Space age

Clockwise from top left: Norrebo storage unit, $220, IKEA; our file cabinet project; Componibili storage units, $105 each, Design Within Reach; Elfa Shelving System, $358, The Container Store

Lorenz Scour office warehouse stores for used shelving units and file cabinets. “Some are 30 years old and have great finishes on them,” Lorenz says. To kill the industrial office feel, he advises, “take drawers out of filing cabinets and put shelves in them.” (We used an old file cabinet and inserted plywood shelves, pictured, right. A similar cabinet costs $50 at Direct Office Furniture Warehouse, 5041 N Western Ave, 773-271-3000.) A few guidelines: “If you’re using one type of storage, use it everywhere. Don’t buy one type for your CDs and another for your paper. In a small space, the more consistency you have, the larger it looks,” he says.

Buchalter “Put out the good-looking books—everything else can go in storage,” he says. To display the classics you undoubtedly read in college (uh…right), Buchalter recommends the Elfa shelving system at The Container Store (pictured, center left; $358; 908 W North Ave, 312-654-8450).

Dilworth Don’t dismiss IKEA, he says. “The Norrebo [storage unit from IKEA] (pictured, top left; $220; 750 E Boughton Rd, Bolingbrook, 630-972-7900; 1800 E McConnor Pkwy, Schaumburg, 847-969-9700) is by far the best storage and shelving collection I’ve seen at this price range,” he says. “It’s great for hiding stuff and just as good for sitting. If you don’t like the color, paint it.” Or, if you’re handy, make your own using furniture-grade plywood and tips from ReadyMade magazine.

Laban First and foremost, Laban recommends trashing anything you won’t use again; it’ll cost you time and money just figuring out how to store all of it. Once you’ve pared down, get a versatile, cool-looking storage piece. “Not the most inexpensive, but a real design piece is the Componibili storage unit at Design Within Reach (pictured, bottom left; $105 each; 1574 N Kingsbury St, 312-482-8661; 10 E Ohio St, 312-280-4677),” she says. “They’re sort of round and stackable, molded plastic, come in bright colors and work as either bedside tables or a side table in a living area…you’ll always have a use for them in your home.”