Five gallon buckets could be stored up there as well, but it is not recommended to store heavy things in them. This may be a good place to store tissue, paper towels, or toilet paper. If you buy your laundry detergent in big buckets, these make terrific storage containers for such items. One woman who struggled with a tiny dining area solved two problems with one solution. She put colorful cushions on top, and then used her own dining room table.
Benches generally seat more people than traditional chairs.
Now her entire family can fit in her small dining area, and she has extra storage space as well. A little creativity and elbow grease can go a long way toward providing more storage space in your home. We took apart our bed frame and used buckets, about 12-16 to hold up our bed. It was a little higher than before, but it looked fine. She stacked those and used that under the bed.