Have an empty wall in need of some color? Here's a quick fix: hang up an under-$10 pegrail from your local home supply store (I got mine from Lowe's for $8), and resurrect some of those scarves that you collected during the pashmina-craze of the late '90s that work with the colors in your décor. In addition to brightening up your walls, you get the added bonus of incorporating some of those long-forgotten beauties back into your wardrobe.
Putting it all in one basket
Although I try to eat veggies and fruit as much as possible, all too often our weekly produce ends up withering away in our ancient fridge "crisper" drawer. I spotted a better way to store those fresh peaches and get a summery design kick to the countertop at my stylish friend Marianne's house this weekend. Placing produce in a pretty basket (she got hers here) keeps it at room temperature and moving faster from kitchen to table. How can you resist fresh strawberries staring you down?
The Beauty of Built-Ins
I've been in love with built-in bookshelves for as long as I can remember. Maybe it's that they remind me of my childhood home, or maybe it's just that I knew from early on, without really knowing, that built-ins can be a beautiful way to maximize a space and make it feel positively custom. Whatever the reason, I have been ripping out pictures of built-ins and fantasizing about them since I started hoarding home design magazines a decade ago.
So my dream finally came true when after spending more than two years talking incessantly about how the knee-wall in our master bedroom would be the-perfect-spot for built-ins and making grand promises of how my ever-growing piles would transform into neat, useful, and dare I say, decorative additions to our room, my husband finally gave in.
Enter Bill Jones of FreshAir Millworks, carpenter extraordanaire. In one short week (and only one day in our house for the installation), Jonesy whipped up a new piece for us that delivered exactly the vision I had every night as I fell asleep staring at that wall. I don't know why it took us so long to move on this project -- possible fear of working with a contractor (we're newbies), not knowing how to access a contractor without getting ripped off (personal referrals are key), or just getting up the gumption to spend a chunk of money on something so -- well -- permanent (that's a hard one to swallow unless your absolutely sure what you want). But the whole process of working with Jonesy was so easy, that it's hard to stop coming up with projects for him now.
Want a little bit of FreshAir Millworks for your home? Contact Bill Jones at (508) 587-1109.
Mudroom Shoe Rack
I had been planning on waiting until next Fall to re-think the "mudspace" at my back entry, but with all this ridiculous rain flooding us in New England, I think I might need to figure out a better system for our family of wellies before October. This simple, utilitarian, yet handsome boot rack from Winsome Wood should do the trick. With three shelves for shoes, a slot for umbrellas and removable metal tray for wet footwear, this looks likes a perfect fit for small spaces.
Winsome Wood Shoe Rack, $82.99
Image credit: organize.com
Controlling Clutter, Upstairs and Down
Being a family of two working parents and two active kidlets, one of our main jobs in life is keeping clutter under control. Generally I feel like we do a fairly good job of clutter-busting, mostly due to some simple systems we've put in place. The simplest of all? A basket that waits at the bottom of the stairs. Rather than piling up shoes, books, toys and other random things on the first step, fill up a basket with junk that needs to find its way to the second floor and bring it up once at the end of the night. After you've unloaded upstairs, do the exact same thing in the morning for items that need to get to the first floor. So simple, yet totally effective.
{There are terrific baskets actually made to fit stairs -- usually called step baskets -- but becuse of our narrow staircase and clumsy boys, we just place a Reisenthal market tote on the floor.}