On The Hunt: Industrial Storage
Posted by Erin | Filed under Design Tips, Inspiration, Musings, Solutions
I'm dreaming up storage ideas for a home I'm renovating at the moment, and am having a bit of an inspiration overload moment (IOM, if you will). There are so, so many great options on the market, and industrial, vintage design is at the top of my list. There's nothing I'd love more than a well-loved pile of drawers.
Yet which route to choose? Lockers? Library catalog drawers? Letterpress stations? The possibilities are endless, and there's a case for each:
Image Credit: Marie Claire Maison
WOOD
If you're in the market for a wood, investment piece, a library catalog or letterpress system is perfect if you're an organization queen. Ideal for entryways, you can house sunglasses, scarves and miscellaneous out-the-door accessories all in one handy spot. Bonus? The closed drawers hide piles of clutter.
Image Credit: Country Living
TIN
Less clean-looking, but undoubtedly more quirky, metal, open shelving is also a delight of mine. The particular design above keeps clutter in tact with crate-style drawers, but still maintains an open feeling. Lovely!
Image Credit: Emmas Design Blogg
STEEL
Locker-style metal cabinets? Yes, indeed. Super functional and surprisingly chic, I'm keeping this option on the short list for my own home.
Which do you prefer, sweet readers? Masses of tiny drawers or one big closet? Metal, wood, or perhaps iron? Or are you sick of industrial storage solutions completely? Spill it!
Tags: industrial, industrial-chic, industrial-storage, metal, storage, storage solutions, wood
Best Dresser Ever
Posted by Erin | Filed under Design Tips, Inspiration, Musings, Solutions
[image credit: kara haupt]
Kara Haupt shared these photos of her bedroom nearly a year ago, and they are still so far on the forefront of my mind. I simply can't get this sweet little dresser out of my head. Rather than leaving it simple and white, Kara grabbed a pencil and some paint and free-handed typographic labels on each drawer. Genius, yes?
The knobs are Anthropologie finds (of course!), and I love how they give the black paint a softer, swirly touch.
Why not try this look at home? I can't think of a simpler before and after that will brighten your home, room and outlook faster than you can say, "Honey, the paint's dry!"
Happy crafting!
Tags: bedroom, dresser, makeover, storage
Closet therapy…
Posted by Peggy | Filed under Design Tips, Musings, Solutions
I'm constantly craving for more closet space… do you feel the same? No matter how organized I try to keep it, there's still not enough room for everything. There are a million gadgets out there to keep your closets nice and tidy, but if I had a spare room (or the luxury!), I would definitely consider an open wardrobe like the one pictured above. I just want to see every single piece of clothing and accessories that I own – for once, LOL! Here's a look at what others are doing with their closets…
Tags: accessories, closet design, decor, Inspiration, organization, storage
Everything but the kitchen sink – utensil caddies
Posted by Miriam | Filed under Musings, Solutions
Before I got married, I didn't even know how to make a grilled cheese…I know…ridiculous. Now, three years in, I would consider myself a pretty good cook…this is mostly in part to an unhealthy obsession with cook books but can also be traced to my love of kitchen utensils and gadgets. In our house the rule is if you don't use it, you lose it…so the fact that the picture below shows such a diverse range of kitchen utensils MUST mean that I've graduated from grilled cheese to at least something requiring a whisk, ladle, one of those skiimmer things and a mulitute of spoons and spatulas…right?
Well, it turns out that for me to work best, I need my tools handy. Thus, we keep our long handled kitchen tools in a caddy on the counter as I am sure many people do. My husband brought this caddy into our marriage and I am glad he did because there is nothing more frustrating than trying to quickly get a spoon or spatula out of the caddy and having the handles get stuck and end up dragging the entire caddy down the counter while you burn your French Toast.
Unfortunately, I have no idea where our wooden caddy came from…fortunately, I've found some other fun options out there that would look none too shabby on even the best looking kitchen counters.
Tags: kitchen solutions, kitchen tool storage, kitchen utensil storage, organizing, storage
Everything but the Kitchen Sink – Fruit Bowls
Posted by Miriam | Filed under Design Tips, Musings, Solutions
Ah dear readers…I have a confession to make. I can not for the life of me figure out how to store my veggies. We belong to a CSA during the summer which means that once a week, we get a bounty of produce that I quickly 'process' and for the most part store in the refrigerator until time for consumption…but there are still a few items that boggle my mind.
You see, way back when in the great-counter-clearing-experiment-of-'09 I banished our system of counter-ripening fruit to the pantry cabinet in an ill guided attempt to be one of "those people" who have nothing on their counters. But while the cool, dry, dark storage was great for my onions and garlic, my apples, bananas* and any other veggies that had shown up for the week did NOT like being hidden in the dark. No, instead, the cramped quarters caused the ethylene from the apples and bananas to build up even faster over-ripening every piece of produce in a matter of just a day. I needed to find a better solution.
Until this time, I thought the only option was a hanging basket; which would be the perfect solution if we had someplace to actually hang it where it wouldn't bonk us on the head:
Thankfully, there are lots of options out there for counter-top fruit storage. The key to keep in mind is that every fruit gives off a certain amount of ethylene gasses so it doesn't hurt to separate your produce. What better way to do that than some pretty bowls?
A dessert platter is a great way to get some height on your display and allow you to store more than one fruit in the same footprint:
A little more space consuming, but pretty none-the-less; storing your veggies in one layer on a platter is a great statement:
Here's a fun, smaller scale basket with great lines that would look pretty in any manner of kitchens. All this time I thought the all-one-fruit in the basket thing was for aesthetics…but now I know…yup…now I know the truth about ethylene:
A small collection of matching wood baskets is a great way to keep 'em separated yet still maintain a coordinated look on your counter…although don't be fooled by this photo…I'm sure those bananas and the apple were ripening that avocado just as fast as the shutter could click:
Speaking of coordinated looks…how about these G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S china baskets!! LOVE LOVE LOVE…but, they're small…good for berries…but not good for the amount of veggies I need to store:
Lastly, I found this interesting, fun display idea over at ETSY…I can only imagine what fun the cat would have if I went and displayed every piece of fruit on its own individual stand on the counter…and she doesn't even get up on the counters.
The jury is still out on this one for me. I just don't have that much space on my counter to give up so in my indecision I usually just lay everything out on the counter. Which takes up just as much space, if not more, on the counter and doesn't look pretty. It's a vicious circle.
Any one have any magic solutions I haven't thought of yet?
* no…our bananas do not come from the CSA; but we have a toddler who loves him a banana so even though they are from a different continent, I still need to purchase and store them
–
{sources: 1-Organize It; 2, 3, 4-Devine Kitchens; 5-Black and Blum; 6-Peg and Awl; 7-Jayson Home and Garden; 8-A Mischievous Marriage}
Tags: design, design solutions, fruit bowls, kitchen design, kitchen solutions, organization, storage
