It wasn’t just a question of looks; my living room was a threat to my health. I’m a borderline hoarder with a strict policy of not throwing away anything that might have future usefulness.
But my living room, with its emerging piles, mainly collected dust. Keeping it clean was an impossible task, especially given the dust-related allergies that my husband and I both have.
After a cleaning, it was neat enough for a couple of days, just before the kind of guest who doesn’t need a private space to hang out would show up. But beyond that, it was just a ratty space that looked like it was on the edge of failing some health inspector’s room-by-room walkthrough.
So what I needed to work was a healthier living room that could do double-duty as a clean space for my husband and me.
The 28 Best Living room storage ideas
1. Low-profile TV Console
The living room furniture known as a modern low-profile TV console is made to contemporary aesthetics and is often what one would call “minimalist.” When you look at a low-profile TV console, you do not see an overwhelming amount of design features grabbing your attention. Instead, what you see are clean lines, understated finishes, and an ample amount of storage that allows you, the user, to integrate multimedia devices and the necessary accessories into your space without clutter.
2. Multi-tiered Bookshelf
The stylish and functional design of a multi-tiered bookshelf elevates the living room. A sophisticated storage solution, it functions on multiple levels as a display piece for books, plants, and decorative items, adding depth and character to spaces where it resides.
A blend of looks and practicality, the modern design of this bookshelf makes it the perfect living room accessory. It is totally eye-catching, and its skills of stylishness and multifunctional design make it the perfect living room centerpiece.
3. Wall-mounted Bookshelves
Bookshelves mounted to the walls provide a living room storage solution that is stylish and functional. They take advantage of living room verticality in a sleek and modern way, using sharp lines and figures to present a near-invisible storage mechanism that allows for the organization of both books and decorative items.
And while they are certainly the living room equivalent of a “minimalist” bedroom, these wall-mounted shelves can also be found in living rooms across America that contain an “eclectic” or “bohemian” style.
4. Hidden Ottoman Storage
The well-concealed Ottoman Storage offers living room solutions that solve a pair of problems with a single, stylish, yet functional plan. At first glance, the pieces in the collection look like the perfectly pleasant, seemingly simple forms that furniture designers have conjured for eons.
But they also fulfill the job of making room for the not-so-pretty essentials that have a way of multiplying and then spilling over into sight and space.
5. Console Table with Cabinets
Storage in the living room doesn’t have to be unsightly. A console table with cabinets can hold living room essentials and look good doing it.
That’s because, instead of being an awkward piece that you have to push items behind, the console table allows you to keep things both in sight and out of sight—an essential combination if you are going for an uncluttered, organized look. And happens to be a great design-aspect, too, since both function and form are highly valued with modern inventive storage solutions.
6. Ladder-style Shelving
Living room storage can be much more than just functional if you opt for ladder-style shelving. These shelves, which lean against the wall, have a unique and sophisticated appeal that makes them perfect for the living room.
They’re not just supremely adaptable to different styles of decor; their open, airy design also means they can hold a living room’s look together. These are display pieces—they aren’t just there to hold organization and storage solutions, but also to show off your books, plants, and framed photos.
7. Built-in Wall Units
Living room wall units are more than just practical places to store your stuff; they’re also an opportunity to exercise some aesthetic freedom and put your unique design stamp on the space. When you consider the unit’s form and function, you can take your living room from ordinary to extraordinary in a matter of moments.
Not that I’d suggest replacing your wall unit just for the sake of appearance, but if yours is looking drab or unremarkable, perhaps it’s time to give it a facelift—in a way that works with your design style, of course.
8. Overhead Floating Shelves
Floating shelves are an elegant solution for modern living rooms and offer a fantastic opportunity to show off one’s design sense. They absorb almost no visual space and can be arranged in a way that gives a marvelous sense of openness to any room.
In the past, the almost limitless possibilities that floating shelves afford might have made them a hard idea to pin down, but in today’s world, there are so many well-curated Instagram accounts and so many Pinterest “aesthetic” boards that we can be perfectly guided in using them.
9. Rolling Storage Cart
A stylish and functional rolling cart can offer a solution to the problem of living room organization. When you have a small living room, it can be hard to find space for all of your necessary items.
This cart can help you corral things like books and magazines, as well as the pesky remote controls that seem to go missing all the time. And if you want to put it in a place where it can serve as a visually appealing part of your decor, that’s another great reason to consider getting one.
10. Sectional Sofa Storage
You’ll find that a sectional sofa with built-in storage is a practical piece of furniture for a living room, combining function with style. It offers compartments that are ideal for stowing away living room necessities—blankets, pillows, or magazines, for instance—that you want to keep within reach but not in plain sight.
Storage should not be visible! This is a sleek piece of furniture, one that will enhance the aesthetics of your living room, and it does not sacrifice comfort or visual appeal for the sake of getting the job done.
11. Nesting Tables with Storage
Nesting tables that offer storage are a stylish addition to any living room and an unrivaled component of functional design. They provide a clever solution for where to put all the things that need to be reachable yet not visible, from checkbooks to not-so-beautiful electronic devices.
While the tables themselves are by no means a solution for small-space living (remember that a huge chunk of what makes essence-of-style table a table is the absence of wiggle room for all the things that weren’t beautiful to the eye), they’re an introduction to living room essentials that tip the scale toward modern aesthetics without sacrificing accessibility.
12. Large Wicker Baskets
Wicker baskets aren’t just functional living room storage; they’re also a choice awash in boredom and bad decor. Piled high with throw blankets and haphazardly stowed with children’s and magazine detritus, these open-topped baskets are a virtual welcome mat for clutter.
And the only thing that’s worse than a basket full of clutter is a cluttered basket that is styled so terribly it practically begs for a wallpaper border and a cameo from the cast of “Trading Spaces.”
13. Compact Storage Bench
Adding a stylish storage bench to your living room can serve a dual purpose. The décor may call for a small piece of furniture that performs well and still looks good, and that’s where a storage bench comes in.
A small storage bench can provide not only a few extra square feet of space to chill but also a spacious upper surface good for holding everything from a lamp to a pair of very large fake flowers.
14. Drawer Coffee Table
The Drawer Coffee Table brings storage to the living room, doing so with both style and substance. While most coffee tables flaunt their good looks, the Drawer Coffee Table is equally proud of its never-before-seen blend of good looks and great utility.
Who knew a coffee table could complement your deco style while also maintaining an under-the-radar storage presence?
15. Floor-to-Ceiling Shelving
An elegant way to store things in the living room is to have wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookcases. They are a visually striking way to utilize a room’s vertical space.
There are probably few better frameworks in which to house your books and personal keepsakes. And there is probably no better way to guarantee that your framed family photos and other decorative objets d’art will be safe and sound and on display.
16. Modular Cube Shelves
Cube shelves can be arranged in the most pleasing patterns to fit your living room. They step down to display linear parts of a room and can be used to show off both your good taste and your decorative items.
They have another advantage too: If your living room is filled with too much stuff and is cluttered, cube shelves can be used to eliminate that clutter. Of course, even with “too neat” a shelf, you still need lines and forms; otherwise, it would just be a mess filled with blocks.
17. Under-sofa Storage Bin
The storage bin that fits under the couch is the perfect answer for an untidy underbelly of the living room. Its design allows it to nearly disappear when placed just under the sofa, but it is a perfect home for all of those living room items you want to have at hand but not necessarily on display.
It is a good choice for anyone who likes the idea of a living room from which all eyes can be averted with ease, a room with good, clean lines, a room “like a quiet portico, its doors kept closed.”
18. Lift-top Coffee Table
The coffee table that you can lift the top off of is a coffee table with a dual purpose: not only is it a coffee table, but it is also an excellent storage solution, making it an ideal piece of furniture for the living room. Most people might think a unobtrusive tray on top of the coffee table would suffice for keeping remote controls, coasters, or other smallish living-room-necessary items close at hand and out of sight.
But what if you took the living room storage solution to the next level? And what if that next level was also incredibly stylish?
19. Storage Cabinet Sideboard
A sideboard is a stylish and practical living room addition that doesn’t have to sacrifice taste to get the job done. While it offers ample storage and plenty of room to display some of your most prized possessions, a sideboard can still enhance the decor in your living room, offering a “wow” factor that is the living room equivalent of a catwalk model.
Indeed, you don’t want to draw attention to the sideboard for the wrong reasons.
20. Corner Shelving Unit
An attractive storage solution for the living room, a corner shelving unit, is designed to store and display items in an area that might otherwise be ignored. If one has a corner in their living room that is not being utilized, then a corner shelf can serve as both a strategic and attractive storage solution.
A corner shelf has the ability to both blend in and stand out, serving as a quiet accessory to whatever is going on in the space, while also having the ability to be a major visual element if styled correctly.
21. Vertical Wall Rack
Storing things vertically is one of the most beautiful and intelligent aspects of human design. One way to optimize that potential in living spaces is through the use of wall racks.
Vertical wall racks do not just organize; they also beautify. You can put them in any vertical space: beside a door; beside a window; in a corner; or anywhere there is wall.
And with any kind of configuration that suits you: shelves, cubbies, or a combination of both.
22. Room Divider with Shelves
A stylish storage solution that renders the very aesthetics of a living room so much more appealing is a room divider with shelves. Not only is it an organization tool for one’s books, decor, and personal effects, but it is also such a delightful sight that one would hardly believe it to be a dual-purpose element serving as a sight break in an oversized room.
Indeed, this piece can serve just as well in a smaller room as a sight break for an organization tool.
23. Glass-door Display Cabinet
An elegant storage choice for living room storage is a glass-door display cabinet. It merges together the different aspects of functionality and aesthetics.
The see-through panels make it possible to show off items of value while simultaneously keeping them safe. Display cabinets make for an exquisite way to offer a “look at me” moment for whatever is inside and are lovely living room furniture for making either a grand or subtle statement of sophistication.
24. Wooden Crate Stack
The Wooden Crate Stack is a rustic yet elegant alternative to the ubiquitous bookcase in a room. It is easily assembled—yet not so easily disassembled as to allow one crate to escape one’s secreted lair unobtrusively.
It comes with no required tools, which is always a plus, and is held together with nothing far off from what any crafty person would have lying around their lair (wood glue and a few very sturdy nails or screws).
25. Stacked Storage Trunks
Living room organization finds a chic ally in trunks. The vintage, low-slung storage spaces add the option of horizontal stacking to the vertical elements of a room, as well as the nice interplay of hard surfaces with soft.
They are a good place to stow blankets and books. But what sort of living room are we talking about?
Would the contents of that living room trump the warning signals that come with living room organization?
26. Slim-fit Sideboard
The Slim-fit Sideboard is a living room storage solution that cleverly fuses form and function. Its sleek, compact exterior allows it to fit neatly among modern decor, but you might need to pay attention to space limitations, as this piece delivers a knockout punch with more than enough places to stash your things.
In one room, a sideboard can look good, stand out, serve a purpose, and keep your room organized without the use of any drawers.
27. Media Stand with Drawers
The 27. Media Stand with Drawers offers a stylish storage solution for living rooms, blending functionality with aesthetics.
This item offers abundant storage for electronics and other necessities while also serving to beautify the room. Its modern aesthetic meshes well with contemporary interior design, allowing for a perfect equilibrate between form and function.
Whether you call it a media console, an entertainment center, or a TV stand, this piece is essential for any room where you keep your screen and surrounding audio components.
28. Window-seat Storage Bench
In the living room, a storage bench with a window seat combines style and function. It may well be the coziest nook in the house—an offering of sorts from the room to the beholder, who can sit, perch, or lean against this recessed space to enjoy an unobstructed view of the immediate scenery or, with a bit of imagination, anywhere beyond that.
The bench, which has been finely crafted and has more than a handful of beautiful artful details, serves a dual purpose. It is both a window seat and a storage unit.