Best Cube Storage
Buy the best best cube storage selected and recommended by interior designers. By Caroline Patterson.
Cube storage is an excellent choice for children’s picture books, craft items, display items or other possessions that might not do well on wider shelving. The cubes can be made from various materials, but the most common are press wood or metal wire. Rattan or cloth-covered drawers can help organize items that might become disarrayed or that would look messy when simply placed on shelves. Cube storage might be a unit, but more often it is modular, making it easy to accommodate different kinds of spaces. A cube unit might be placed against a wall, be free-standing, or even have wheels.
Best Cube Storage
Buying Guide
Caroline Patterson
Interior Design Expert
Caroline is a young, New York-based interior designer and home decor writer, obsessed with textiles and designer furniture. Backed with rigorous training from a prestigious design school, as well as a profound understanding of material quality and fabric care, she offers spot-on advice on how to furnish your place with reliable, functional, and aesthetically pleasing pieces.
Functional, spacious and delightfully symmetrical, cube storage is a practical and rather aesthetically pleasing way of keeping your room tidy while showcasing selected objects.
However, choosing some cube storage that doesn't really match your needs or the rest of the room would take you back to square one. Let's avoid that!
Recently grown in popularity thanks to its versatile design, cube storage comes in many different types. To find the right one for you, consider what you're going to store in it and in what room.
Open cubes
They fit particularly well in living rooms or studies as they allow you to showcase all the stored items, combining functionality and conscious design choices;
They're ideal to store objects that you browse before grabbing one, such as records or books;
Drawers
Keeping your items away from your and your guests' eyes, they guarantee a less cluttered feel;
They're handy for storing items with irregular shapes that, unlike books or DVDs, wouldn't look tidy when piled up;
Plastic or basket-style drawers are a safe choice for storing toys in your kids' bedroom: they prevent the main surface from getting damaged when the toys are chucked back without too much care;
They'll protect your items from moisture in the bathroom;
Cupboards
Just like drawers, they keep your objects hidden and tidy;
Conveying a more permanent feel, they'll make the entire cabinet look just like other everyday pieces of furniture;
Alternation of open cubes and drawers or cupboards
Ensuring a unique look and a balanced result, this type of cube storage gives you the best of both worlds;
Thanks to its versatility, it can work well in different rooms, including bedrooms, where you're more likely to have a mixture of items that you'd like to showcase and others that you'd rather store behind a cupboard or inside a drawer;
In this case, drawers are particularly flexible: you can rearrange them as often as you wish, adding them to previously empty cubes, and vice versa;
It depends on two factors:
What are you going to store? Think of the amount and shape of these items. Don't forget to measure their depth, or else objects like records might stick out!
Where will you place it? Measure that specific space and make the most of your room's layout: thin, tall units are best suited for smaller rooms with higher ceilings, whereas in larger areas you can experiment with horizontal designs and fewer rows.
Some materials work better with certain décors, but there are other practical things to consider:
Traditional wood is usually your best choice: it's versatile, durable, and comes in lots of finishes that will easily complement your room's palette;
When storing particularly heavy items, metal could be a better option;
Plastic can look a bit cheap, but it's practical and easy to clean, which works well in bathrooms;
Glass is a conscious decorative choice that allows you to see all the stored items immediately, while mirrored surfaces can make your room seem bigger; however, they can both constitute a hazard for little kids.
Before choosing your cube storage, identify the existing palette and décor style of your room:
Exposed wood can fit rustic, French-country, traditional and, when darker, mid-Century modern décors;
Black, monochrome (especially when matching the accent color of the room's palette!), glass or mirrored elements work excellently in modern rooms;
For a minimalist effect, choose wooden or light monochrome storage that alternates open cubes and drawers or cabinets, so as to avoid clutter while showcasing selected items;
Stick to exposed wood, white or a natural palette for a Scandinavian feel;
Open iron designs or an alternation of wood and metal are perfect for industrial décors;
White, pastel and discolored wood with basket drawers will complement any shabby chic room;
Open designs and irregular shapes will allow you to showcase your quirkiest items and convey bohemian vibes.
Choose among open cubes, drawers, cupboards or a mixture of two
Consider the number, size and shape of the items that you're planning on storing, and measure your cupboard's designating space
Wood is the best material, but metal, glass and mirrors can work better with certain décors.