I think you need to follow the basic storage principles: keep it close to the point of use even if it's not the 'traditional' way of storing things, make it easy to pull things out, put them away and find things within the storage space you have. It's nice that you have the opportunity to think about things like that from scratch, it's so easy to just dump things in random places when you first move in and then hard to see past those original homes for those things. If you have a baby, budget a lot of space for those years between 2 and 5 when they have a stack of toys!
Our storage solutions are a bit unconventional as we have not much storage: one fitted wardrobe, 3 understairs cupboards with very awkward angles, 2 of which are small and one of which is really difficult to access as it's long and narrow, and a small boiler cupboard. That is it for built-in storage for 4 people. We also have a lot of bookcases, in my boys' rooms they are also used for storing other things like toys in boxes. I'm finding that wall shelves are a good solution for uncluttered storage, that plus lots of hooks on the backs of doors etc. I also keep some stuff behind the sofa in our lounge room, stuff like lego, duplo, sports equipment. It's all in boxes and bags so is easy to pull out and put away again. Have a look online at some storage ideas, there are a million webpages on that sort of thing, not just products but ideas and hand-made solutions if you fancy making something yourself. For example,my dh is forever bringing home reusable jute bags, so I cut out bits of fabric in the shape of letters and glue them on to make bags for 'summer hats' or 'gloves, hats and scarves' to hang in the hallway. You don't necessarily have to buy ready-made storage, though if it's something that makes your life easier then you should!
