Storage Design for Townhouses: Balancing Practicality and Layout in Compact Homes

Storage Design for Townhouses: Balancing Practicality and Layout in Compact Homes

In medium-density housing and townhouse (Townhouse) developments across Adelaide, design teams typically concentrate on setbacks, private open space, building height and solar access. Internal storage, however, is often left until late in the design process, which can lead to repeated floor plan revisions, or to buyers finding after handover that there is nowhere to put things.

It is worth stating that the internal storage suggestions in this article are design and product-quality practices based on experience. They should not be read as mandatory requirements of the Planning and Design Code. Specific requirements depend on the relevant Zone and the current Code. The storage-related provision in the Code’s Design in Urban Areas module that can be clearly identified is waste storage, which is addressed separately below. Treating storage as a baseline consideration at the concept stage generally helps reduce late-stage redesign and improves the practicality of the finished product.

What Makes Storage Genuinely Usable

Confusion over what counts as “dedicated storage” is a common cause of poor storage planning in the early design stage. The following considerations are common in design practice:

• Bedroom robes are not the same as household storage: Built-in robes primarily serve personal clothing and are generally not suitable for the household’s shared items such as cleaning equipment, luggage and general household goods. A separate, dedicated household storage space should be planned.

• Usable clear volume: What matters is the volume that can actually be used. Ceiling voids heavily occupied by mechanical and services runs, or narrow riser gaps that are difficult to access, are generally not suitable as storage.

• Balance between internal and external storage: Items needed frequently are best kept inside the thermal envelope and close to everyday circulation, while less frequently used items can be combined with the garage or an external ancillary space.

Layout Strategies for Integrating Storage into Compact Floor Plans

In townhouses with limited frontage and a compact footprint, carving up internal living areas can undermine the openness of the living and kitchen zones. Careful spatial planning can improve storage capacity while preserving comfort:

1. Make the Most of Space Under the Stair

In multi-storey townhouses, the volume beneath the stair is often under-utilised. Simply boxing it in with a closed panel wastes space. A bespoke integrated sliding cabinet, full-height storage doors or a multi-tier shelving system can absorb a meaningful share of internal storage needs without affecting the main living areas or circulation.

2. Integrate Circulation Zones and Non-Structural Walls

Combining non-structural walls along corridors or passages with a full-height linen cupboard allows storage to be built into the circulation edge, using a depth that suits the space. This approach rationalises the internal layout and circulation, and also makes it easier to show the storage volume clearly on the drawings.

3. Position Garage Storage Sensibly

For storage placed outside the main dwelling, items stacked in the garage’s normal circulation area can interfere with vehicle parking and the clear dimensions needed to enter and exit. A more workable approach is to reserve a dedicated storage bay at the rear of the garage, or use overhead storage that maintains safe headroom, to avoid conflict with the car space dimensions.

Storage-Related Requirements in the Code: Waste Storage

Unlike internal storage, the Planning and Design Code’s Design in Urban Areas module contains a clear provision for waste storage (Waste Storage, PO 24.1 and the corresponding DTS/DPF 24.1). In essence, a dwelling should provide a waste bin storage area behind the building line, separate from designated car parking and private open space, with a continuous, unobstructed path of travel to the street, and with bins located so that they do not detract from the streetscape. The specific area and path width should be confirmed against the current version of the Code.

In townhouse design, this area often competes with storage for space. It is advisable to plan the two together at the early design stage, so that later changes to the bin storage location, path or screening do not force changes to the floor plan.

Drawing Presentation and Submission Preparation

To keep the lodgement and review process on PlanSA and with councils running smoothly, drawings should be prepared with appropriate rigour:

• Prepare a Storage Schedule: As a recommended design practice, include a storage schedule with the floor plans listing, for each dwelling type, the location of internal and external storage, design dimensions and calculated volumes, so that the design team, sales team and buyers can cross-check them.

• Coordinate Accessible Circulation and Clear Widths: When positioning storage cupboard doors along main ground-floor routes, check door swings against clearance requirements so that storage does not obstruct the clear width of passages and doorways.

• Coordinate Services Early: Check at the outset whether wet-area pipework from upper levels runs across the top of storage cupboards, so that boxing-in for pipes does not later reduce the usable clear volume.

Conclusion

Storage planning is not a late-stage fix at the construction-drawing phase; it directly affects the quality of the home and the buyer experience. Integrating storage volume into the floor plan from the outset, while also accounting for the Code’s waste storage requirements, helps reduce late-stage redesign and improves the practical value of the finished product. Because Zones and applicable planning provisions vary, development teams should check the current Planning and Design Code on PlanSA when progressing a specific project, and have the design reviewed by a licensed planner and building designer.

Sources

• Guide to the Planning and Design Code

• Planning and Design Code — Design in Urban Areas (Waste Storage, PO 24.1 / DTS/DPF 24.1), PlanSA

Illustrative image only — not a photograph of a Cyberate PM project. Photo by Lee Salem on Pexels.