Storage furniture: 5 beautifully crafted pieces for your home

Bored by storage? Be inspired by these great pieces of design that also just so happen to be brilliantly functional furnishings too.

By Hugh Metcalf | 28 November 2019

This design-forward furniture not only looks the part in a carefully considered home, it offers useful storage too.

Image: Kreis Design

Thinking about storage isn’t always the most exciting part of planning your home, but it is one of the most necessary. However, if you look beyond the basic level of storage furniture that’s just designed to hide away your belongings, you’ll discover a world of beautiful, masterfully crafted furniture that incorporates a functional storage element.

Take a look at some of the Grand Designs magazine team’s favourite pieces right now below.

Brodgar chair, The New Craftsmen

Image: The New Craftsmen

Inspired by a trip learning about the traditional crafts of Orkney, designer-furniture maker Gareth Neal teamed up with local craftsmen Kevin Gauld to create the Brodgar range, using woven straw as a key material.

The storage drawer, unobtrusively set below the seat, sets the chair as the centrepiece of a moment of quiet enjoyed in your home – the perfect size for keeping your latest read or newspaper, and a spare set of glasses if you’re always misplacing yours.

This design-forward furniture not only looks the part in a carefully considered home, it offers useful storage too.

kreis design pegboard screen divider - granddesigns

Image: Kreis Design

Take a look at some of the Grand Designs magazine team’s favourite pieces right now below.

Brodgar chair, The New Craftsmen

gareth neal brodgar chair for the new craftsmen - granddesigns

Image: The New Craftsmen

Hopper sideboard, James Burleigh

With 360 degrees of storage through open shelving and base cabinetry, the Hopper Sideboard can also function as a room divider, with the peekaboo cutouts helping to zone a space and create a broken-plan scheme. The fronts are made from Formica laminate, which is enjoying a retro revival, while the edges can be finished in oak, ply, maple, ash or walnut.

Pivot coat stand, Joined + Jointed

Tristan hibberd pivot coat stand for joined + jointed - granddesigns

Image: Joined + Jointed

Designer Tristan Hibberd was talented spotted straight from college for a collaboration with Joined + Jointed. The result – the Pivot coat stand, combining storage and seating in a design that playfully invites you to throw your jacket over when you come home after a long day.

Pegboard screen, Kreis Design

Kreis design pegboard panel screen - granddesigns

Image: Kreis Design

Part divider screen, part versatile wall storage, these pegboard designs from Kreis add a fun touch to your interiors. Made from birch-ply, they’re available in both single panels and this folding screen design.

Valley cabinet, Very Good & Proper

Valley Cabinet, Very good & Proper- granddesigns

Image: Very Good & Proper

Sometimes true beauty is in simplicity, and this design by Daniel Schofield for Very Good & Proper strips back the features of this cabinet to let the materials take centre stage. The raised profile around the top of the cabinet adds a quietly distinct design element, but also ensures doors function well and are easy to open.