstep since our building has a difficult entry, but white-glove delivery is available for an additional fee. At present, if you order today, you will likely wait no longer than a few weeks to get your entire closet. Boxes began arriving within a week, but the whole apparatus was not in our apartment until closer to the end of two. I am not lying that the amount of packaging took up three-quarters of our second bedroom; our set came with 31 boxes to manage. (Editor’s note: Within each box of brackets, there were 10 pairs packaged in their own boxes, which added up to quite a lot more.)  While I appreciated how carefully wrapped and packed everything was, as well as the fact that the system is certified nontoxic, this part would be my main complaint—breaking down all the cardboard, wood braces, foam, and plastic felt like it took as long as installing the unit itself. I couldn’t help but feel wasteful, even with a good portion of the packaging constructed from cardboard.

First, we had to deinstall the makeshift system from our closet—a bit of an ordeal, but we made it happen. After everything for the Hold Everything setup was out of boxes (which took, in total, approximately 1.5 to 2 hours), we were ready to go. Each box comes with the hardware and anchors you need, which is nice reassurance, but we thought the excess of small Allen wrenches to be overboard. We had a drill and drill bits handy, which we found necessary in the few instances that the drillable anchors weren’t sharp enough to get through wall material.

Now’s the time for another reminder: Measuring and ensuring your closet walls are free of obstacles top to bottom is not something to take lightly. Ditto goes for reading the instructions a few times through. This is particularly true with the reach-in style. It connects at the top of the post and also at the bottom, about 8 inches above the ground. 

Our closet width measurement was slightly off (we’re only human), so we had to use three bays instead of four. And thanks to our building being a century old, there are small pipes running through our closet along with molding at the bottom—right at the exact spot we needed to attach the posts. Because of this, we had to raise the floor up with wood from the hardware store to make the attachment possible. Securing the posts and drawers was definitely the most time-consuming part; it took us approximately three painstaking hours, considering we wanted each component to be level and secure. The drawers are supported by brackets but also secured to the wall; we had to install ours slightly higher due to the aforementioned pipes. Once those were up, we decided to call it a night. The following day, everything else went in pretty smoothly. Shelves screwed in easily, and rods were added quickly. Once it was 100% in, the system felt extremely durable—and I haven’t noticed anything to suggest otherwise in the weeks we’ve had it. 

The Final Word 

After going through installation firsthand, my final opinion: If you have the bandwidth in your budget and/or your home has tricky edges or some extra character, hiring a pro is worth it. If your home is on the newer side with perfectly smooth, squared-off closets, two able-bodied people could absolutely install the Hold Everything system—but it is definitely a weekend project. 

Even after all of this, I would still recommend the Hold Everything system, particularly for new construction or a gut reno or someone who wants to get as much out of hidden storage as possible. I could even see the system being used in a linen closet or craft closet, too—not just for clothes and shoes. The posts are well constructed, and the MDF feels hefty and stable. The hardware and anchors are pretty dummy-proof once you get the hang of it, and I like the ease of being able to move shelves around. The biggest perk? I’m actually inspired to put my clothes away instead of tossing them on our dog’s crate at the end of the day. 

Editor’s note: In a previous version of this article, the number of boxes noted included additional packaging that was sent erroneously, as well as boxes included within boxes. According to Pottery Barn, the average number of boxes across all closet configurations is 19.

The post I Didn’t Think I Needed a Closet System to Get Organized Until I Tried Pottery Barn’s Version appeared first on domino.

IKEA’s Billy bookcase series is about as iconic as they come. Right up there with the Tarva, Pax, and Lack products, these customizable (and stackable) shelving units allow them to seamlessly fit in any room. We’ve seen them used as mudroom shoe storage, a display space for kitchen plates, and, naturally, as an at-home library. Every model in the line also features adjustable shelves so you can fit anything from beach reads to extra-large vases. Among the aforementioned opportunities is the ability for them to transform into a built-in unit—a little finagling involving trim goes without saying.

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Billy Bookcase, 31 1/2x11x93 1/4,” IKEA ($119)

Ahead, we look to the design creatives who took on the challenge of putting their personal touch on the IKEA staple. Read on for the eight best IKEA Billy bookcase hacks we’ve seen lately.

The Billy Bookcase Bar

Paint is easily the most popular tool people use to hack the Billy, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. When Rebecca Plumb set out to add a whole wall of storage to her dining room, she used the Swedish retailer’s popular bookshelves (they are the upper portion of the system) along with its Sektion cabinets (below) and swathed them in Sherwin-Williams’s Extreme Bond Primer. Then she proceeded with covering them in Oakmoss by Sherwin-Williams—an electric handheld sprayer proved to be her best friend. 

The Billy Bookcase Library

Elise Joseph was quoted a cool $3,000 when she began asking local Nashville contractors how much it would cost to build bookshelves in her home. So instead of spending a small fortune, she bought five Billy bookcases for a grand total of $295. For a truly built-in look, she and her husband added trim board in between the units and along the ceiling, filling in any gaps with caulk. 

The Billy Bookcase Shoe Cubby

Saritha Ashok turned the fan-favorite find into family-friendly shoe storage by adding skirting boards to the edges of the bottom three shelves so nothing slides out, gluing arch-shaped MDF boards to the see-through panels, painting the doors blue, and wrapping the interior with faux wood peel-and-stick wallpaper. 

The Billy Bookcase Kids’ Closet

Essex, England–based I.T. project manager Maria Gilzean crafted these wardrobes for her daughter’s playroom by picking up two units that come with the glass-paneled Oxberg doors. Next, she painted the doors with a wood primer and water-based acrylic paint before attaching them to the unit. To hide all the toys, books, and costumes, she purchased a little over 4 yards of fabric and turned it into panels, which she attached to the interior with clear drawing pins she picked up on Amazon. 

The Billy Bookcase Mudroom

Jennifer O’Brien still felt like there was something missing from her three Billy bookcases after she had painted them a light beige hue. So she added architectural details in the form of arch silhouettes (also a paint job) to the top portion and pole wrap to the bottom half. 

The Billy Bookcase That’s for Styling Small Treasures

Drew Scott of Lone Fox Home turned his bookcase into a nearly unrecognizable piece. Much like O’Brien, he used pole wrap as his primary disguise. But in this case, Scott wrapped the sides of the bookcase in the slatted wood material. Psst: To get that proper tubular look, he first screwed four half-moon plywood shapes on each end. 

The Billy Bookcase Kitchen Cabinets

Stephanie Lidin of Henrik June Home lives in a builder-basic home that was built in the 1980s, so it has awkward nooks and crannies to spare, one of which was this recessed nook in her dining area that was essentially dead space. The DIYer made use of it by filling it with custom drawers (that she constructed from scratch) and two tall Billy bookcases that now hold her dishes. 

The Billy Bookcase Armoire

Design blogger Melanie Cooke updated her Billy with Oxberg doors and then bought 5-inch-tall tapered wood legs to give it a more wardrobe-worthy look. The cane webbing that she applied to the four rectangular panels with Gorilla Glue and the brass handles are both from eBay. Finally, she painted it with Farrow & Ball’s Peignoir color, bringing the whole project to around $270. 

The post 8 IKEA Billy Bookcase Hacks—And Only One Is Designated as a Library appeared first on domino.

There shouldn’t be anything scary about opening up your kitchen cabinets, but looking for a water bottle can often feel like a dangerous pursuit. Have you ever flinched, wondering if today is the day your Hydro Flask comes tumbling out and smacks you in the face? The issue is, most of us store the drinking vessels standing straight up in an upper cupboard, but when one water bottle goes down, they all go down. The solution? We found it in Shea and Syd McGee’s kitchen. 

The Utah-based Studio McGee founders recently tasked professional organizer Jen Martin of Reset Your Nest with making over their pantry, and taming Syd’s water bottle collection was a top priority. The key to containment: wine racks. With the empty bottles stored horizontally in individual compartments, there’s no chance of them sliding out or starting a domino effect. You can find this type of product practically anywhere (Amazon, the Container Store, CB2) and in stackable versions, so you can customize your cabinet interior to meet your needs.

In the McGees’ space, Martin used a combination of two 3-inch-wide racks and two 2-inch-wide ones. Plus they can place their clear acrylic versions in the refrigerator if they prefer to keep them filled and chilled. 

Staying hydrated never looked so chic and streamlined. Here are some similar finds to get you started on your next pantry/kitchen overhaul. 

Metal Wine Rack, West Elm ($80)

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Ash Wood 12-Bottle Wine Rack, Food 52 ($42)

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Altsales Wine and Water Bottle Organizer, Walmart ($20)

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Clear Wine Rack, CB2 ($40)

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Vtopmart Refrigerator Wine and Water Bottle Holder, Amazon ($20)

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Robin Marble Wine Bottle Holder, Anthropologie ($110)

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No one can afford to let a bag of cherries go bad, and we mean that quite literally. According to Seattle Public Utilities, the average family tosses $130 of edible food each month. Since there are so many fruits that are best not refrigerated—plums, peaches, pineapples, avocados, bananas, and citrus to start—proper storage is key to savoring ripe produce and keeping an organized kitchen. We’ve found four ingenious fruit storage ideas, from hanging baskets (which are perfect if you’re tight on countertop space) to drawers and larders (if you have room to spare). May your bananas never brown too quickly again. 

Think: Vertical Fruit Storage

If you’re short on countertop space (who isn’t?), take inspiration from Samantha Sawle of My Neutral Nest, who taught herself how to macramé these baskets during lockdown to combat the lacking fruit storage in her camper van. (You just loop the cotton cord over a hook on the wall or, better yet, the ceiling.) Now the craft is a bona fide side gig. “I don’t have the biggest kitchen, so anything that helps me save worktop space is a plus for me,” says Sawle. “Especially if it can look cute at the same time.” 

With a three-tiered, wall-mounted wire rack—this one is available at Etsy—you can both save yourself precious surface area and organize your fruit by type so you don’t have to rummage through a bowl to find your last little lemon. 

You’ll never forget your daily serving of fruit if it’s stored in a woven willow wall basket, handmade by Julie Gurr (she even grows the material herself). The wide lip of the large version makes it a good match for apples and oranges. Gurr also offers a longer, narrower design, which fits smaller fruits like lemons and limes. 

Opt for a Fruit Storage Bowl, But Better

There’s more to this beautiful Emile Henry storage bowl than meets the eye. The ceramic base offers a dark, temperature-stable spot for potatoes, onions, and not-quite-ripe fruit, while the shallow lid is intended for items that need to breathe (think: apples, bananas, and pears). Even the cork rim is deliberate—it’s inspired by the old trick of tossing a wine cork in your fruit bowl to absorb extra moisture and keep fruit flies away. 

We can think of a dozen uses for these colorful IKEA wire baskets (a place for socks, hair products, or printer ink, for starters), but they’re particularly perfect for storing fruits and veggies. The steel mesh ventilates the items, reducing moisture buildup, so your goods will stay fresher longer.

Go All Out With Built-In Fruit Storage

In the 18th century, long before refrigeration, kitchen staples such as fruits, vegetables, bread, and milk were kept in a larder, just like this British Standard design. Vents are installed to let air flow over a shelf, often made of marble, which helps keep the ingredients cool. Add a cutting board, and you have a place to both store and prep lunch. 

If your household eats their way through what feels like a dozen apples a day, consider dedicating a cupboard to fruit storage. Ditch the typical doors and shelves and install slatted trays like these from Plain English, which are made of oak and sit on traditional wood runners. “It’s all about the airflow,” reiterates Imogene Pritchard, the company’s U.S. design director.

When in Doubt, Keep Things Colorful

Remember when Dakota Johnson broke the Internet with her limes-only fruit bowl? If constructing a built-in fruit pantry seems too daunting, just take a page out of the star’s book and store your produce in small vessels, categorized by color. This seamless system will leave your refrigerator or kitchen table looking instantly tidier. Plus you know what they say about your food resembling the rainbow.

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Cats are some of our dearest companions, and so much of our lives as their owners are planned around their schedules and preferences. Who hasn’t moved furniture to accommodate a pet’s food and water bowls? Even so, you may not have thought to consider their spatial needs when first decorating your home. Although you can catify anytime, the litter box often ends up haphazardly shoved in the most inconspicuous corner. To be fair, our cats’ bathrooms are not usually pretty, yet they need to be accessible so the litter can be changed frequently. Sleek litter box furniture is a definite improvement, but if you’re up for a project, it’s possible to make the cat commode even more discreet. These three designers included their litter box location in their home renovation plans from the start.

Mudroom Magic

Jen Brake, a design consultant and the creator of Half Painted House, was fed up with her cat Aslan’s litter box being on the floor. She and her husband had tried placing it in various rooms, including by the back door, which only led to them tracking in litter every time they entered the house. To make matters worse, when they adopted their dog, Polly, she would bother the cat whenever he tried to do his business. 

This ingenious mudroom cabinet DIY was her all-in-one solution. What looks like just another Shaker-style pane is actually a cat door to the litter box, now stored inside. The cutout is mounted on hinges, which allows it to swing open (its weight automatically brings it back to its vertical position). 

Breaking the Mold(ing)

Amy Thiessen, founder of the blog Hello Victoria, lives with her husband and their cat in a small Victorian, and every inch of floor space is precious. Plus, a standard litter box would stand out like a sore thumb against her home’s 19th-century features. She created a similar secret cat door, but this one leads to the closet under her stairway. The door wasn’t paneled originally, but by carefully referencing the others in the house, Thiessen was able to mimic the pattern with ogee molding. The shadow effect created by the trim cleverly conceals the section that swings open.

Hole in One

Karen Knox, the designer behind Making Spaces, had long been searching for a litter box spot on the first floor of her home in order to prevent her cat from waking her up at night. Her living room was a solid candidate, but most of the available floor space had been taken up by a play kitchen and a seating area on either side of her fireplace.

Starting fresh, she remodeled with built-in cabinetry designed to match the preexisting open shelving. With the extra space, the far-left cupboard was designated the cat bathroom, while the rest became storage for arts and crafts. A simple square cutout spans two of the doors, offering easy access for both pet and parent. There’s even enough space for extra litter and trash bags.

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If there’s one thing Wes Anderson does best, it’s finding beauty in the highly functional—who else can make binoculars so chic? So the filmmaker’s iconic perspective was naturally top of mind for Amy and Tal Kropman as they outfitted the kitchen in their South African vacation home, a permanent tented campsite. “We were so inspired by the Boy Scouts in Moonrise Kingdom, and the ideas matured from there,” Amy explains. Tapping local designers Rotem Shachar and Megan Bond of MR Design Studio, the Kropmans got to work on a wall of storage in the kitchen. 

Plywood covers every inch of the kitchen wall, even under the windows. Yes, in the form of lower cabinets, but that’s where the traditional application ends. Instead, the Kropmans opted for something even more utilitarian: a pegboard backsplash. The entire wall was treated with a waterproof finish, ensuring no splash or splatter ruins their favorite feature. 

Tableware and baking essentials sit on shelves, while mugs and cooking utensils dangle from hooks. Even a lightbulb has a place (its cord weaves through one of the holes to a plug). Most of the systems are completely modular, shifting and adapting to the setter’s whims, but the Kropmans’ pegs are locked in. “This way we don’t worry about a shelf slipping or a peg coming loose,” says Amy. 

As for the empty notches under the window, those are for a future luggage rack or bench. But right now, the couple wants to keep the surface, which happens to coordinate with the tented ceiling, as streamlined as possible. “It’s our Swiss Army knife,” Amy says. “The wall can do anything.”

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