With more people working from home over the past several years due to the pandemic, creating spaces free of clutter and disorganization and niche areas for special interests or hobbies became even more critical. 

Specialty storage rooms, designed to meet specific storage needs and customized to fit any space and purpose, saw an increase in popularity as designers and homeowners looked for ways to create highly personalized, custom areas. Whether a room to store a homeowner’s extensive wine collection, sports equipment, or even a movie theater, these specialty storage areas provide a practical and efficient solution and functional space.

Over the years, we’ve noticed an increase in specialty projects entered into the Top Shelf Design Awards. With that in mind, we looked at how several of our industry’s top designers chose to design these specialty rooms.

Entertainment zones
Entertaining at home has become a priority for many families. With major Hollywood movies available for streaming, there’s no wonder about the growing interest in building home theaters.

Stephen Crosmer, Danzo Group, converted a garage into a movie theater accompanied by a custom ping pong table, a vaulted ceiling with custom beams, and a candy bar. The candy bar has a glass countertop like at an actual movie theater and brass mirrors behind the candy dispensers. The ping pong table, crafted from solid red oak, features a brass net and feet.  Beams made on-site help make this movie theater feel elegant. 

Nicole Cohen, Closet Works (acquired by The Container Store) worked with homeowners to utilize their basements and create a multipurpose recreation room for fun family activities. Separate areas were carved out for a home theater, exercise room, and game area, with the largest of those spaces providing places for playing traditional board games, video games, billiards, and ping pong. Because so many game options were provided, storage for a vast array of equipment became necessary. 

Fitness rooms
Garages are often used to store exercise equipment and home gyms because of their flexibility. Aaron Cash, co-founder and president of Franchising Systems for Garage Living, noted that the garage can be a multipurpose area with many different functions. 

“We’ve seen people put in ping pong tables, couches to hang out on, and even fitness equipment for a home gym that perhaps doesn’t fit within the home.”

JT Morin, California Closets Tennessee, worked with a homeowner who had an upstairs gym and wanted to convert the “weird space” next to it into a locker room and trophy showcase. Morin said he wanted to create something “cool and unique, but functional.” Taking inspiration from pop culture, specifically, Kim Kardashian’s 2021 Met Gala look, he used Chroma acrylic material and lit all sides around the trophy. “In person, the light bends around the trophy and highlights its shape in such a unique way,” he added.

Multipurpose and flex spaces
Laundry rooms are not just for the washer and dryer. Many designers are developing spaces that offer the homeowner far more options. 

Kathleen Jacobson, The Couture Closet, created a space that was not only productive but also attractive and would serve as a multipurpose room (Image E). It needed to house the washer, dryer, pet food, and ironing board and have plenty of countertop workspace to make floral arrangements and wrap gifts. Her clients also wanted the laundry room to be an extension of the kitchen.     

Another example is a flex space created by Wendy Scott, Boutique Closets & Cabinetry. The project houses the family’s laundry room, a locker space, a broom closet and a feeding center, plus space built into the cabinetry for the family’s pet Cliffy. Located in a high-traffic space, this multipurpose area had to have function and style, Scott said. 

Craft rooms are also becoming flex spaces. Julie Stockard, Artisan Custom Closets, created a functional space for a client who wanted a room for her kids to do art projects and school work. But the space was not just for the kids; the bright, functional and organized space also provided Stockard’s client a space where she too could do all of the arts and crafts she loves. 

Wine spaces are not only becoming a center focus but are also popping up in flex spaces. Patty Miller, Boutique Closets & Cabinetry, built a luxury wine storage/bar area in a finished basement entertainment/recreation area. The most challenging part of this project, she said, was to meet the specs required for the three large wine caves and still have the proper ventilation. Those wine caves were worth tens of thousands of dollars she said, “so we needed to treat them with the proper care. Storage was a must, so we added upper cabinets with a facia to the ceiling to store additional alcohol and serving pieces. A functional serving area was also needed and added to the right of the wine caves.”