Decorating Open Storage

I was so excited about my side tables. I think they are super cute, but obviously I needed to add in some accessories and lighting

I got these lamps from TJ max, they were $35 each, which I think was pretty good. And I love mercury glass. I love adding in a little sparkle in a master.

This was the table before

I decided I wanted the accessories to be more minimal for our master. So on my side table is kind of the bare minimum.

How to accessorize open storage with function too

1. Decide what you want to have in your open storage night stand

2. Once you have all your items, go looking for some pretty storage

3. Play around, think about heights, textures, materials, colors.

4. Add in nice lighting

5. Add in coasters because obviously you'll need them

6. Once you've accessorized live with it for a few days, add or subtract when needed

This was the side of the room

I'm going for simple and less, so we have more space for living. The door wont stay there, its not really safe for our daughter. And I really like the chair there, its nice to have a place to sit, or a place to put my big ole bag of tricks (aka a womans purse stuffed with diapers, wipes, bibs and lipgloss)

simple. clean. relaxing

Dont you think a master bedroom should be relaxing?

And this is my husbands side of the bed. I had to raise up the lamp a little with some vintage books, so the lamps were the same height, since the tables are different heights. I put coasters on his table, but nothing else. Because hes a man.

I think I'd like to add some art that really reflects us in this space. Not sure what I'm thinking yet, but something sweet and personal. I've been thinking about it lately, and I think I'm going to make this room very un-generic with the art. I want it to be a place that reminds us every day that we love each other.

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Bookshelves

So..I'm looking for a little fuctional advise.  As well as wanting it to to be pretty.

These bookcases hold stuff

Some stuff that we need...other stuff thats just pretty

Ikea Billy Bookcases

Its close to the kitchen, so its really easy to grab something from the bookcases.

But then my daughter learned to crawl, and then she learned to walk. And now she loves to pull stuff off that bookcase. ALL DAY LONG. I'm a realistic person, I never trade beauty for function, in my season of life, it just doesnt make sense.

I want form and function.

Real life is messy, right?

And the mess is fun

How could I even be mad at this little face? Shes just playing & exploring

These baskets go on the bottom of the bookcases. They hold bibs and wipes, and diapers. I could find another place for these items. But what could I put here thats safe for a one year old, looks nice and if she pulls it out it wont make such a mess?

And how could I be mad at this little face? He thinks anything soft belongs to him

So any ideas on what I should put in the bottom 3 rows of bookcases. Its 9 cubbies worth of stuff.

- It should be unbreakable & safe for a 1 year old

- It should be stuff that if pulled out wont make a gigantic mess

- I have tons of stuff, so throw out some ideas and I'll see what I have in my stash

- I can still keep the basket there, but what should I put inside of them?

Merry Christmas everyone, hope this year is just wonderful!

Everything has a place and a place for everything

I live in a 121 year old home, it’s full of character, beautiful molding, a wraparound porch, but what it doesn’t have are closets.  I have had to be more creative about my storage solutions, it’s not enough that something just looks pretty, we also need to be able to live here.

I want to point out a huge mistake I made, when I first moved into my home, I decorated every nook and cranny of my house, months later I realized I had no place to put anything.

In came my storage.  I will go into this in a huge amount of detail and show you all my storage in my home, because it is everywhere.  But I’d like to show you my “center” for all things organized in my home. 

I’m a girl on a budget, so it’s smart for me to shop around and really evaluate my space long and hard.  

I bought 4 bookcases from IKEA, 2 bigger ones, and 2 smaller ones. And then I bought a million boxes for the bookcases.  I love my home to be decorated like the cover of a magazine, but this space is not for decoration, it has to be almost entirely functional. That being said, I still think these bookcases are beautiful. After I bought everything it was probably about $300 including the baskets and boxes.  However it was a good investment for a small home. It also fits our wall perfectly so there’s not an inch of space lost.

There is a box for: Pens, Batteries, my contacts, Jewelry, Headbands, Sea Shells, craft supplies, mail,  Magazines (organized by title), Candles, Medicine, etc etc..

Before I labeled any of the boxes I was thinking about using my caligraphy pen and writting the items in pretty scipt writting.  I dont have the prettiest writting so I was thinking of asking a friend or my sister to do it. I know eventually I will need to change a box label to something else, and it would be unrealistic to think that I would have my friend or sister write a new label, and I didnt want the labels to be different.  Furthermore organization is not all about unattainable beauty, containers and keeping things perfect.  Organization is about finding a solution that works for your home so you have more time with your family, friends, life and hobbies. So I dont sweat my bad writting, we know where everything is and thats what matters. 

Some great things about this storage solution

1.       Everything big or small (that we use often enough) has a place to live

2.       The boxes are labeled so it’s easy to find things

3.       I can group boxes together that go together

4.       I can change the labels & rearrange the boxes anytime

5.       I can double stack boxes for extra storage in years to come

6.       It’s all white and the same storage so it doesn’t look chaotic
7.       I have plenty of empty boxes, so I wont grow out of this storage solution soon

I want my home to feel warm and inviting, and part of that has to do with organization.  This storage solution helps me spend more time with my family and less time looking for things I’ve misplaced.

My husband once joked “ Do we really need a box for rocks??” I like to know where the things that I use often enough are, as long as we have lots of extra boxes, then unfortunately for my darling husband, even the rocks have a place to live.

I also love that you can use them in different rooms or different houses. I currently have 3 small bookcases in my dining room also, I wanted some of the things out of my kitchen that I didnt use all the time.

Hope you enjoyed my storage solutions today!

What are some of your storage secrets?


Come back tomorrow and see our  budget yard makeover!