More Than Just a Nap Spot 💤

I’m kind of obsessed with historic homes. I think they’re magical. Knowing that there is just so much history and life wrapped up in a property just makes me happy! I grew up in a home built in the 1920s and always enjoyed its charm- and quirks. Recently I had the absolute pleasure to work with the sweetest family in Clintonville, Ohio. Their older home was totally gorgeous and filled with surprises, like a built-in laundry shoot (love those) and a sleeping porch! The space was used as just a storage room and I knew it was packed with potential. When I realized I was really going to organize a sleeping porch, I pinched myself.

First off, what’s a sleeping porch?

Honestly… I hadn’t heard of one of these until this exact client! From what I understand, sleeping porches were somewhat common in older homes before the widespread use of air conditioning. The uninsulated room would have been off of a bedroom and used for sleeping at night during the warmer months. They typically have many windows to create airflow, which can make it somewhat tricky to organize a sleeping porch due to limited available vertical space (organizers (me?) are kind of obsessed with vertical space).

Many sleeping porches today are converted into offices, insulated to become an extension of a bedroom, torn down (HOW), and more. If you have a sleeping porch and are wondering what the best use of the space is, consider your own spatial needs.

Reimagine the porch’s purpose

So basically, a sleeping porch doesn’t need to stay that way. There are lots of ways to organize a sleeping porch! What could the space be used for? In order to figure this out for yourself, start with its location. Is it off of your personal bedroom, a guest bed, your child’s room? That can dictate what you decide to zone the porch as. For example, if your sleeping porch is off of your child’s bedroom it wouldn’t be advantageous to create a home office out of the space. Your child would 100% reck anything in there, and you wouldn’t be able to get anything done when they are asleep. Dis-as-ter. Once you know what purpose your sleeping porch shouldn’t have, thanks to its location, consider a storage solution you feel like your home is lacking.

How I decided to repurpose my client’s sleeping porch

One of my client’s greatest priorities was finding a decent, functional space to store toys that were currently being played with, but out of the main playroom rotation. She knew these items needed a storage solution because the “backup” toys and books kept ending up in piles in their primary bedroom. Not ideal.

When I was doing the initial home walkthrough I noticed that their bedroom level only had one closet, which needed to be designated for towels and linens. So, there really wasn’t an easy storage solution for these backup toys, books, and games. However, when I was led through the guest bedroom and into this stunning BONUS room, my mind knew- this was the key to their storage woes. Even though the room was just for overflow storage, including large exercise equipment, the space was there. And since it was off of a guest bedroom I knew the opportunities for it’s storage solutions were endless.

Do you have a category of items in your home that you wish you had better storage for? If so, consider creating a designated home for those items in your sleeping porch. Imagination, creativity, and design is key here. So if it seems impossible, don’t shut your ideas down just yet. Do you wish you had a cozy library/reading nook? Maybe a yoga room? Bonus pantry?! The sleeping porch may just be your answer.

Declutter your sleeping porch in order to fully organize it

So you’re ready to transform your sleeping porch into a space your special bonus storage room? Say less. First you need to declutter. If your sleeping porch has a lot of items in it already, start clearing them out and sorting them based on how you use them. For example, pull out and group all the books together, then all the exercise accessories, etc.. Once you have your different categories, decide which items stay and which go from each. Then, if those items are in the plan to stay in the sleeping porch, you must decide where else those items should go. Don’t get too hung up on this to start. Simply create an “elsewhere” bin and put those items in there. You can decide where they should go later (just don’t forget!).

If you have large items in this space that need to go, like we had two large pieces of exercise equipment to contend with, you have a few options. Call Furniture Bank of Central Ohio and schedule a pickup. They may request that some items get broken down before they take them away, so be sure to ask about that during your call. Second, reach out to friends. Are any of them in the market for what you have? Then, schedule a time for them to come over and help you move those items out of your home and into there. Third, think about if there’s a better spot for large items in your home (basement, garage?). If so, take action and make a plan to get those items moved soon.

The quicker you can clear out your sleeping porch to make room for it’s new purpose, the better! Building momentum in challenging projects like this is going to be your best friend. It will make the mountain feel a little easier to climb.

Get in the zoneee

So your space is clear and you’re wondering how to actually organize a sleeping porch. Before you reintroduce your items back into the space, consider zoning it out (if the space and storage solution permits). Zoning means keeping like things to one general area, and other like things to another area. As a quick example, in the kitchen I like to create a cooking zone as well as a serving zone. In the cooking zone (closer to the stove) I fill the cabinets with mixing bowls, small appliances, a scale, etc.. Whereas in the serving zone (dining table adjacent~ish) you’ll find all the plates, bowls, silverware, big serving plates, etc.. This keeps things functional and can make a tidy space a MEGA organized one.

Sleeping porches are relatively small, but zoning is never a bad move. In my client’s historic home we simply added a wall of flexible toy/books/game storage under the long windowed wall. The stuffies ended up in large, soft bins in the corners of the room, and larger play things will go on the house wall. Keep it simple and manageable!

How to choose the right storage solution

I get way too excited when dreaming up the perfect storage for my clients’ needs. In this sleeping porch we were limited on vertical wall space, and the floor was slanted away from the home. Since this play space was to be primarily occupied by a toddler, it felt safest to keep the bulk of storage on the far window wall.

Now, I don’t always recommend cubes as a one-size-fits-all. But in this case I felt they would add a good amount of storage space for all the backup toys. I like, also, that they have separation to keep all the items categorized for when they were ready 3to pull them back into rotation. Large storage spaces—like tote bins or open shelves—tend to swallow up small items and make them harder to find. I also liked the cubes because they fit the available wall space perfectly.

If you are working with a room with a lot of wall space, consider adding tall shelves that take a up a lot of the width. This maximizes your storage space and will even make your room feel bigger!

Organize your sleeping porch so that it’s flexible and fun

Now that you’ve got your storage solution that you’ve probably been longing for for a very long time (just me?) it’s time to bring in the items that you want housed in here. In my client’s sleeping porch those items were just the toys, books, and games that were out of their main rotation. But what you bring in will be different and unique to your needs! Have fun with the placement of objects! (Bulky items go high or low; consider adding a row of bins on the bottom shelves to add cohesiveness; don’t clutter the space; label if you need to). Make the space feel like home by hanging pictures and decor.

Now sit back and enjoy your work. You added a bonus storage room to your home that is actually enjoyable to use! Hang out in there as much as you want- you deserve it!