Category: Interior decorating

Using Taste and Functionality For Home Organization

Storage bench

Whether you’re doing a room makeover or home renovation, take into account for both style and functionality in your plans. Kitchen remodeling is especially one of those times to incorporate these elements into the design of your kitchen plans.

I’ve seen kitchens with lots of flair but had missed out on several components that would have given more advantages to organizing kitchenware and foods. Therefore it’s important to consider organization and storage while designing your areas.

In the photo gallery at end of this post are some storage ideas to browse through. Looking through Pinterest will give you lots more built-in storage ideas.

For a kitchen, there are built-in pull-out sliding drawers for deep cabinets, special racks to organize pots and pan lids, divider slots for cutting boards and bake-ware, and other cool organizing solutions inside those kitchen cabinets.

In a living room, den or family room, get some furniture that serves both style and storage. Ottomans with storage and accent or end tables with storage will stash those things that might end up collecting on furniture surfaces.

The bedroom is a place that requires plenty of ample storage for clothing and accessories, so this is definitely an area that needs good storage solutions. And a good closet system is key to organizing these.

Aside from generous space for clothing rods to hang clothing, an ideal closet would include enough space or shelving for shoes, a place for belts, ties, scarves, hats, purses to hang, If drawers can also be incorporated into the design of the closet, that’s great for folded clothes, undergarments, and certain accessories.

The home office, bathroom and any other areas of the house that are being remodeled also need to account for built-in or stand-alone storage functionality.

storage bench

With all this in mind, here is a collection of ideas that might help you in what to consider in your makeover plans,

Home Style and Storage ideas

Life In The Organized Zone

Imagine, if you will, walking into your home and getting a sense of calm and serenity and complete delight with your environment. Everything in front of you is pleasing; everything you look at makes you happy.

That zone of comfort and delight is what brings joy. And that zone is The Organized Zone.

Unlike my short-lived TV series, Disorganized Zone (available on Netflix) that made a 1-season debut, the zone I’m talking about here is quite the opposite. Because, in the Organized Zone, the outcome of our day is predictable and doesn’t have the hiccups like that in the Disorganized Zone.

In the Organized Zone, we get more things done, we have more time for ourselves, we are able to keep up with responsibilities and tasks, things like that. Top that off with a uncluttered spaces and you’ve got a happier, more functional person.

For those of you who find yourself in the opposite zone, let me see if I can help you get to the other side.

First, try to envision what you want your area to look and feel like. Picture it it your mind with as much clarity as you can muster. I think it’s best to stand in the non-optimum room you want to fix while doing this and close your eyes as you envision it.

By mentally redecorating your area, you can clearly visualize the ideal look and feel you want that room to have. It actually comes to life in your mind.

Follow this exercise with writing down everything in your vision – every detail that your vision came up with. It could be some new furniture pieces, a room cleared of clutter and debris that doesn’t belong there, a new wall color, maybe even some new accent furnishings.

I did this with someone who wanted a complete makeover in her family room. She was extremely unhappy with the space and asked me to do a makeover. Yet she had no idea what she wanted it to look like after the transformation (except it being clutter-free, of course).

In order to draw out a vision for this room, we first had to determine what kind of atmosphere and surroundings she would like to be in the most. It turned out that it was a medieval castle!

Well, I wasn’t expecting that, needless to say. However, I went with that and dived in further.

I wrote down what she envisioned the room to look like, every detail I could get out of her. I then drew up a room plan and, with her blessing, I went shopping. It was more of a treasure hunt actually, due to some of the pieces I had to find!

I found everything we wanted except for a desk unit, because the ones I saw would not go with the vibe of the room she envisioned. So I designed it myself and had it custom made. Thank goodness this expense fit within her budget!

Clearing out everything in her family room for the makeover was easy – she wasn’t going to keep anything in it except the TV. So I had a clean slate to work with.

Walls were faux-painted, new curtains were hung, the TV was draped in velvet fabric for a theater-styled enclosure, new furniture got placed strategically, and home accent pieces adorned the area, including the wrought iron floor candelabras.

I’d like to claim it was my masterpiece, but it was actually hers – she designed it with her vision and I just carried it out to the specifications of that vision.

I wish I kept the Before-After photos of this project, but it was a long time ago and those pictures got lost in a digital black hole.

My whole point in that scenario is that here was someone who had an area she didn’t like and transformed it. She not only stepped into The Organized Zone by clearing out all clutter from it, she stepped into her little slice of heaven.

Whenever you’re ready to create your own slice of heaven in your spaces, this just might help you to get started. Happy adventures doing so!

Being An Artist For Your Home Interior

If you’re not happy with an area of your home, whether it’s an accumulation of clutter or just has a worn out feeling, it’s time to put a little pizzazz in your space.

To be an artist in the design of your home spaces, you really don’t need classes to teach you artist techniques. You just need a little incentive, some ideas from designs you like, and a heaping scoop of imagination to make a room transformation.

That’s that “recipe” to be your very own amateur home designer. And, like anyone creating anything, those ingredients will help you shape your environment into any artistic setting you like.

You can have fun with colors, texture, shapes, and placement of items in the room. You can add types of decorative pieces that make you feel good. Essentially, you can be the Michelangelo of your space.

Like a painting or sculpture or anything artistic, you start shaping your vision into something that gives you pleasure in the end. By that I mean, if it’s nice to look at when you’re done, it should give you pleasure.

There may be some things that just have to stay for the time being, even if it doesn’t bring us much joy anymore. But don’t let that stop you from getting creative in the room. For instance, if you have an old sofa that you just afford to replace yet, make (or buy) a cover for it and toss some new throw pillows on it.

Now, the thing that doesn’t belong in our decorated environment is clutter. It isn’t always tossed items in the room that cause a cluttered room. It can be too many collections of things without a displayed containment space for them can be too much for the room.

The “trick” there is grouping your collection in some sort of display shelf or framed shelf.

Too much furniture for a space can also give a cluttered appearance. Actually, too much of anything in an area is most likely, well, too much.

Here’s a good way to get started: Try taking photos of your room before you start and look them over carefully. Make a note of anything you don’t like about the room, and then some plans on what you can do to fix that. By this time, you’ve pretty much began your artistic endeavor by just looking at something and envisioning it being better for you.

Have fun, and leave comment with photos of what you’ve done!

Organizing Stuff Series 6 – Decorative Organization

In this segment of Organizing Stuff, Cyndi Seidler walks through the home of Denice Duff to check out her decorative organization style. Denice shows her studio, dining room, kitchen and bathroom areas.

Watch Video:

You’ll see a transformed garage made into a photography studio. Although it’s a working studio where she brings clients, the space still contains storage – only stylish storage.

Her dining room area once had a cluttered wall filled with her young daughter’s drawings and, after her daughter grew up, she cleared the wall, painted it, put shelving on it and placed select framed photos on the shelves and walls.

The kitchen was another transformation Denice did as her other remodeling project. She painted the dark wood cabinets and walls to white and created a contrast of black chalkboard paint on the upper wall above the cabinets. On the chalkboard areas surrounding the perimeter of the kitchen were some of her favorite phrases – in Italian!

And lastly was her organized, yet decorative bathroom. Stay tuned for a future segment where we do some decorative organizing for Denice’s counter-top makeup!

Check out and subscribe to the Organizing Stuff Series playlist on YouTube!

 

Inspiring Home Office Spaces That Make You Love Work

You get up, eat some breakfast, shower, get dressed (maybe) and head to your home office to start your work day (in no particular order). If you are not loving your home office space, you may not be loving your work so much, or at least not loving to do work in your space.

Making your home office into a stylish place, possibly even the most stylish room in your home, just takes a bit of re-thinking your home office environment.

So here’s some ideas to give your home office a picker-upper and make it the office you LOVE working and being in. And, most of all, an office that inspires work and creativity.

Open space doesn’t have to mean same space for home office

A stylish room divider that compliments the room while dividing the home office space is a good alternative to an open space design.

office-room-divider-from-hometone

Found on Hometone.com

Turn home office wall space into art

Adding a bit of distinction on one wall with creative paint work or wallpaper can bring character and style to your office area.

office wall paint

Found on Nousdecor.com

home office-desk

Found on homedit.com

Match your home office style with a wall art design

Get creative here and check out some specialty stores that carry wall art, or make your own!

office-wall-decor

Found on Carlaaston

office-wall-decor

Found on brit.co

Add functionality to your home office wall space

A chalkboard wall will let your creativity explode in your home office, and it can be a lot of fun marking up the wall.

office chalkboard wall

Found on Upcycledtreasures.com

A paper roll for the wall also works for note-taking …

office-paper-roll

Found on design-milk

A framed clipboard center can organize those special papers in style without looking like clutter.

office-clipboards

Found on liagriffith

Keep your family, friends and favorite places in view with a photo collection

Photos around the office remind you of your loved ones and/or memorable places, making work so much more pleasant.

office-photo-wall

Found on inspiredsnaps.com

office-picture-hang

Found on cosmopolitan.co.uk

office-framed-pictures

Found on dopedecor.com

Light up your home office space with special lighting

Office lighting is important and giving some style to your lighting solution is even better.

home office-lighting

Found on howtodecorate.com

office-lighting-and-area-rugs

Found on Stylelogistics

home office-lighting

Found on lushome

Create some nostalgia in the home office

What kind of article would this be if I didn’t include my own home office?! Obviously, I’m also into filmmaking and use decor that inspires me 🙂

hollywhollywood styled home officeood styled home office

Source: Organizing Lady

Spice up home office bookshelves

Again, this is my home office area with a couple bookshelves that do not bore me. And I keep supplies and materials hidden in decorative storage luggage and book drawers.

home office bookshelves

Source: The Organizing Lady

And for a brighter look, white bookshelves with colored accessories add flavor to the space.

home office-materials-shelf

Found on simplified-bee

office-storage-shelves

Found on designrulz.com

office-box-storage

Found on Stylecaster

And, just for those special home office books …

office-bookshelves

Found on Brit.co

Bring style to your desk with styled desk accessories

Forget boring desk accessories and go with all the cool desk accessory styles now available to us.

office-desk-accessories

Found on simplyjessicamarie.com

office-desk-accessories

Found on modishandmain.com

office-desk-accessories

Found on thelegalcareergirl.com

office-supply-holder

Found on Hative

office-desk-frame

Found on Brit.co

Maximize your desk area using the wall for office accessories

I came across this DIY accessory holder with a lot of character and had to share!

office-supply-holder

Found on Hative

Show office file folders that have some style

Like desk accessories, file folders don’t have to be boring when they are in view in your home office space.

office-folders

Found on runtoradiance.com

Stylize your home office filing system

If you can’t hide your filing cabinet, there are other solutions …

office-storage-bench

by Martha Stewart

Paint your filing cabinet with chalkboard paint to write your own notes on.

office-file-cabinet

Found on designimprovised.com

Use office furniture that enhances the home office space

This is where style meets your personality or personal taste. Shop around to find the perfect fit!

office-supply-hutch

Found on TheNester.com

home office

Found on ballarddesigns.com

home office

Found on carlaaston.com

Bring inspiration into the home office

If you’re like me who likes to keep things that inspire me in view, these inspiration boards are perfect ideas for the home office.

office-inspiration-board

Found on artek.com

office-inspiration-board

Found on iheartorganizing-blogspot

office-inspiration

Found on Still-Inspiration-blogspot

A cool office chair adds character and style to your home office space

To complete the look in your office, don’t forget the office chair!

office-chair

Found on refinery29

office-chair

Found on laurieannes.com

Florals and plants will emphasize the home in home office

And lastly, let’s not forget to bring some life into your home office with florals and/or plants …

office florals

Found on mattieologie.com

office-plants

Found on stylelogistics

You can check out more on my Pinterest board!

 

8 Simple Ways To Reclaim Your Messy Space In A Hurry

Let me see, you’ve got some stuff in your living space that is taking away from the aesthetics you once created in it. Maybe it’s the kid’s stuff, maybe it’s the spouses, or maybe it’s your own stuff that never found another home space? What’cha gonna do?

I’ve seen this happen all too often, and it usually begins with walking in the front door and dropping stuff off nearby. The situation continues as it becomes a dropping place for many other things now – like returns to the store, gifts you purchased, bins filled with donation items, and so on.

Pretty soon, that open space is no longer open space – it is now clutter space. In my article”4 Easy Ways To Give Your Cluttered Home A Space Lift” you’ll see my method in clearing clutter, and you may want to start there. Because that’s the first thing that needs to be done – removing stuff that doesn’t belong in the area.

After that, here are ways to reclaim and re-create your space.

1. Place decor on furniture surfaces

Placing a plant or candles on a side table and maybe even a fish bowl or something doesn’t leave a lot of room for dumping other stuff on it and is the best way to avoid clutter build-up.

table decor

Found on on-eggeth

table decor

Found on-decor4all

dresser decor

Found on-homedecorationconcepts

tabletop decor

Source: The Organizing Lady

2. Create a ready-to-go table setting

Adding a vase or planter on a dining table and some table settings, for instance, will claim that space as a dining area – not a dumping table.

table setting

Source: The Organizing Lady

tablesetting

Found on buytrion

3. Decorate your living room furniture

Put decorative throw pillows on sofa and chairs to avoid furniture dumps.

throw pillows

Found -on-hgtv

throw pillows

Found on -on-eco-fueler

4. Re-decorate your bookshelves

After the clutter is taken off the bookshelves, you can now make them a showcase of books, photos, and decor items.

bookshelf decor

Found on on decoist

bookshelf decor

Found on fortikur

bookshelf decor

Found on chicandglamorous

5. Give your home work area a quick makeover

You can add some style to your work area with some new stylized desk accessories, and also bring character and personality to the area with some wall art, new shelving for extra storage space, and maybe even a plant or florals.

home office

Found on visiop

home office

Found on housebeautiful

home office

Found on davinong

6. Reclaim your kitchen counter space

Find space in cabinets for the food, or add wall shelving for it, but get it off your counter (unless it is in some decorative jar or basket. Same goes for the abundance of small appliances sitting there that you don’t use frequently.

kitchen counter design

Found on Fridgecheck

kitchen counter space

Source: The Organizing Lady

kitchen counter

Found onmedberian

7. Turn your bedroom into a showroom

Your bedroom can be a sanctuary place. Dress up the dresser and bed tables with some decor and functional storage-type items.

bedroom decor

Found on howtodecorate

bedroom decor

Found on homedesigns-today

bedroom decor

Found on cahomepro

8. Make your own bathroom guest-friendly

Yes, it’s your own bathroom, but make it LOOK like a guest bathroom and keep minimal items in view.

bathroom counter decor

Found on saybrookhomes

bathroom decor

Found on homebunch

bathroom decor

Found on cristinarobinson.net

bathroom decor

Found on ihomewatch.net

 

 

Creative Ways To Display Your Photo Collection

There are a plethora of awesome ways to display all those photos you love, and I’ve gathered some of the most creative ones I found. I figure that one or more of these might inspire you to show off your photos off as a piece of art for your room’s design instead of having them sit inside some album or box.

While some of these displays are DIY projects, I wanted to select the ones that would be easiest to put together yourself.

photos-table-lighting

photos-door-frame-at-BBB

found on Bed, Bath & Beyond

v

photos-by-uppercase-living

By Uppercase Living

photos-from-photojojo

Found at Photojojo

photos-light-string

 

 

photos-on-babble

Found on Babble

photos-lamp-by-mommy-moment

By Mommy Moment

photos-iron-pipe-on-hometalk

Found on Hometalk

photos-hative

Found on Hative

photos-hang-by-Alys-Beach

By Alys Beach

photos-frameboard

photos-fishing-pole

photos-ekstrax

Found on Ekstrax

photos-ekstrax

Found on Ekstrax

photos-custom-framed

photos-clothesline

photos-clipboard

photos-chime

By Design Fanatic

photo-manniqen-on-hative

Found on Hative

photo-pant-hangers

photos-on-hative

photos-pinwheel

photos-on-ekstrax

Found on Ekstrax

photo-family-tree

photos-space-dividers

photos-pedestal-frames

photos-on-ekstrax

Found on Eksrax

photos-on-photoexpress-typepad

photo-binder-clips-on-craver-compound

photos-heart-wall

photos-wall-design-on-postalpix

Found on Postalpix

photos-wall

photos-wall

photos-thelovenerds

Found on The Love Nerds

photos-tree-plant

photos-stairway

 

Designing With Clutter Using Creative Methods

Tired of your clutter? Don’t feel like throwing it away?

Now you don’t have to let your clutter sit around as an eye-sore and without purpose. You can take some of those things and use them to do a bit of decorating. And although you still have to deal with the clutter in order to do this, you just display them and still end up admiring it.

In other words, organize your clutter so it looks cool.

Artistic Clutter

The Photo Collection

Take all those framed photos all over the wall and make them into a more attractive display.

picture-frame-clutter

Photo Wallpaper

Got a lot of photos all over the place? Tack ’em up on the wall as decorative wallpaper and enjoy the view more.

photo-clutter

Paint Brush Decor

If you’re a painter and have a lot of used-up paint brushes that you haven’t tossed, why not display them?

paintbrush-clutter

The Book Stack

For books that tend to pile up all around the room, just stack them up into art. Why not?

book-stack

Bookshelf Clutter Color

Having lots of books that clutter up a bookshelf isn’t cool until you show them off with some style.

bookshelf-clutter

(image by Katey Nicosia)

The Pez Collectible Display

pez-candy-container-display

(image by Katey Nicosia)

Kid Artwork Wall

If all those art drawings and paintings are tucked away somewhere creating clutter, you can take them out and show them off.

kid-drawing-art wall

kid-drawing-art2

kid-drawing-display

Greeting Card Art

Saving all those keepsake greeting cards is just stored clutter until you display them.

greeting-card-display2

greeting-card-art-display

Magazine Art

If you subscribed to too many magazines and don’t want to toss them just yet because there is probably something inside them you want, you can cut out pages and display them.

magazine-art

magazine-page-art

You can also save those special magazine covers with a magazine cover display.

magazine-framed-wall

 

 

 

A Room Makeover With A Professional Organizer

Bringing in a professional organizer to help clear the clutter in a home or office is a typical job in this profession. But bringing in a professional organizer who knows interior decorating is a major plus for those who want to change more than their cluttered room.

One of the reasons I like to refer to myself as an Organization Lifestylist is because I do both organizing and decorating to fit a person’s lifestyle, as well as help individuals make lifestyle changes.

There was one client who wanted to change the look of her home to fit her lifestyle and love for medieval times. Her favorite time of year was going to Renaissance Medieval & Pirate Faire and would get all decked out in costume whenever she attended. It was her love for Medieval times that finally drove her to do a home makeover reflecting her taste and lifestyle.

She called the right person when she called me. I happen to love medieval things – from its Gothic chandeliers to the old world furniture. Decorating this place was the most fun I’ve ever had, and I was most pleased to find them an authentic looking Middle Age wood-carved throne fit for a king.

old world front door

image from thestylesaloniste.com

The only thing I couldn’t find was a desk with hutch shelving, so I designed one myself and had it made for them. After all, it wasn’t going to do them any good if everything fit into the theme except for the office area, now would it?

So I guess what I’m trying to say here is that anyone can decide to change their surrounding to fit their lifestyle or taste. If you don’t know your taste, maybe an eclectic mix of things would make you smile.

The end result should always be that your home surroundings smile at you and make you feel happy in it. If it isn’t doing that right now, it’s time to think about what can be done to make it so.

 

My Pinterest Boards

I once couldn’t escape from the lure of Pinterest. It used to keep me up quite late on many nights, and I finally had to go to Pinterest Rehab to keep myself away from it.

Well, although I’ve been away from my Pinterest boards for quite some time now, I did manage to build them up with some truly fabulous items. I often even found myself referring to my own boards for ideas that I wanted to run by clients.

Check them out …

Stylish Home Organization

Creative Interior Designs

Wall Art Designs

Decor Picks

Enchanted Entertaining

Outdoor Living

… and some others that don’t relate with anything here 🙂

Anyway, it’s just something I don’t want to be forgotten, so I’m telling you about it. I only hope you don’t find yourself browsing through my boards into the wee hours of the night like I did!

 

 

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