5 Design Choices to Keep Your Home Cleaner

Stylish and strategic storage solutions to maintain a tidy home.

Published on Mar. 9, 2026

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Balancing form and function in interior design is key to keeping a home looking beautiful and clean on a day-to-day basis. Experts share five design tips, from utilizing underused spaces for storage to creating a dedicated drop zone, that can help reduce clutter and make cleaning easier.

Why it matters

Maintaining a clean and organized home can be an ongoing challenge, but strategic design choices can make a big difference. These tips from interior designers provide practical solutions to common household messes and help homeowners create a more functional living space.

The details

Interior designers Jennie Rebecca Springer and Tara Coomer offer advice on design choices that can help keep homes cleaner. Some tips include: using spare rooms for dedicated storage or activity spaces instead of catchalls, incorporating built-in storage like drawers and cubbies in underutilized areas, creating an accessible drop zone near the main entrance, choosing furniture with hidden storage like ottomans, and maximizing the organizational potential of bookshelves.

  • The article was published on March 9, 2026.

The players

Jennie Rebecca Springer

The owner of Jennie Rebecca Design, a studio based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tara Coomer

An interior designer based in Kentucky and the owner of Coomer & Co.

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What they’re saying

“A dedicated drop zone—or better yet, an entire room—is key to keeping a home running smoothly.”

— Jennie Rebecca Springer, Interior Designer (southernliving.com)

“Prioritize accessible storage, because if it's hard to reach, no one in the house will use it.”

— Jennie Rebecca Springer, Interior Designer (southernliving.com)

“Bookshelves, such as custom-built-ins, are useful for way more than just displaying decor.”

— Tara Coomer, Interior Designer (southernliving.com)

The takeaway

By incorporating strategic storage solutions and maximizing the functionality of furniture and decor, homeowners can create a more organized and visually appealing living space that is easier to maintain on a daily basis.