Make room

Make room

Some simple steps and ideas can solve storage space problems for those living in rental apartments.

The biggest problem that people face while renting an apartment is storage. Unlike abroad, rental homes in India don’t have  modular kitchen or inbuilt storage space on the walls. 

Hari Krishnan, an IT professional who has been living in rental apartments for the past few years, says, “Earlier when I was a bachelor, storage wasn’t a problem. But after getting married, a lot of stuff increased and the apartment we moved into had no storage space whatsoever, so the challenge was to buy the right kind of furniture. We not only needed space for clothes but also books, CDs, kitchen items, etc.”

Interior designer Nitin Tawal says that these days vendors make furniture suitable for rental homes. “If you get a good interior designer, they will make a proper layout of the house focusing on the tenant’s requirements.”

Keep utility in mind 
There are certain basic options like sofa-cum-bed, wardrobe-cum-study table or a functional coffee table. Most furniture stores have either wooden or wrought iron sofa-cum-beds which also have storage space. Neeta Kulkarni, interior designer says,

“While designing a bed, one can add trolleys to create inbuilt storage or create different niches in the room to keep books and other stuff. Making wooden panels at the entrance of the flat will help create a shoe rack or any other storage space. One can create storage at the back of the door as well.”

She further adds, “I have made dining chairs with drawers. The chairs look different and my client can keep small items in the drawer. One can also buy a dining table which has a shelf below the glass. This shelf can be used to store salt, pepper or pickle jars. Functional coffee tables are also handy as they have storage facilities.”  

Buy the right furniture    
If you are still wondering what kind of furniture to buy, Tawal says that modular furniture can be your best option. They are the latest trend in urban cities. 

“The advantage of modular furniture is that you can carry it along with you wherever you are moving. You can easily dismantle the furniture  and reassemble according to the space available. You can remove additional shelves and use the space to hang clothes. Modular furniture can easily adapt to your requirements,” he says.

You do not always need to spend a huge sum to create storage. Krishnan has created extra space in just Rs 1,000. He says, “We have bought a aluminium rack for the kitchen and dining area. One, they come cheap and two, they are easy to shift from one house to another. We have stored the spices and food item containers on the rack. It has come handy. In addition to that, we are using an old steel trunk as coffee table.”

So the next time you are moving homes, do not panic. A little planning can give you a whole new space for storage.

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