The Vehicle will require me to be very clever and creative about storage. It's a small space, and even paring down my belongings to what I most love and need, I'll still need a lot of ingenuity to keep my home uncluttered. I'm thinking of suspended baskets, built-in compartments, storage bins under seating, and all sorts of other options. Baskets on pulleys is an interesting idea for using the upper space.
Chronic muscle and joint pain makes it hard for me to bend, so much of the space below the 24" line is inaccessible to me. One incredibly useful feature of building a house on a trailer is that what's too low to reach when I'm inside, is at a perfect height from the outside. A 24 inch high bookcase built in from the exterior can be easily reached when I'm standing on the ground outside, and can provide bench seating on the inside. In my kitchen, those frustrating corner spaces will become external access pantries to store long term food supplies. I now have four such units built into the structure, with stylish baggage compartment doors.
Chronic muscle and joint pain makes it hard for me to bend, so much of the space below the 24" line is inaccessible to me. One incredibly useful feature of building a house on a trailer is that what's too low to reach when I'm inside, is at a perfect height from the outside. A 24 inch high bookcase built in from the exterior can be easily reached when I'm standing on the ground outside, and can provide bench seating on the inside. In my kitchen, those frustrating corner spaces will become external access pantries to store long term food supplies. I now have four such units built into the structure, with stylish baggage compartment doors.
I love this kind of storage, with lots of small wooden compartments. I also love Chinese herbal medicine chests, Japanese tansu chests, and old pharmacy drawers.
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I prefer open shelves, one item deep, to cupboards that require rummaging around to find things, but in a moving vehicle they're not an option. But glass fronted drawers and cabinets like this would let me see the contents of containers without letting them fall out on the curves.
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I bought two custom made tansu step chests from Green Tea Designs, made of unfinished elm wood, which should satisfy my craving for compartments. They will also provide the steps up to my bedroom.
Books out gas fumes from inks and glues, and gather dust. Keeping them behind glass will protect my air quality. I also plan to use an airtight, watertight bookcase accessible from the outside, to store the books I don't use every day.
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I thought this was an ingenious way to double the usefulness of shelves. Attaching jar lids to the bottom of shelves and cupboards allows for small, transparent containers to store small objects.
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Metal Cabinets
I chose Bertolini stainless steel cabinets for the high up storage in the kitchen and office areas. I wanted light weight for up high, because trailer homes need to keep the bulk of their weight down low, and glass fronts for at least some of the cabinets. These are lighter than wood and also many wood cabinets use veneers, thin layers of wood glued onto plywood or particleboard structure, with toxic adhesives that give of formaldehyde. Solid wood would be both heavy and bulky.
I chose Bertolini stainless steel cabinets for the high up storage in the kitchen and office areas. I wanted light weight for up high, because trailer homes need to keep the bulk of their weight down low, and glass fronts for at least some of the cabinets. These are lighter than wood and also many wood cabinets use veneers, thin layers of wood glued onto plywood or particleboard structure, with toxic adhesives that give of formaldehyde. Solid wood would be both heavy and bulky.
