The Most Wasted Spaces in Your Kansas City Home — And How to Use Them | Clozetivity Kansas

There’s a difference between having enough square footage and actually using it well.

You can have a good-sized Kansas City home and still wonder where you’re supposed to put everything.

The closet is full.

The pantry is chaos.

The garage technically has room for two cars, assuming those cars are approximately the size of shopping carts.

And somewhere in the house there’s a closet everyone opens very, very carefully.

Before assuming you need more space, take another look at what you already have.

There may be unused storage hiding above your clothes, underneath the stairs, along empty walls and in rooms you use every single day.

The solution isn't always adding square footage.

Sometimes it's simply making your existing square footage work harder.

1. The Empty Space Above Your Closet Rod

Walk into your closet and look up.

If you see one shelf, a hanging rod and several feet of empty wall above everything, you're looking at wasted storage.

Basic closet layouts tend to use only a portion of the available height.

Meanwhile, everything gets crowded into the lower half.

Shoes pile up on the floor. Folded clothes get stacked wherever they fit. Hanging clothes get squeezed together.

A professionally designed custom closet in Kansas City can take advantage of much more of the available vertical space.

Double-hang sections can increase room for shirts and pants.

Upper shelving can provide storage for seasonal clothing and less frequently used items.

Drawers can organize folded clothes and accessories.

Dedicated shoe shelving can reclaim the floor.

The important part is that the closet can be designed around what you actually own rather than some generic idea of what a closet should contain.

2. The Mudroom or Entryway

Kansas City weather gives homeowners plenty of reasons to have a good drop zone.

Coats.

Boots.

Backpacks.

Hats.

Umbrellas.

Sports equipment.

And approximately 900 pairs of shoes near the door.

Without designated storage, entryways quickly become collection points for everything people carry into the house.

A custom mudroom or entryway system can create individual places for those items.

Hooks can keep coats and backpacks off the floor.

Cubbies can provide separate areas for family members.

Benches can offer seating with shoe storage underneath.

Drawers can handle smaller items.

Closed cabinets can hide seasonal gear and everything else you don't necessarily want sitting out.

It makes the space look better, but more importantly, it makes getting out the door easier.

3. The Space Under Your Stairs

Under-stair areas are practically designed to be ignored.

The changing ceiling height makes standard furniture difficult to use.

So the vacuum goes there.

Then some boxes.

Then holiday decorations.

And suddenly you've created a storage system based entirely on stacking things behind other things.

Depending on the home's construction and layout, that space may be suitable for custom drawers, cabinetry, shelving, pantry storage or general household storage.

Because custom cabinetry can be designed around unusual angles and changing heights, it can turn an awkward area into genuinely useful square footage.

4. Blank Walls

A blank wall doesn't necessarily need to remain blank.

Sometimes it can become one of the most useful storage areas in the room.

Custom built-ins can provide cabinetry and shelving without requiring another closet.

In a living room, built-ins can create entertainment storage with closed cabinets for things you don't want visible.

In a dining room, cabinetry can hold dishes, serving pieces and glassware.

In a bedroom, a wall can become additional wardrobe storage.

In a home office, built-ins can provide shelving, drawers and filing space.

Because the storage is designed specifically for the room, it can feel like part of the architecture rather than another piece of furniture.

5. The Pantry

Pantries have an amazing ability to simultaneously be full and contain absolutely nothing you can find.

Deep shelves hide smaller items.

Tall shelf openings leave unused space.

Bags get stacked wherever they'll stay upright.

Then you're at the grocery store trying to remember whether you have taco shells.

You do.

They're behind the cereal.

Along with two other boxes of taco shells.

A custom pantry in Kansas City can create different storage areas based on what your household actually uses.

Adjustable shelving can eliminate wasted vertical space.

Frequently used foods can remain at eye level.

Bulk purchases can have designated areas.

Small appliances can move off the kitchen counter.

The goal isn't necessarily to fit more into the pantry.

It's to stop losing things inside it.

6. The Laundry Room

Laundry rooms frequently have plenty of available storage space.

It's just floating several feet above the washer and dryer.

The appliances take up the floor while the walls remain mostly empty.

Custom laundry room cabinetry can use that vertical space for detergents, cleaning supplies, paper products, linens and other household essentials.

Depending on the layout, the room can also incorporate shelving, drawers, pull-out hampers and folding areas.

A larger laundry room can even provide overflow storage that reduces pressure on closets elsewhere in the house.

Does any of this eliminate laundry?

Sadly, no.

If we ever figure that out, the closet business may have some competition.

7. Corners in Walk-In Closets

Having a big walk-in closet doesn't automatically mean you're getting the most from it.

Poorly designed corners can waste a surprising amount of space.

Hanging sections can overlap.

Shelves can become too deep.

Some areas can be difficult to reach.

A custom walk-in closet design considers those transitions from the beginning.

Shelving can wrap around corners where appropriate.

Hanging sections can be positioned so they don't interfere with one another.

Cabinet depths can change based on the available space.

Those little decisions can make a major difference in how much storage the closet actually provides.

8. The Garage Walls

The garage is one of the biggest storage opportunities in many Kansas City homes.

It's also one of the easiest places to lose control.

Tools.

Bicycles.

Sports equipment.

Lawn supplies.

Coolers.

Holiday decorations.

Boxes.

Eventually everything spreads across the floor and the cars quietly accept that they live outside now.

Custom garage storage can move many of those belongings onto walls and into cabinets.

Frequently used items can remain accessible.

Seasonal storage can move higher.

Tools can have designated areas.

Sports equipment can stop leaning against whatever happens to be nearby.

You might even uncover enough room for the radical new concept of parking in the garage.

9. The Guest Bedroom Closet

Guest room closets rarely stay empty.

They become the household overflow department.

Suitcases go in first.

Then seasonal clothes.

Then extra bedding.

Then holiday decorations.

Eventually a guest arrives and you proudly offer them the four inches of hanging rod that remain.

A custom reach-in closet can divide the space so it works for both purposes.

Upper shelving can hold household items while hanging areas remain available for guests.

Drawers and adjustable shelving can increase storage without consuming the entire closet.

One closet can serve two different needs without turning into chaos.

10. The Home Office

A home office doesn't need much clutter before it starts feeling crowded.

Printers, paperwork, chargers, files, notebooks and supplies can quickly take over the desk.

Then you're working in the six-inch area that's still visible.

Custom home office storage can create designated spaces for all of it.

Cabinetry can hide equipment.

Drawers can organize supplies.

Shelving can provide space for books and display pieces.

Files can remain accessible without sitting in stacks.

When the storage is designed around how you work, the desk can go back to doing what it was intended to do:

Being a desk.

11. Hall and Utility Closets

There is usually at least one closet in every house that has no clear purpose.

It holds whatever needs somewhere to go.

Cleaning products.

Paper towels.

Batteries.

Light bulbs.

Tools.

Extra towels.

Pet supplies.

Board games.

And one mysterious bag nobody is willing to investigate.

These closets often have more capacity than homeowners realize.

The problem is usually the shelving.

A few strategically positioned adjustable shelves can create designated areas for different categories while using more of the available height.

Frequently used items can remain easy to reach while bulk supplies move higher.

Suddenly the closet stops being a pile with a door.

You May Already Have the Space You Need

When storage becomes frustrating, it's easy to assume the house simply isn't big enough.

But before you start thinking about adding more square footage, look at the spaces you already own.

Look above your closet rods.

Look underneath the stairs.

Look at the garage walls.

Look inside the pantry.

Look at that empty wall you've walked past 4,000 times.

There may already be plenty of usable storage space.

It just isn't being used effectively.

Good storage design isn't about putting cabinetry everywhere.

It's about identifying the areas that can solve real problems and designing them around the way your household actually functions.

Custom Storage Solutions in Kansas City

Clozetivity of Kansas City designs custom storage solutions for homeowners throughout the Kansas City area.

That includes custom closets, walk-in closets, reach-in closets, pantries, mudrooms, laundry rooms, home offices, garage storage and custom built-ins designed around the individual home.

Whether you're trying to maximize a smaller closet, organize the pantry, reclaim your garage or turn an unused wall into functional storage, a custom design can help you get considerably more from the square footage you already have.

Because the solution isn't always more space.

Sometimes you just need to make the space you already own a whole lot smarter.

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