BH&G Secrets of Getting Organized

A LITTLE LOVE YOU KNOW THE FEELING … THAT MOMENT WHEN EVERYTHING YOU TRULY NEED FITS PERFECTLY INTO ONE COMPACT SPACE. MAYBE YOU EXPERIENCED IT FOR THE FIRST TIME setting up a dollhouse or a dorm room or your first apartment. Your surroundings may have been tight, but your dreams were big! We chose all the stories in this issue because they gave us that oh-so-familiar thrill of a small space outfitted with super-smart storage solutions. Start by experiencing three ways to live the organized life in less than 1,000 square feet (“Home Tours,” page 18), then jump from chapter to chapter, digging into the nitty-gritty of optimizing a tiny living room, kitchen, bath, or bedroom. (Even if your home is spacious, we’re guessing you have at least one room that’s a…

WHAT IS RIGHTSIZING, AND HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM DOWNSIZING? WENDY BUGLIO Downsizing usually refers to someone who is letting go of some amount of stuff to fit into a smaller space. When I think about rightsizing, I think about making the amount of stuff you own fit into the space you have and fit the current goals you have for the space. It’s not necessarily about having less space, but it’s about using the space that you have better. SHARON LOWENHEIM The goal of downsizing is to have less stuff. The goal of rightsizing is to ensure that all the stuff that one owns is used and valued. The end result might be the same. Rightsizing usually leads to downsizing, but it’s about getting your stuff down to the stuff that…

AN UNDERUTILIZED CLOSET CAN BE THE KEY TO FINDING A LITTLE MORE SPACE IN YOUR HOME. You may even be able to create what feels like a whole new room dedicated to a specific activity. For example, the closet where your washer and dryer live will function as a bona fide laundry room when you add a flat surface for folding and ironing, a drying rack, built-in hampers, and shelves. No office? No problem. Clear out a bedroom closet and revamp it with a custom-fit desk, a stool or chair, puck lights, and shelves lined with boxes, bins, and baskets. A dedicated crafts room or all-purpose utility space is within reach when you turn a guest room or hall closet into your very own crafts haven, outfitting it from to…

WALL STORAGE “Racks are a great way to store pots and pans up and out of the way in a small kitchen.”—ANDREW MELLEN, PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER SLIM SOLUTIONS MULTIPURPOSE FURNITURE COLLAPSIBLE DESIGNS “A table that folds down is a great way to have an eat-in kitchen without giving up floor space.”—ANDREW MELLEN, PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER…

WITH A BABY ON THE WAY, KIERA AND MICHAEL KUSHLAN KNEW THEY WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE THEIR ONE-BEDROOM, 750-SQUARE-FOOT APARTMENT AND FIND A NEW PLACE THAT WOULD ACCOMMODATE THEIR GROWING FAMILY. Their search led them to a two-bedroom, 1,175-square-foot apartment in a handsome pre-World War I structure on a picturesque street. But the dwelling was low on storage and devoid of character. “Over the years it had been gutted of all historic qualities,” says Kiera, who co-owns the D.C. interior design firm Residents Understood. As soon as the couple closed on their new home, Kiera began a top-to-bottom renovation focused on bringing the 100-year-old residence back to its former glory while adding storage and making the space more efficient for family living. The home’s overall footprint remained the same, but Kiera updated…

LIFE IS FULL OF TRADE-OFFS, AND THAT’S OK WITH THE MOYSA FAMILY. Geoff, Bri, Greyson, and Emerson gladly gave up a bigger house, a second bathroom, and extra closet space to buy a 1,008-square-foot condo near the beach. “Southern California is crazy expensive,” Bri says. “We can’t see ourselves too far from the ocean, and with that location comes an expense. Do we move inland and get more house for our money, or do we stay here and make it work? We chose to stay and make it work.” Bri, a professional interior stylist, ingeniously utilizes every square foot. To start, she embraced minimalism, both as a way of life and as a design aesthetic. Cutting down on clutter imparts a serene attitude, as do Bri’s signature neutrals (grays, black, tans, and…