hackers

before we moved into our current home, i used to share a studio in dupont with my husband.

it was tiny, but i loved living downtown and got used to making the most out of tiny spaces. when we first moved into our house, it felt enormous by comparison. but three years in to homeownership and it's definitely starting to feel a little crammed.

if you're in a similar situation where every square foot matters, here's three ikea hacks that'll save space. also? no assembly required.

we don't have enough space in our bedroom for nightstands. for a while, we were charging our phones on the window ledges, but it wasn't super practical and they weren't easily accessible. mounting two ribba picture ledges ($9.99) to the wall has been a great solution for us. they take up zero floor space, they blend in nicely with our baseboards, and they hold things we'd normally have on a nightstand. as you can see, it holds an iphone almost perfectly and you still have room for other devices (like a tablet) and glasses (me) or a retainer case (husband). 

our pantry is another area where we keep needing extra space. we have a few shelves in there already, but since we cook a lot at home, when it's fully stocked, it can be hard to see everything that's in there. 

we mounted another ribba in there, and not only is it functional, i can also see and access everything that's inside.

when you live in tight quarters, vertical storage is your friend. this stainless steel wall shelf ($25) is supposed to be for your bathroom, but it fits right in with the other metal wall shelves we have holding our plates in the kitchen. it now holds the coffee grinder and some canisters we got from target and ikea.

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the house is always a work in progress and these changes have been fun new additions.