Hidden Storage in Front Hall
Upon entering our front hall, you see our grand staircase and an antique petticoat table. But tucked in behind the mirrored table, is a wainscoting panel, just to the left of the door to the powder room. Several months after we purchased the house, we discovered that this panel is not permanently fixed, but slides down to reveal hidden storage under the stairs.
The hidden space
A rather ingenious system with a rope and pulley, the panel drops down below the floor level. Painting of baby chicks done by my friend, Jane Horn.
As the panel slides down, you can see the original lathe and plaster construction of our 110 year old home.
My Mess
Now comes the embarrassing part. This hidden storage area is a collection point for all my seasonal pillows, slip covers for the family room sofa, dining room table leaf and pillow inserts. It is an area that I have been wanting to organize, but as you know, out of sight, out of mind.
After removing all of the items, you can see that this is a rather large space, probably created to provide access to the plumbing to the powder room.
Sorting and Organizing
After cleaning and wiping down this space, I begin to re-organize the contents. Heading to Target, I purchase large plastic storage tubs. Inventory is rather low after the Back-to-School sales, but I start with 6 large containers. Click here for a good selection of stackable plastic storage boxes from Amazon.
Making labels for each box helps with the sorting and organizing. The four different sets of sofa slipcovers takes up a great deal of space.
Since Target didn’t have enough plastic tops for the containers purchased, I keep all the pillows in plastic bags so they don’t get dusty. I utilize all the space under the stairs.
The dining room leaf is placed in a fabric pocket I made with an unused tablecloth. I lean the leaf against the boxes, as it will not fit any other way.
Now when I need a seasonal item, this new organizational system will save time and effort.
Do you have a project that you keep putting off? This under the stairs storage is definitely one that would bother me each season. I am so happy I finally tackled it! To see my recent post about another storage project in the front hall, click here.
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Today, I am happy to be part of a blog hop that revolves around front hall projects!
We all love it when you visit and comment so please enjoy the following DIY Front Entryway Projects. Niky from the House on Silverado jazzes up her front hall for Fall.
Chas from Chas Crazy Creations turns this $1 garage sale find into a sweet side table.
My friend, Andrea from Design Morsels loves the color red and check out this colorful front hall project here.
Tarah from Gramma’s House DIY makes clever use of a space in her front entryway. See it here.
Thank you so much for joining me today! Have a wonderful week!
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Oh…I love finding these hiding places when renovating an old house. My first thought was Harry Potter could live here! That lathe and plaster is a work of art all by itself. I was surprised to see how much stuff you were able to put in there! Currently my entire house looks like a “junk” closet. I have been trying to organize the ongoing mess that happens in the front and back studios! It is a slow process between visits to a multitude of dentists to get my emergency turned around. I don’t know about you but I am ready to put 2020 to bed and start a new year fresh. I keep thinking that organizing my entire house will symbolize a new beginning as we move into 2021!! Thanks for your inspiration!
Gosh, I never thought to possibly decorate this space for Halloween or a Harry Potter party! Hope you have resolved your dental issues. Things like that do set up back, don’t they? I’m ready for this pandemic to end because I need a vacation from the staying at home!
Wow – that is so cool! I love the secret spaces old houses have, and what a great way to use this one! Another brilliant organizational triumph!
Barbara, when the children were little they would hide in there. Once they actually slide between the walls. I could hear them but not see them and it was a bit creepy to hear children’s voices coming from the walls!
Wonderful! I love extra space and storage. This just inspired me to reorganize my closet… I’m not looking forward to it but I’ll keep thinking of how you made good use of this space! Thanks Mary!!
I love this!!!! Great storage
That’s really fascinating and such a fun little architectural detail of your house. I love old houses, so I can imagine your excitment when you discovered this hidden place! Thanks for sharing! Glad I could “hop” with you again!
-Niky @ The House on Silverado
Wow that’s so cool! They don’t put storage like that in new houses I bet. You are an organization master. I love that you have boxes of slip covers. I like slip covers too, but they seem harder to find.
For 110 year old house, they really made use of the space. When I purchased our Mitchell Gold sofa years ago, for a small price you could purchase slip covers. So I bought 4 more with the intent of changing the slip cover every season. Well, the slipcovers are now nearly $1000 a piece, which seems ridiculous to me. I would love to make a new slipcover using an old one as a template. But I’ve never done it and it seems a bit overwhelming. Thanks for commenting and love blog hopping with you.
We always need more storage and this is such a great idea! I love your organization that’s hidden inside as well. Thank you so much for sharing and wonderful hopping with you!