Stair drawer a creative solution

Judging from the kind of letters I'm getting, this must be National Storage Month. Every spring, it seems, homeowners' thoughts turn to ways of finding more space for their ever-increasing piles of possessions.

The never-ending search for storage isn't in keeping with the spirit of spring cleaning, however. This yearly ritual involves throwing away -- or, these days, recycling -- all sorts of unneeded stuff.

My general advice to the seasonal crop of letter-writers, therefore, is to consider carefully whether the remnants of past shopping sprees will ever be used. And are all those holiday clothing gifts that elicited an (unspoken) ho-hum actually going to be worn one day?

Assessing which of your possessions you really need may turn out to be the easiest of all design solutions. You might not need extra storage space after all.

Q: My two-story home lacks storage space on the second floor for cleaning equipment. Can you suggest how I might arrange a closet to stow spray cleaners, sponges and rolls of paper towels? Also, I'd rather not have to look at these items every time I open the closet door.

A: My advice above doesn't apply in your case. Cleaning materials aren't optional accoutrements in the home.

Finding storage space for them other than in a closet shouldn't be too great a challenge. The items you mention could be easily stored in a pullout drawer, for example. And with some uncomplicated carpentry work, you could install the drawer in the bottom of a closet, if you like; it certainly wouldn't be obtrusive.

Or you could take a more creative approach, as illustrated in the accompanying photo from Wendy Jordan's "Making Room: Finding Space in Unexpected Places" (Taunton Press).

This practical and inspirational book offers structural tips on building a drawer into the riser of a staircase. A look at the photo alone reveals that full-extension, heavy-duty glides allow the contents of the drawer to be seen when it's pulled out. And with the drawer front painted the same color as the rest of the risers, this clever storage compartment will be all but invisible when closed.

Jordan's book is about retrofitting homes to add storage space. It's much easier to include camouflaged compartments in an interior as part of the construction planning process. But not all of us can anticipate every detail, can we?

Rita St. Clair is a syndicated columnist with Tribune Media Services Inc. E-mail general interior design questions to her at rsca@ritastclair.com.