So I have this full sized pillar drill press that I got from my Grandpa.  It takes up quite a lot of (vertical) room in the shop, but I really don't want to get rid of it for sentimental reasons, even though I'm unlikely to ever drill something that requires the full range of the table. However I would like to recover some of the space back by building some sort of storage system that fits in around the base of the drill.

One idea is to turn the drill table itself into more storage.  I certainly have the room to lower the table and it would be a convenient place to store my various drill bits.  However your not really gaining a lot of storage space here, and I really don't like the idea of drilling into the top of a cabinet, even if the top layer is sacrificial.

That leaves some sort of cabinet at the base.  This could be built in, as shown above.

Or just attaching some sort of tool box to the front.

Or even repurposing some old piece of furniture.

This could be directly attached to the drill press, or separate so it can be moved out of the way in case you need more vertical space to drill.  And both the drill press and the cart could be on casters for easier moving.

Finally there is the annoying post to deal with.  If you really want to take full advantage of the space you can add these small winglets to the drawers.  Or you can add open shelves to the outside of the box and only have drawers that go back to the pillar itself.

Here are a few more shots to round out the collection.

I have a space about 24" wide, 36" tall and about 13" from the front of my table to the pillar, plus another 8-12" beside the pillar.   I don't really like my table top.  It is something I picked up at Harbor Freight on clearance and it works ok but it is both wider than I would like and not nearly deep enough.  I have not decided if I want to replace it or not, but I should plan out the size of the cart based around a theoretical replacement table rather than the one I have now.

I also have a small bench grinder that I basically never use because I don't have a place to mount it and it is too heavy to really want to pick up and clamp to a table top for small tasks.  I have always thought about making a small mount for it so it attaches to the pillar of my drill press.  I could mount it to the side or back of the storage box.  Even if I had to roll the drill press out to use it, it would be a lot more convenient to have it hard mounted somewhere.

Oh, and here are some more workbenches that I really liked.  This miter stand shows the potential for gaining a lot of storage while still having a usable saw.

And I really liked the finish on this rolling utility cart.  It is simple and inexpensive but still looks professional (enough).