In our little apartment, one of my favorite storage solutions is functional decorations. I love it when our useful things are also beautiful enough to do double duty as some wall art or super accessible and creative knickknacks.
Our most obvious and striking example might be the bike that hangs on our wall. It’s my husband’s main mode of transportation to work and some super awesome art. I don’t know if you can get a lot more extreme than that in the functional art arena.
My vintage sewing machines are another beautiful and useful item that I love to look at all the time. Some of my other crafty things get left out in glass jars or baskets too. On the top shelf of my desk are little wooden people, buttons, crafting tools, crochet hooks, and knitting needles in glass jars. Going vintage is a good way to find practical things that were skillfully crafted with longevity and beauty!
Books… well that’s getting a bit obvious but sure. We love our books and love how they look.
When I ran out of bathroom drawer storage, I decided that if I liked my jewelry enough to decorate myself with it, it could be a decoration here too. Now, I hang my necklaces and bracelets or wrap them around colored glass bottles or old candle holders.
In the kitchen many of our dry goods are in glass jars on the counter, and our fruits are in a huge ceramic bowl. They add some color and free up cabinet space which is scarce around here. Maybe that’s another obvious one but it works!
We’ve never had a lot of decorations so it really works for us. It leaves less to maintain and less valuable storage space taken up. Score one in the minimalist-but-not department. (Otherwise known as intentional living.)