# Hidden Storage Question



## tryinhard (Jul 19, 2007)

Hello all,

Are there any websites out there that are dedicated to the tiny house and their storage options? Going to build a storage/work shed and would like to have some ideas for storage. Something like a bench with a hinged lid with storage inside etc.

Thanks!


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## MtnPrepperNC (Jun 10, 2011)

Having been in a similar boat myself, I found best results with searching for the particular item to build rather than the main subject. E.G. storage bench, hinged book shelf, joist storage, etc. I have yet to find any dedicated websites on this. Forums are great for finding the topics, but generally lack photos. Fine Woodworking wrote a great article on turning a one-car garage into a full woodshop. May be helpful...

http://www.finewoodworking.com/Workshop/WorkshopArticle.aspx?id=29505


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

I'd imagine it's real hard to find any hidden storage space, in a tiny house. I have storage rooms larger than some tiny houses. I don't think storage and tiny houses can coexist, and leaning to the self-preparedness side, I find the more storage I have, the better chances of surviving any kind of downturn in the economy or civilization...


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Look at boat forums, they need all the storage they can get.I just find a space and build to suit. A lot of wasted space inside interior wall studs. build niches and storage spaces in them. Think large medicine cabinets, wall thickness. Raise everything up 6", make 1 drawer storage under everything, I even have one under the refer and I don't have to bend so much to get things out of the fridge. I have lived my whole life in small spaces, attic storage, bumpouts, under floor, etc. You will be surprised how much you can get in a closet if each shelf is made for a specific item. I have a built in hutch in the kitchen built in between the wall studs. Most everyones closets are deep but the shelves are narrow, my closets are shallow, 2 back to back, plywood back, no wasted stud space, the shelves go all the way out to the door. Coat closet is shallow and coats are hung on hooks on back wall AND hooks on back of door, boots and shoes at the bottom kicked off and slid in, shallow closets so everything is one item deep, seen at a glance, no digging to find the buried stuff....James


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## justincase (Jul 16, 2011)

tiny does not mean impossible, look in yourcloset look at the floor, you can rip up some carpet and you will see with a little know how you can cut the floor board and there is space between the support beams great for shoes (LOL) food, meds etc. a great place for storage and hiding as long as you do not have to pile alot of stuff on top of it. I live in a modular so there is no extra space.... there really is it is just a matter of sitting and looking, you have to think outside your box think inside the box ...in walls etc. good luck and I hope this helps


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## gobug (Dec 10, 2003)

"Tiny house" can be an oxymoron. If a large portion of your stuff is outside of the house in sheds, garage, barn, outhouse, etc, and the house is only 100 sq ft, is that a tiny house??? Just what is a house? Is it where you sleep, get dressed, eat, and get online? Is an SUV you sleep in a house? A person on another group is a solar architect whose thing is little houses. His house is on 7 acres with many sheds, etc.

Then, what about self storage facilities. You can't keep your self there, yet some of them are as big as houses. Is a house really just a form of self storage? A casket is a true form of self storage. So is a casket a little house? How big was your college room.

So if a tiny house has fewer goals to achieve, like stuff storage (hobby stuff etc), then sheds become a necessary and luxurious addition. The smaller the house the more sheds, or self-storage, is needed.

One thing I noticed as an exterminator was that there were people who would make their motel room look like home, and rich folk who lived in a rich neighborhood whose home looked like a dump. You have control. If the space you call home seems too small, sheds will be a boone.

My recently built shed is a prototype for sheds on my mountain property. It is made of 2 pallet shelves (like you see at the big box hardware displaying their merchandise). I found a pallet shelf dealer who has an incredible inventory of all kinds of different things that fit onto pallet shelving. The pallet shelving can be and has been connected to form a mezzanines, warehouses, and as a possibility, any size shed. The pallet shelving forms the entire framework of the shed. On the first shed I covered it with wood siding, and a translucent roof. The next one will be double the size of the first (next will be 200 sq ft) and use an old billboard for the siding. I will also use corregated steel flooring from the shelf guy for the roof. The shed will be at least 14 ft tall, but can be 20+ ft. Cost, not including transport to my mountain property, will be just under $1000. There are multiple possibilities using different sizes and pieces to make combination sheds which could house a tractor, as well as having a lot of stuff storage, a bed up high for visitors, and a roof top garden.

Good luck.
Gary


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## Pink_Carnation (Apr 21, 2006)

I don't know about sites but I have seen a few ideas. Benches that are hinged with storage, stairs that are drawers, spice cabinet between studs, and table with a drawer under it. Not all of these apply to a shed but they might inspire some ideas that work for it.


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## sunflower-n-ks (Aug 7, 2006)

Shelves that go to the ceiling. One wall in my house has shelves that go from the floor to the ceiling. There are doors on the front of them so everything is hidden from view. There is a LOT of storage space there and the room is only the depth of the shelves smaller.

Shelves could be put over any space used for a piece of furniture like a bed or couch.


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## farminghandyman (Mar 4, 2005)

Back many moons ago, when I was young, and first married, we lived in this trailer house, and it was built more like a travel trailer than a trailer house, (late 50 early 60 vintage) it was a 10 foot wide, and guessing 30'+ or so long, but it had more built in spaces ever where, it was amazing, I asked my wife what she remembered about it, and the reply was not much, but there was nearly no wasted space in it, there was little built ins along the ceilings and I think around the bed areas, and in corners, the cabinets were the walls, for the most part, I wish I could remember more about it and explain how and where, as it intrigued me then but really have never seen it likes again, except for possibly in a Winnebago type motor home,

my suggestion is to look at some travel type trailers of the vintage type and see what ideas you many be able to adapt,


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## oz in SC V2.0 (Dec 19, 2008)

As someone else suggested,look to sailing boats,specifically cruising boats for ideas.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

What about floor storage?


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## pammy (Aug 15, 2011)

I am from Seattle and in the process of making an old laundry room a new mudroom. I need storage for 4 kids and all their school stuff and extras. I like the idea of shelving the goes to the ceiling. Do you think a sitting area is necessary for kids to put be able to sit and put shoes on or is this just a wasted area? It is a little room but I think if I get just the right person to help, it could be great. I am unable to do it myself, should I hire a professional to do the work or could I find a Seattle handyman to do the work for me? No sure how to get he process started but I know I want to get it done!


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## pammy (Aug 15, 2011)

******


pammy said:


> I am from Seattle and in the process of making an old laundry room a new mudroom. I need storage for 4 kids and all their school stuff and extras. I like the idea of shelving the goes to the ceiling. Do you think a sitting area is necessary for kids to put be able to sit and put shoes on or is this just a wasted area? It is a little room but I think if I get just the right person to help, it could be great. I am unable to do it myself, should I hire a professional to do the work or could I find a Seattle handyman to do the work for me? No sure how to get he process started but I know I want to get it done!


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

I just last week watched a You tube video about a guy who buried one of those shipping containers underground. He put in ventilation, built steps to access it. Covered it with earth. Reenforced it so the dirt wouldn't cause it to collapse. Very cool. You can probably google it.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

I made an end table that the table top opens on hinges to reveal a storage area. I store my winter clothes there in the summer and my summer clothes there in the winter. I could take a pic of it.


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