Some of you might remember that my garage was a top priority on my “to-organize list” for this year. I am determined to get it finished in 2016! Before I show you my next progress update (you can see my first garage organization post here) I wanted to share a cool feature we added to our garage when we were building that gave us some hidden garage storage.
You know I’m all about maximizing storage space. Years of living in smaller spaces and attempting to stay organized taught me to make the most of every nook and cranny! When we were building our current house I looked for any hidden space I could find and found a way to use it for storage. Because of the sharp roof lines on our exterior I ended up with lots of pockets of unused space. Above is a picture I shared of our playroom being framed. I used that open space under the window for this…
These hidden pull out drawers for toy storage are my favorite! (You can see my organized playroom here.)
If you look at the exterior of our garage you can see we have a large gable above the garage door. Some of that was used for our playroom pull out drawers, but there was still more extra room over the garage ceiling we weren’t utilizing (it’s a big gable!).
So we added this. :)
We had our carpenter cut out a small opening and add an attached pull down ladder. Instant extra garage storage baby! 
This space has come in so handy! I don’t want to store a lot in this little attic space because “out of sight, out of mind”.. I know we’ll forget about whatever is up there and it will all just sit and collect dust! If that’s the case I’d rather get rid of that stuff to begin with. So we decided this would be a great place to store our outdoor Christmas decorations we use every year along with extra building supplies we are still afraid to toss.
I thought I’d share this in case any of you have hidden garage storage space (or space anywhere else in your house!) you aren’t utilizing. Also something to think about for those of you building or re-modeling in the future. Be creative! Often our homes have more storage than we think they do.
And my husband has more “help” than he bargained for when it’s garage cleaning time.
:)
So cool, Erin! We have one of those types of ladders that lead up to our attic. Funnily enough, the space where it is located is in our converted two car garage. I just thought of that. Ha, ha! Our house was built in 1961 and previous owners converted the garage into a living space. They then added a detached garage to the lot. The opening to the attic was a typical square one and my hubby changed it to this ladder opening. It is SO convenient. Only, you can’t stand up in our attic. Your helpers are adorable! My girls like to haul our Christmas stuff down and up there each year. Such a help. :) I still think those playroom drawers are a brilliant addition! I want an extra gable added to my house just so I can put those in. Thanks for sharing and have a fabulous day! :)
Oh love that you have that too Jeanne! It really is so convenient. And that ladder is too much fun for the kids. I even like going up it a time or two myself when we are organizing. :) Thanks cutie! Enjoy your day! xo
Our garage interior was unfinished, and had a lot of space in the rafters. So my husband installed the same type of ladder, and turned the unfinished rafters into an attic space. It’s where we store our Christmas tree, and other holiday decorations
So nice, isn’t it Katie!? xo
That’s brilliant Erin! My husband and I are getting close to the end of building our home. I’m tempted to bring this idea up to our builder and see if it’s too late or not ;) We also have unused space above one of our garages. Thanks for sharing this tip!
Oh good! Thanks Julia! I hope you can pull it off! :) xo
Great idea Erin! This is absolutely helpful. I LOVE the hidden pull out drawers for toy storage! High five on this one!
Yea! Thank you Jacqueline! :) xo
I love you Erin. Our attic is massive, Our neighbor made a game room out of his. I never thought to store outside Christmas stuff in it. It’s in our garage right now and I’m trying to clear the last of the stuff that we have in there. I didn’t want to store stuff that we may need up there but since you only use it once a year, it makes sense. Perfect sense. 😊
So happy I gave you an idea Cathy. That made my day! And you know I love you too. ;) xo
I love what John and Sherry at Young House Love did with their *above the garage space*. They made it a bonus room for playing, hanging & extra guests staying! It’s beautiful.
How cool Amanda! I’ll have to check it out! xo
These are such good ideas! We have been wanting to upgrade our home and are considering building a home or buying one. Not sure yet. The idea of building is really attractive because I can add great features like this. Do you have any posts on the building process of your home? It is difficult to find information on building a home. Your home is gorgeous and this idea of hidden storage is great!
Hi Emily! Thank you! I have LOTS of building posts. Here is one to start with:
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/2015/10/the-10-most-important-things-i-learned-building-a-house/
You can also see a lot of building posts at the bottom of my Home Tour (on the top bar of my blog). :) xo
Love the drawers idea!! We built our home and since we were newly weds and did not need the space now, but know our little family will grow, we built a home with an unfinished second floor to finish off later. I definitely pinned the drawers idea and know this will be perfect under the windows upstairs! Love your blog!
I’m so happy to hear that Emily! I hope it works out when you’re ready! You were smart to plan for the future. Your family will grow and you will definitely appreciate more storage options. Thank you for your sweet words about my blog! That means a lot to me that you enjoy it. :) xo
You have such great storage in your house! I love the garage space. And your hidden drawers is the most pinned item I’ve ever put on Pinterest. It’s brilliant!
Oh thank you for pinning it Nita! So sweet of you. :) xo