Living in a small home? You know the struggle of trying to fit all your stuff without making spaces feel cramped and cluttered. This is where mezzanine floor storage areas come to the rescue. As per experts at AW Structures, mezzanines add a whole extra layer of living space while their built-in storage hides away clutter. If designed right, they become secret storage weapons that prevent your home from feeling overwhelmed.
In this post, we’ll share my best tips for maximizing mezzanine floor storage so you can gain functional space that still feels open and uncluttered. Let’s do this.
Carefully Measure Your Mezzanine Footprint
The first step is understanding the exact dimensions you have to work with. Measure every inch of your mezzanine floor space including height. Accounting for structural elements like guardrails will prevent buying storage items that end up not fitting. You want to optimize every square inch, so precision counts here. Also measure any narrow awkward spaces around the edges of your mezzanine. Small caches of storage can often tuck into these.
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Audit and Categorize Your Existing Stuff
Next, take stock of everything you need to store on the mezzanine through an audit. Make a master list. Then categorize items: seasonal gear, sports equipment, holiday decorations, manuals and paperwork, kids’ memorabilia, etc. Categorizing allows you to allocate the right mezzanine storage solutions for each type of item you need to organize.
Carefully Evaluate Weight Distribution
When dealing with an upper floor, ensuring adequate structural support is crucial. Consult your architect or engineer to determine:
- Total weight capacity of your mezzanine
- Where structural supports are located
- How to distribute weight properly across the space
Improper weight loading can cause major safety issues. Doing this step prevents costly mistakes down the road.
Build Custom Shelving Units
For the main floor space, build fixed shelving units wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling for mass storage. Use sturdy materials like reinforced plywood. Shelves built right to the ceiling maximize vertical storage while eliminating dust-collecting dead space. For safety, ensure shelves have retaining lips so items don’t slide off. And avoid overly piled, heavy loads.
Use Modular Wire Shelving for Flexibility
Consider wire shelving units with casters for extra movable storage. The wheels allow you to relocate storage easily as needs change. Wire construction keeps things lightweight. And you can reconfigure shelf heights and layouts down the road if needed. Much more versatile than fixed units. Just be sure to anchor mobile units to the wall securely so they don’t shift around. Safety first.
Take Advantage of Awkward Angles
Fill in wasted space underneath awkward dormers, eaves and sloped ceilings. This creates bonus nooks for tucking away items. These odd spots often go unused even though they can accommodate smaller storage solutions. Get creative with custom builds. My favorite is building little triangular cabinets in under-eave dead zones. Tons of extra specialized storage.
Optimize Closet Storage
Even a small mezzanine can be designed with an integrated closet for hanging clothes, towels, linens etc. Install a closet rod and incorporate custom shelves and cabinets tailored to your specific need. Added hanging space is a plus. Pro tip: Install the rod higher than normal. You can hang longer items without taking up floor space this way.
UseContainers to Maximize Shelves
Prevent shelves from turning into black holes swallowing your stuff. Use clear plastic bins to corral items together. Labels make bins easily identifiable. And you can pull them out to access contents while keeping shelves tidy. Uniform storage bins also let you stack items neatly and utilize vertical space. More organized means more usable square footage.
Hang Tools and Sports Gear
Take advantage of wall space for specialized gear. Install slat panels, pegboards, wall hooks, racks and other holders to organize items off the floor. Bikes, ladders, hoses, rakes, baseball bats, tennis rackets, power tools, pool noodles – you name it. Keep specific activities’ stuff consolidated but out of the way.
Don’t Overlook the Corner Opportunities
Make use of awkward corner spaces that typically end up wasted. A few great options:
- Install corner shelving units for exploiting triangular void
- Mount corner cabinet for arts, office or bathroom supplies
- Use as dedicated gift wrap station with built-ins for rolls of wrap
Add Movable Storage Islands
Free-standing, movable storage units like cabinets, carts and islands offer flexible use of a mezzanine’s open floor space.
Islands with both shelving and closed storage give you choices for organization. Caster wheels make rearranging and accessing contents easy. When designing your custom mezzanine storage solutions, look for these opportunities to maximize every inch. Even small leftover spaces can transform into specialized storage zones. A well-designed mezzanine adds tons of usable square footage to your home cleverly tucked out of sight.
