Storage storage storage!

My little baby is not a baby anymore! How did that happen??  Here's what his room looked like 4 1/2 short years ago.

His room looks tiny, doesn't it?? Well, it is. I have friends whose closets are bigger than this bedroom! 

To me, kids rooms can be the hardest rooms to keep up with. Their needs change, their stuff multiplies and a crib can no longer contain their little energetic selves. 

After the baby setup and before I settled on his current bedroom setup, we had a full size bed, an antique dresser and a bookcase in his room. BORING! It was really a better set up for a guest room, which was my main reason for setting it up that way, but when we realized he hated his room, I decided to give him a room he liked and just let guests stay in a hotel. 

My little guy loves green. I mean LOVES green. The first change in his room was the wall color. Yes, it's green.

I found this table herb container and decided it would be perfect for his collection of treasures! Added some hooks and hung it on the wall. The green isn't perfect so I very sweetly asked if I could paint it blue but he adamantly refused. I think he would run away if I painted it so green it stays! 

Almost everything in his room is from craigslist. The bed is a craigslist find that was originally a dark cherry color but it was too dark and heavy for the size of the room. Tried to paint it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint but it failed me miserably so I ended up spray painting it. 10 cans of spray paint and 20 new holes in the ozone layer and his bed looks great!

My goal with every piece of furniture in his room was to get additional storage. The bed functions as his dresser and even gives us additional toy/book storage. 

The storage cubbies were also a craigslist find. Thankfully Annie Sloan worked for me on the doors, which were changed from neon green to Grecian Blue.

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The storage cubbies are fabulous! They don't take up as much space as the Expedit systems but give us just as much storage. 

My little (big) guy loves his room now so I would say my summer project is a success. 

My final idea requires some help from grandpa. Start with a simple sheet of plywood and transform into a 5 feet tall rocket shaped, magnetic board for the  abundant artwork my little guy creates! What do you think, dad? Feel like pulling out your Skill Saw?

One man's trash....is another's craft center!

Well, my resolution to blog more often fell flat on its face and is a little bruised and battered! Poor little guy. BUT, even if I haven't been blogging, I have been busy!

Last summer, my neighbor decided to get rid of a bunch of furniture and other stuff that she wasn't using. I was lucky enough to claim this little gem!

I know, it looks kind of rough but it was free and I thought I could slap some paint on it and use it in my 4 yr old's room. Once I measured, though, it was too big for his room so I just let this sit and sit in the garage.

We have been sick a lot so far this year and being cooped up at home so much has made me get antsy about a few organizing projects. The pantry, the half bath, the garage, my craft area... and several others...

I realized that by painting the dresser and using it in my dining room for craft storage it would set in motion The Great Shuffle of 2013, which would help me check off 3 areas in the home that have been driving me crazy.

Let the Shuffle begin! 

My dad built this for me last summer and I loved it in the dining room but I actually designed it to be a vanity in my half bath! So, out comes pedestal sink and in goes vanity. (Will have pictures soon!)

Arts and crafts that are in a rolling cart in the pantry AND the green box on the floor by table go in freshly painted and polyurethaned dresser!  Bins in the small drawers help divide markers, crayons, pencils, stamps and paints. The kids can find everything and, even more importantly, put it all away. 

It ALL fits! Plus, now I can walk into my pantry. AND, the dresser isn't taking up space in the garage anymore! Who knew one little dresser would be the catalyst for so many projects??

Now I just need to find hardware for the dresser and we'll be all set!

Basement Makeover

A few months ago I posted some Before pictures for a basement I was working on. Here are some reminders of what it looked like before I got called in to rescue this space.

It was dark! Did I mention it was dark? The floors were black, the ceiling was black, the paneling was dark brown and the stone walls were a nice 100 year old gray. 

The bedroom for the 12 year old son was just as colorful.

Our first course of action was to paint and paint and paint! Well, not me personally, but a great big crew of guys who looked at me like I was crazy when they saw the basement and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? Maybe you should call it a cellar and walk away..." Fortunately, I'm pretty stubborn and I had a vision of how this basement could look!

As you can see, the ceilings were painted white, the walls were painted a cheerful yellow, the floors were painted a fabulous blue and the paneling was painted a soft yellowish white. It looks like 20 lights were installed but it's just paint. 

Here are After pictures of the bedroom:

I rearranged the furniture and shifted the red storage unit and drawer unit in from the family room and installed a couple shelves to give him more storage. New bedding and artwork help brighten the room even more.

Now to the family room!

Quick reminder of the Before

Drum Roll Please!

The color palate stayed simple since there are so many different textures going on with the walls and ceiling. I flip-flopped the furniture placement so the tv area is more open and easier to access. View as you come down the stairs. I love it now!!!

The dining area is now where the tv used to be. I reupholstered the chairs with a bright cheerful print. The table in the background was made by the homeowner and his son so this sentimental piece needed to stay. It is now a great place to sit and do homework! 

The youngest member of  the family (5 year old boy with a hilarious personality) has claimed the area behind the futon as HIS play area! So keep out.

 Matching rugs unite the two areas, cream slip covers give new life to furniture, and an Ikea Expedit holds games, toys and videos. 

The whole family loves spending time in the basement now instead of avoiding it like the plague  I hear there has been a Little House on the Prairie movie marathon weekend enjoyed by all in the new and improved basement!

I would like to give a special thanks to my friend Karen Reinsch for taking the After pictures for me! Check out her photography blog HERE. 

Paint colors/products used:

Dry Fall in white on the ceiling

Sherwin Williams, Classical White on paneling

Sherwin Williams, Manitou Blue on floors

Virginia Limeworks, Washed Sand (a lime paint) on the stone walls

All Jazzed Up!

When can a leaky shower be a good thing? Well, pretty much only when the home owner doesn't like the bathroom and decides to get some outside help to make the bathroom lovely, functional and leak free! 

This bathroom was fine. It offered virtually no storage, no counter space, and the toilet was so close to the shower that there was no elbow room. But, it was fine and the home owners had no plans to renovate. As I mentioned, a leaky shower changed their plans and I had the joy of being a part of the project.

It all started with the tile. It's called Jazz Glass- St Louis Louie Linear. This tile is gorgeous! A whole shower of this tile would have been overkill and it would have lost its charm so we had the jazz tile installed as an accent and used simple white subway tile for the rest of the shower, which lets the jazz glass sparkle!

Everything after the tile selection was easy. In fact, the color of the bathroom is the same color they have in the adjacent family room. 

The home owner calls this her "guest bathroom" but this is actually where she gets ready every morning. So, this is not a bathroom that sees action every couple months, this is a bathroom that gets used every single day and may be the hardest working bathroom in the home! Now, the bathroom has plenty of storage and is lovely enough for the lady of the home. 

Put a wall in a tiny bathroom?? Sounds counterintuitive but now storage is a bragging point of this bathroom. Clear glass shower doors also increase how open the bathroom feels even though the shower is actually larger. 

A new 30" vanity with 3 drawers, an open shelf underneath, and plenty of storage behind the door also offer lots of  storage that the previous 23" vanity just couldn't compete with.

To bump this inexpensive shade up a few notches, I found fabulous trim at Brentwood Interiors that brings in the natural color of the baskets, vanity and mirror and also has subtle blue stitching that ties in the wall color. 

Function and Beauty are BFFs forever.

Here is a reminder of the Before: From dark and dated....

To bright and beautiful!

So, I guess sometimes a leaky shower CAN be a good thing!

P.S. I am starting the hunt for a decent camera so I can actually get good photos of my projects. Would really appreciate recommendations!
P.P.S. Sorry, I was having a junior high moment. I don't actually have anything else to add; It just felt right to say p.p.s.!

Organized and Fabulous

I am so excited to post After pictures of the office I recently finished!  When my client first asked for help, she told me she would shudder and close the door when she walked past the office because it was such a mess and the paint color was just plain wrong.  

You can almost tell that there is an amazing fireplace in this room with a gorgeous tile surround.  The paint color, though, was so bright that it dominated the entire space.  Instead of a file cabinet, there were 6 or 7 small file boxes and several other insufficient shelves filled the room but didn't help with the storage problems.  

This room gets so much light that with the sunlight bouncing off the walls this color was overwhelming.  My client still wanted a green color in the room and I had an idea that I thought would be great~ without detracting from the beauty of the fireplace.

The foundation of this room was organization.  Getting this closet organized and functional was incredibly important!  Thankfully with The Container Store in town, I was able to get a great closet system in place that provides plenty of storage and more than enough function.

A file cabinet now takes the place of all the small file containers that cluttered the room.  I kept 1 for the legal size documents but as you can see, there is plenty of room for it on the shelf and there is no need for it to take up floor space.  Everything is labeled and easy to find.

The fireplace in this room is gorgeous and was our color inspiration.  

I chose a much more grey version of the tiles and picked a neutral taupish grey for the lower portion of the walls.  I chose a desk with a glass top so it isn't too bulky in this small room but it does provide more than twice the amount of  surface space.

The mantle is kept simple with 1 piece of artwork, mercury glass votive holders and some personal accessories.

A cohesive color scheme keeps the room from feeling cluttered.

The fabulous cabinet from Nadeau houses cds, dvds, records and medical binders.  Who says a printer stand has to be ugly?  

A relaxing reading chair that was once covered in files and tucked in a corner now has the perfect home and I'd say the room is done!  

From Chaos and Kindergarten colors

To sleek, sophisticated and functional

To see more about the closet organization from this project, click HERE

If you've got a room that is covered in storage containers yet no organization in sight, contact me and we can transform your home into a functional beautiful space.

the nitty gritty

I absolutely LOVE decorating and organizing for clients and I really love posting the Before and After photos of projects.  What I don't usually show is the work I do that no one ever sees.  It's the work that helps the room actually function well but it's the part that is never photographed.

I'm not posting the After pictures yet because I'm not quite finished with the office yet but here are the Before and During pictures.

This is the closet before I started sorting and organizing.  I have to admit that even I feel a little bit overwhelmed the first time I see a mess.  Thankfully, my brain quickly formulates a plan and my smile is soon genuine.  :-)

Instead of spending hours and hours at my client's house sorting through all the cords, cables and wires that had taken over the office closet, I dragged it all home.  I did this so I could watch tv while I worked and also so I could ask my husband what the heck everything was!  (He's a pretty stellar guy)

After hours of holding up a cable and asking, "What's this?" I might be able to identify a power supply cable, a usb cable, an audio cable and a bunch of other stuff.  Maybe.

Everything is labeled, bagged and stored for easy access.  The closet looks great and I can't wait to show you pictures of the finished product!!

To see the completed project, click HERE

Need organizing or decorating help?  Contact me to schedule a consultation!  

10 great closet ideas!

Closets are such a challenge!  It's easy to ignore them because the door closes and no one sees the stacks, the clutter, the mess... Am I right, or am I right?


I'm sure you've all read that a closet is a great place to squeeze in a home office.  Not actually very easy to visualize when you are standing there in front of the clutter!  Here is a great idea to help you re-think your closet space. Even the doors have been given a new life.

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Here, a closet was turned into a bright and functional locker room.  I love the colors and easy access!

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I am drooling over this craft closet!  Everything is so easy to see, reach and put away.  Love it.

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A closet for 2 little boys has to start with sensible planning.  It looks great and is so straight forward that they can keep it looking that way.

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Here is another great home office eked out of a closet.  It is so crisp and bright I could probably spend hours sitting there...

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I put this closet in only because most of us will never in our lives even SEE a closet this extravagant (or that many shoes outside a shoe store).  This is Mariah Carey's closet.  Nice huh?

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Ok, back to the practical world.  :)

This closet is great for a little girl.  There is room to hang dresses AND shorter garments.  It seems like it's usually one or the other, doesn't it?  I love the purple painted inside the closet, don't you?  

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This closet gives some great pointers for organization.  Group like things together;  Pants, shirts, purses, all grouped together is one of the easiest ways to get started organizing.  I personally don't have enough closet space to give my hand bags so much breathing room but this closet is sleek, simple and organized.  

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This is a great coat closet idea!  Have you ever had a closet with the awkward shelving on the sides that you just never knew what to do with?  This is a fabulous example of how to make that space usable.    

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Is this an amazing pantry or what?  Like I mentioned with the clothing closet... grouping things together is the best way to organize.  Even with the pantry.  

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I hope you find some inspiration for those little clutter collectors also known as closets!  Good luck and if you want an in home consultation and design plan contact me!  I would love to hear from you.