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How many of us can lay claim to wasted space in our homes? There are ways we can reconfigure those under-utilized spaces, whether

it’s in an attic, the foyer, in a hallway or under the stairs.

PHOTO GALLERIESHallways, generally considered just a passageway from one room toanother, beg for attention. A mini art or picture gallery—utilizing familyphotos that may have been collecting dust in an attic—can fill these cor-ridors with visual interest.

Interior Designer Oni Roberts of Oni Designs recommends using blackand white photos for a more contemporary feel. “All frames should be thesame color, all matted and symmetrical. You don’t want it to look clut-tered.” Complete the look with good lighting. After all, you want to beable to see the pictures on the wall.

For more traditional looks, Interior Designer Pamela Hope of PamelaHope Designs says that you can mix and match frames, as well as black

Ideas for turning wasted space into functional areas BY ELLE CAVATORE

P R O J E C T

RECLAIMING SPACE

LEFT: Homeowners installed acustom shower after removinga fiberglass tub. They tookwhat was once “dead space”to the right of the shower andbuilt open shelving. ABOVE: The shower wall alsooffered shelving opportunities.

Pull out those never-seen photos and display them. Use your walls—whether on the upstairs landing, in the foyer or down a long corridor—to create your own gallery. Add to it whenever you like. (photo courtesy of Bradley's Art and Frame)

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and white, and color photos.“The key to this style is howthe frames are arranged. Laythem out on the floor and putthem together like a puzzle.Small and large frames can bestacked to achieve this. I liketo think of my arrangement asa grid so that despite the dif-ferent shapes and sizes, theoverall collection forms nicelines on the outside edges. ”

OFFICE SPACEUnless there is a revolving doorof visitors coming to stay, whynot turn the spare bedroominto a study or office?

Hope suggests adding sever-al bookcases to achieve thislook. “Have bookshelves madeto line at least one wall or buyinexpensive bookcases and putthem side by side. If you likeone bookcase, you won’tbelieve how good two or threelook together. It gives a customlook for a lot less.”

Don’t want to give up thespare bedroom? Then, have thebest of both worlds by makingit into an office as well.

Roberts shares a tip on cre-ating such a dual-purpose

space: “Get an armoire that you can close up. Instead of a full size bed,get a day bed and make it look like a reading room. Just be sure the clut-ter is filed away so no one trips.”

OPENING CLOSETSIt is easy to hang on to the notion of what a closet typically offers, butwhat if it can be more than just a place to store clothes? A good carpentercan add a floating desk, remove the bars and add shelving to create theperfect work niche.

Don Yokovich, president of the Closet Factory, explains that manyolder homes have reach-in closets. In order to maximize space he suggestsremoving the return walls. “Hire a trim carpenter or contractor to takeout the return walls and open them up to reach into the corner areas. It’snot a real complicated process.”

Walk-in closets also may make practical supply rooms. He suggestsadding shelving, drawers that house papers and a wireless printer. “It ispossible to combine organization and aesthetics while also making itfunctional and reachable.”

LANDING LIBRARIESThe upstairs landing can be much more than just a resting place. Oneuseful and picturesque option is to turn the area into a mini library. Inorder to make the space more functional, Hope suggests adding a placeto sit. “If space permits, you can anchor the area by adding an interest-ing chair and a small rug.”

THIS PAGE: Attics offer more than storage space for holiday decora-tions. Interior Designer Laura Michaelides helped a Heights couple trans-form their attic space, with its slanted roof angles and small doorways,into a playroom for their little son. (photos by Miro Dvorscak)

KITCHEN STORAGEKitchen kickboards may offer sur-prising storage options. The areaunder the cabinets generally hasonly an aesthetic purpose but it canbe utilized to add more space.Kickboards (also known as toeboards) can be made into “kick-board cupboards.”

John Johnston, owner of DesignerKitchens (and on the board of direc-tors of the Kitchen and BathAssociation) explains that this areavaries in size. “In traditionallydesigned homes, the width of thetoe-boards is about 4 inches or 5 inches tall, but modern designed homescan have up to 10-inch toe boards. Depending on the width of this area,you can have a toe board cupboard installed to hold pot and pan lids,

Tupperware containers, rolled goodslike aluminum foil and even stepstoolsif the space is large enough.” Thoseextra inches of space can sometimes gofar for a person with limited space.

Reclaiming wasted space can be aworthwhile investment—of time andthought—that pays big in reaping totalenjoyment of your home.

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LEFT: Interior Designer OniRoberts created niches in thefireplace wall, enabling herclient to display favorite col-lections.

RIGHT: Build shelving forcookbooks underneath thekitchen island.

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