You may imagine that there’s less need for storage in a garden than a house, but since many of us treat our outside space as an outdoor room, it often requires as much storage as those inside. Cushions, blankets, rugs, tools and toys are just some of the items that need to be put away outside. These clever spaces show how it can be done in style. 1. Take a table outdoors. Whether you invest in a new potting table, pick up a secondhand one or give an old piece a new lease on life outdoors, a table with shelves and drawers can prove indispensable in a garden. Use it for storage and as somewhere to pot plants, so it’s part display space and part functional furniture. New Eco Landscapes 2. Build in a bench … Built-in bench seating makes good use of available space in a garden. New Eco Landscapes … and add storage within. When fitted with lift-up lids and storage, a bench becomes doubly dynamic. Spiral Cellars 3. Dig a cellar. It may be out of reach for most of us, but a wine cellar submerged below the patio is deliciously James Bond all the same. Suddenly, popping out for a bottle of wine takes on a whole new meaning. The Garden Builders 4. Go custom. Designed like a piece of furniture that you might find inside your house, this wooden storage unit, built into the garden wall, offers open shelves for logs. Closed cupboards and drawers house items like dishes and barbecue tools. mark rusconi architects 5. Stand tall. Check out this smart and simple solution for storing garden tools. Metal pipes are submerged into concrete, now hidden by pebbles, to hold rakes, forks and brooms neatly upright. Organize Don't Agonize 6. Label some buckets. Toys for the garden need storage space too, and this simple shelf unit with clearly labeled buckets is a tidy solution. The buckets can be grabbed at playtime and toys easily tidied back into them at the end of the day.

If the containers are likely to collect splashes of rain, it may be worth drilling holes in the bottoms to ensure that they don’t fill with water. Backyard Buildings 7. Plan the perfect shed. A shed is often the key piece of storage in a garden, holding everything from tools to large items, such as a lawn mower or garden furniture. No wonder so many sheds are overburdened and untidy. But a glimpse into this fine example shows how it’s done. There’s even room for a few vintage signs and an artfully upcycled chest of drawers. Hats off!

Even in a more compact shed, you can steal some of the tricks employed here. Mounting items on walls and doors buys you lots of space, and that pretty-looking storage is well worth the effort. The Honest Scot 8. Conceal trash bins. This cedar-clad storage unit slots in against the street wall of this front garden and conceals bulky garbage bins. It’s as practical as it is good-looking.

Your turn: We want to see your clever storage for your garden furniture, tools and more. Upload a photo in the Comments and tell us about it!

More: How to Add a Backyard Shed for Storage or Living