Organizing a small space has become a challenge I always want to accept. Our last home had a strange second stairway that I turned into a pantry. At that same home, I turned one tiny bedroom into a walk-in closet and another tiny bedroom into a laundry room. Our new home is, but of course, full of new organization challenges for me to tackle.
Our bungalow home on Sanibel Island, Florida has a really cool cupola, which is a small 10’x10’ space on the “third floor” with panoramic views of the area around our home. While we are still working on that space, I wanted to reveal what we did with the strange little space directly under the cupola.
Our Strange Space Makeover: Before
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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At first, this space was a catch-all for everything I didn’t have time to unpack right after moving. I wanted to take the time to figure out how to use the space, so while I contemplated and worked on other areas of our home, it housed everything I didn’t know what to do with. This consisted of all my art and craft supplies and my workout equipment.
Our Strange Space Makeover: After
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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As we worked on renovating the cupola space, I started to figure out what needed to be in that space and what needed to be in the space under it. Whenever I am designing and organizing a space in our home, I think “long term”. I think about how we need to use the space, but I also think about how others may use the space in the event that we were to sell the home one day.
Our Strange Space Makeover: Stairwell to the Cupola
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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My family was friends with many realtors when I was growing up, and I spent lots of time around them (and babysat and worked for many realtors during my lifetime too). I think I absorbed their thinking about making a home “sell-able” over the years. That way of thinking always plays into my designs.
Our Strange Space Makeover: Stairwell to the Cupola
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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Since the room under the cupola has a staircase that leads directly into the cupola, I thought the two rooms should compliment each other. I decided to use the cupola as my “creative studio” where I work, meditate and create. It made sense to make the space under it house all my creative materials (as I have a ton!), as well as be a space where I could practice yoga, workout and walk on my treadmill.
Our Strange Space Makeover: The full room “after” design
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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In thinking “long term”, I thought the cupola could make a super cute kids room and the space under it could be a playroom or a closet and study area.
Our Strange Space Makeover: Workout Equipment Organization
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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We first painted the room white to make it appear bigger. I love using the whites “Melting Icicles” and “Marshmallow” from Behr. I’ve used these colors in two of my homes. They aren’t pure whites and they seem to “change” color depending on the light and time of day.
We ordered blinds from Lowe’s in the exact size we needed (as our windows were strangely sized) which was a whole lot less expensive that you may think. Each custom made blind was around $30 and they sent them to our home for free. They were just plastic, but they still look very nice when they are correctly sized.
We ordered a gold ceiling light from Amazon and my husband installed it. Then we moved onto the organizing portion of the room design.
I already had many of the items I used to put the room together, but purchased a few new items.
What I used to organize my workout equipment:
I used wood crates I purchased at Home Depot years ago to organize some workout and health equipment
I used a wall mount hanging rack from Amazon to organize yoga mats, blocks foam rollers and resistance bands
I used a weight rack from Amazon to organize my hand weights
I used a white metal garbage can from IKEA to organize my large (tall) art supplies and wrapping paper. I purchased two of these so I could use one for organization and one for actually housing trash.
Our Strange Space Makeover: Storage Cabinet Solutions
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We purchased white storage cabinets from Lowe’s. I saw them on display in the store and they looked nice and had exactly the amount of space I needed. I ordered the same three I saw on display; a cabinet with a drawer, a tall skinny cabinet and a tall wide cabinet.
Our Strange Space Makeover: Using a cutting board as a countertop
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My husband and I ordered them online and picked them up in the store. They were very heavy, so we carried them piece by piece up to the room so we could assemble them. The top of the short cabinet did not have a countertop (well, it had a top but it was just white particle board-the same material as the cabinets), so we ordered a nice acacia wood cutting board from Amazon in the exact size we needed (24’x16’), and it became a beautiful and functional workspace for me.
I had a small white “floating” shelf I purchased from Target years ago and hung it to use as a storage shelf for my cameras. The gold framed magnetic white board was a purchase from Amazon and it currently displays my favorite quote “Leap and the net will appear”.
Our Strange Space Makeover: Another view of the room
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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I considered making the cabinets look “built in” as many DIY’ers are doing this to their storage cabinet purchases, but then I knew I’d lose the precious storage space on the top of the cabinets. So, I decided to not make them “built-ins” and kept them as is. I added three small wood crates to the top of one cabinet for extra craft supply storage, which I utilized right away.
Our Strange Space Makeover: Our storage cabinets from Lowe’s
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Before we purchased the cabinets, we took lots of measurements. I always recommend you do lots of measurements before making any purchase for your home, especially if you have limited space to work with.
Our Strange Space Makeover: Our small treadmill from Amazon and the fitness mat
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I specifically purchased a small treadmill from Amazon so it would not take over the entire space of the room. Though brands like Peloton have compelling marketing campaigns, no one really needs a treadmill that large or fancy to get in a good workout. It’s effective and that’s all I needed.
I like the treadmill I purchased because you can take the arms off and it will slide under a bed if you have even less space in your home. It is also lightweight, making it easy to move so we can easily access the attic storage space. We placed it on top of a fitness mat from Amazon to help protect our wood floors.
Our Strange Space Makeover: Using a fabric covered extension cord for better style and organization
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My husband hung a small television above the treadmill so I can watch it while working out. We connected the T.V. and our media player cords to a braided extension cord so it would be a little fancier and cleaner looking instead of having multiple cords hanging down.
Our Strange Space Makeover: My organized art supplies
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After the cabinets were assembled, I filled them with all my art supplies and sewing machine. I purchased plastic and fabric storage bins from T.J. Maxx and Amazon to hold some of my small supplies.
Another reason I liked the wide storage cabinet is because it could also be turned into a wardrobe, as it came with the hanging rod for clothing.
Our Strange Space Makeover: Organized Art Supplies
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Each shelf was fully adjustable so I rearranged them as needed. They also came with handles, and since they were stylish enough for the space, we just kept them. We may change them out at some point, but they are fine for now.
Our Strange Space Makeover: The three storage cabinets we purchased from Lowe’s
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All in all, the space came together beautifully. I love being able to access all my supplies easily and having a dedicated workout space. Despite it’s small area, it still took a while to put it all together. One thing I’ve learned throughout all our renovations over the years is that NOTHING in QUALITY home renovation is easy or fast. They also usually have a cost factor that you must consider.
If you are trying to organize a space in your home like this, think everything through, take your time, and get to work! Take breaks when you need to but try to stick to some sort of schedule and set goals so you can achieve the exact results you want.