I know the New Year is about organizing and purging for many people and I really wish I had some amazing organizing tips for you today, but the truth is that I'm not a great organizer! I keep hoping that I'll wake up one morning and magically know how to clean and organize all.the.things 😏 but the fact is that is probably never going to happen. Instead, I thought I'd share some clever furniture storage ideas with you today.

Painting and restoring furniture has long been a passion of mine.

But I'm not just about a pretty outside...it needs to be functional inside!

So with that in mind, here are several of my favorite ways to create functional and beautiful storage using furniture. I hope you're inspired!

No. 1: Kitchen Cabinet Coffee Bar

Our kitchen had this freestanding hutch top and base in dark stained oak. It didn't really work with the kitchen, but I was loath to give up the storage space.

So to make it blend in and fit the room, I repurposed it as a farmhouse-style coffee bar. The top is filled with my Rae Dunn coffee mugs and my blue and white transferware. The bottom houses our coffee maker. The drawer is a "junk" drawer with pens, scissors, envelopes and such. And I sewed a simple drop cloth skirt to hide the open area underneath, which is where we store water bottles, our Vitamix blender and paper bags.

You can read all about this oak cabinet eyesore transformation here.

You may have a set of cabinets that you could turn into a coffee bar. Whether it's freestanding or not, how about painting it a different color from the rest of your cabinets to make it stand out?

No. 2: Sun-damaged Dresser to Storage Workhorse

This little dresser was in direct sunlight in our last home, and as you can see, the sun destroyed the finish. I loved the lines and the narrow width of this dresser and knew it could be used practically anywhere in our home. A fresh paint job and quirky painted words gave it a completely new purpose!

We used this dresser in our modern farmhouse laundry room in Tennessee, where I stored summer and winter accessories in the drawers. Here in Texas, it serves as an entry table, and provides storage for various items that aren't really used on a regular basis, but need to be kept handy.

In the future, who knows? It could be a bedside table or hold giftwrap supplies. When a piece is neutral, it can be used anywhere in the home!

No. 3: Blanket Chest File System

This blanket chest makeover was kind of a no-brainer. We've had this trunk forever (like, bought in 1992 shortly after we married!). It needed an update, and we needed a filing cabinet so it was like a match made in heaven! You can go here to find out more about this clever makeover and to find out how to convert a trunk or blanket chest to a color-coded filing system!

A chest is so much prettier than a metal filing cabinet, it can work in nearly every room, and our filing space has more than doubled! I'd say that's a win.

No. 4: Add Numbered Baskets to a Storage Tower

This wood storage tower is another piece I've had for years. It's cute but lacked purpose.

When we redid our laundry room (for less than $100!), this piece was one of my projects. I added baskets to the shelves because it's so much easier to corral items in a basket than to leave them loose. I personalized the baskets with painted numbers.

Not only is it great looking storage, and suits the farmhouse-style I love, but it's easy to find items that would otherwise get lost on a shelf or in a drawer! You can find the tutorial here.

No. 5: Antique Hutch Storage for Craft Supplies

No. 6: Craft Cabinet Upcycle

It should be pretty obvious by now that I don't follow the rules when it comes to decorating! I use antique hutches for clothes and craft supplies, dressers in my laundry room, and now a craft cabinet to store an ironstone collection!

I think a home is more charming when a few pieces of furniture are used in unexpected ways!

This craft cabinet was painted in a fun color and used for my growing collection of small ironstone pieces. It's been like this for a few years, which means it's nearly time for another update! I'm planning to paint it yet again and use it in my kitchen here in Texas...be watching for that makeover sometime soon!

No. 7: Antique Hutch to Coffee Bar

Have a great weekend!

bringing beauty to the ordinary,