Hanging out: why hooks are the micro-storage heroes of the home

With no floor space necessary, hooks take previously unused surfaces and transform them into simple, practical and sometimes even beautiful storage solutions.

By Arclinea, Metalco, Ak47 and

March 5, 2023 | 11:00 pm CUT

nendo’s Hat Cloud design for a hat store in Tokyo makes playful reference to the relationship between hat and umbrella by curving the base of each hat’s hook. Photo: Takumi Ota

It’s not just coats, dressing gowns and keys that fall for the effortless storage capacity and minimal presence of a well-placed hook on a wall. With hidden features that other storage options like shelving and cabinets can’t imitate, the humble hook offers a home to many other household necessities, too.

Hooks ask for little-to-no floor space, put barely any additional weight strain on a wall so can be fitted almost anywhere, and can even vertically drop objects from the ceiling. Here are five reasons why hooks are the miniature storage product of choice for objects big and small, from those you can’t leave home without, to the most cumbersome you can’t leave anywhere else.

AK47’s wide-brimmed Tac hooks (top), Mayor’s anthropomorphic helmet hook, Crazy Head (middle) and nendo’s theatrical umbrella referencing hat retail display (bottom). Photo: Takumi Ota (bottom)

Preservation: protection for coats and hats

Whether it’s a home, workplace or commercial premises, entering a warm building from the cold outside inspires the very sudden need to remove one’s clothing. Meaning a visitor’s first action is to search for a suitable hook to place their coat and hat.

Entering a warm building from the cold outside inspires the very sudden need to remove one’s clothing

Over time, however, the lack of support pointed hooks provide can stretch and damage the material. AK47’s Tac hooks offer a choice of two wider forms to better hang hats and coats on, while the Crazy Head hook from Myyour anthropomorphises the form of a hat-filled hook for a characterful entranceway. nendo’s Hat Cloud design for a Japanese milliners, meanwhile, makes reference to the theatrical relationship between hat and umbrella, by curving the base of hat hooks.

Metalco

Biplano

Commercial Biplano bicycle storage units from Metalco, (top) and ceiling-hung bicycle storage at the United Cycling Lab & Store (middle, bottom). Photos: Alastair Philip Wiper (middle, bottom)

Stability: awkward-shaped bicycle storage

Successful storage solutions for large, awkward-shaped objects can be difficult to find. How to store a bicycle, for example, without it falling on top of you, is one of the greatest mysteries of home storage.

One solution common to commercial bike parks is double-height stacking racks like Biplano from Metalco, which utilises the airspace above the lower cycles with light racks that glide down and back up easily with minimal effort. These, however, need extra space in front to load the bike, space that most home garages can’t afford. Alternatively, hooks attached to ceiling-hung pulleys like these at the United Cycling Lab & Store in Copenhagen, Denmark, are simple to install and light to operate, while successfully keeping the bike safe from accidental scratches and collisions.

Customer order boards at Masseria (top), stemware lighting feature at Wine List (middle) and Arclinea’s Winery Collection (bottom). Photos: Ben Rahn, A-Frame Studio (top), Karolína Matušková (middle)

Arclinea

Winery Collection, Vina Epicure

Practicality: clean and orderly kitchen storage

Central-hung objects aren’t exclusive to garages, of course. Bucking the trend of super minimalist kitchens, hanging pan racks are still a popular design feature for those looking to show off shiny panware in the maximalist decor of a country kitchen. The Masseria pizzeria in Toronto, Canada, for example, makes the gimmicky but also functional choice to display customer order boards on hanging utensil racks.

The practice of hanging glassware upside down reduces the opportunity for resting dust to form

Another commonly hung kitchen product is glassware. Especially in bars like Prague’s Wine List, where gleaming glassware forms part of a chandelier-like light feature. As well as making interesting design features, the practice of hanging glassware upside down also reduces the opportunity for resting dust to form inside, so even home kitchen storage options like Arclinea’s Winery Collection can include hooks for glass stems, keeping them clean and usable.

Nunc

Kier dressing table

Nunc’s Kier dressing table with hooks for accessory storage (top) and Glam Seamless’ hair extension palette display at their New York store and salon (bottom). Photo: Sergio Mannino Studio (bottom)

Presentation: display items with gravity

As workplaces have become less formal over the past 20-30 years, the tie rack is now a near-deceased remnant of the era of power dressing for business. For those serious about their appearance, however, accessories such as ties, scarves, bags and jewellery must be stored as they are seen, keeping them safe and crease-free.

The Kier dressing table from Nunc uses its framework to hold a mirror as well as three useful hooks to keep prized, oft-used jewellery safe and visible. While the Glam Seamless hair extensions store in New York, USA, hangs its product range in a display similar to the material palette of a furniture showroom, showcasing its quality and colour range in a natural state.

Nordholm

Stick

Nordholm’s slim towel warmer, Stick (top), with two hooks and adjustable temperature, and mg12’s shower-spray-safe towel warmer, Robe (bottom)

mg12

Robe

Functionality: towels hung up to dry

With their low weight and single-screw installation, hooks are a simple way to keep items exactly where they’re most needed. Rarely is this as important as a well-positioned towel hook, close enough to reach without exiting the wash space, yet far enough to avoid careless splashes or spray.

But there’s more to a towel hook than just its positioning. For the luxury of a pre-warmed towel or robe, towel warming hooks like the slim Stick from Nordholm take up minimal extra bathroom space, yet Stick has two separate hooks to heat multiple towels at once. Alternatively, the Robe towel warmer from mg12 efficiently warms and protects two robes from spray with its fog-free mirror.

Head to the Architonic Magazine for more insights on the latest products, trends and practices in architecture and design, or find inspiration in a whole world of projects from around the globe through ArchDaily’s architecture catalogue.

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