5 Storage Solutions for Coastal Small Space Living

We’re no strangers to tiny home design – a few years ago we were actually featured on HGTV’s Tiny House Hunters show as the Realtors helping a client find the perfect tiny home. During that time, we studied up on Tiny Living. and simple storage solutions for the small home We like to equate it to living on a boat, everything serves a purpose (and if you’re lucky a dual or triple purpose). 

Our little Sea Loft is approximately 579 square feet, fitting 2 adults, a dog and frequent guests is nothing short of a miracle. We lightened and brightened the space as much as possible in the construction and design phase to make it feel as large as possible, but we still have lots of “stuff” to store. The “stuff” needed for everyday living, isn’t always the prettiest, so our challenge at the Sea Loft was to fit our everyday necessities flawlessly into the design of the space. Here we’ll take you through some of our favorite tricks to keeping a space look designer, even when you have a lot of “things”.

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Shelving Storage

We’ll start off with one of our favorite storage solutions, shelving. We had to make every space count so the under the stairs area needed to be utilized properly. Not only is it home to our TV, but we were able to place a fantastic Shelving Unit on its side to offer not only storage space on top, but EIGHT cubbies for storage below (this one is great too!). The top four cubbies are home to some of our favorite coffee table books like Surf Shack that brought us so much inspiration for the space, sea shells from past travels, some greenery to bring in a natural element. The top spaces are where the “pretty things” go. The things that mean something to us and also lend themselves to the coastal aesthetic of the space. 

The bottom cubbies are where the necessary, but not as appealing items are held. Uniform Baskets lining the bottom cubbies are the perfect way to continue the Coastal Vibes while concealing things that we don’t want on display all the time – we’re talking cleaning supplies, shoes, dog toys, user manuals, ya know the stuff you need for everyday living. This transitions us nicely to our next must-have for small space living…

Baskets on Baskets

Oh how we love a good basket! They come in all shapes, sizes, textures and colors and lend so nicely to many many different styles of home. We love them for bringing a more organic, relaxed feeling to a space. Baskets are fantastic for grouping your items together so you can stay organized and hide your things. We already talked about the uniform baskets on the shelving, but we have baskets all over the house. We love a good entry basket for shoes, dog leashes etc that allow the entrance to your home to remain clutter free. Baskets are also a great swap for a plant pot! In addition we have a big basket to house all of our beach towels, this trick can also work similarly for blankets in the winter months. Baskets in the bathroom (like this one) for toiletries or extra TP, the bedroom for dirty clothes, bags, sweatshirts – you name it!

Coffee Table

Coffee tables are a necessity in a living room and serve as a place to set your cocktail, rest your feet or display a nice vase of greenery. We also like to think of a coffee table as a great space to store your blankets or board games or anything else you’d like to have handy in the living room! Our specific coffee table is a wicker trunk (you can get something similar here) that’s been in the family for years and it’s now home to all of our extra blankets and sheets for the pull-out bed in the sofa – say hi to another space-saving trick, the sofa bed! 

Guest Room and Bed Storage

In our small space our living room doubles as the guest room for visitors. Our sectional couch nicely doubles as a very comfortable sofa bed allowing guests to have a nice stay downstairs. This enables us to still entertain as we love to do while also putting the bed away while not in use (Murphy beds also act similarly if you would prefer to go that route). Another very underutilized space for storage is under the bed. There is so much space under there! We love these under-bed storage baskets to store extra bed linens, pillows for the guest bed, etc. 

Wall Hooks

Another underutilized space for storing items are the walls themselves! We custom-made hooks that line one of the walls in the bedroom, bathroom and entry. We love hooks for storing items that we need to access frequently. At the beach this includes our Turkish towels, lightweight jackets, and we love hanging a good looking tote for items that can’t hang themselves but that we often need. 

There you have it! Our favorite storage hacks for a small space. Again, when loving small, many of your items will be serving a dual or triple purpose. 

For more coastal design inspo and examples of how to incorporate these products, go ahead and browse our home: Creating the Perfect Beach House. The Design of a Modern Beach Bedroom, Designing a Relaxed Beach Inspired Living Room, Styling a Kitchen with Coastal Design Flair & Elements of Styling a Modern Coastal Interior