When Vancouver couple Paul and Jenneh Kearns wanted to renovate their house to accommodate a young and growing family, designer Stephanie Brown jumped into action to plan a top-to-bottom do-over. Their 1990s craftsman-style house was outdated and needed a more open floor plan, and the family wanted bright decor to evoke a sense of contentment. Throughout the course of the renovation, Stephanie and her team took down walls, removed a bedroom to add more space elsewhere, changed a laundry room into a powder room and brought in bright colors to keep the house looking cheerful.

The entryway of the house couldn’t accommodate a mudroom, so Stephanie installed clean cabinetry to stow jackets, keys and other important bits. To break up the wall of closed cabinets, she left an open space in the middle, which hides an electrical outlet which makes a perfect place to charge a phone. That open cube is also magnetic, so the family can leave each other little notes and reminders.

Having a small console table by the front door can tidy up your entryway. One with a small drawer like this one makes a great place to store keys and other small necessities so you'll always know where to find them.

Clever storage solutions are hidden in plain sight all over the house, like this small coat closet by the back entrance of the home. “That tall cabinet hides coat hooks and shoe storage because the clients use their back door a lot,” Stephanie says. “We knew there would be some uncontained clutter back there.”