Organization Inspiration

Hi friends!  Did you have a good weekend?  I hope so.  I had a busy, busy schedule- most of it was prepping for my half-marathon on Sunday morning.  And now that's done, whew!  My legs are little sore but I'm quite pleased with it all.  After some rest (and a very cold ice bath), I wrapped up the weekend with a lovely concert and dinner with friends.  Remember my talented friend, Emily?  Her yummy dinner party inspired this post on organization and etiquette.

So when looking for inspiration for today's post, I went back through images of Appleshined bookshelves; they make this organizer a happy girl.

Holy moly, after working with my client, they organized this bookshelf all on their own!  I love the color-grouping with the books.  And the wall shelves are from CB2.

Remember this bookshelf from the Art Studio?  It houses all her instructional/copy books.  And I love the creative accents on top.

This dollhouse-shaped bookshelf was so cute in the girls' playroom.  And the wicker baskets made it more functional.

This is one of my favorite, whimsical shelving sets.  Staging the little things in your apartment or office with personal accents gives a more meaning to your space.

Again, I used wicker baskets to maximize the shelving space for more than just books in this playroom.  It's a great way to house smaller toys and clunky objects.

Tell me, Appleshiners, what's your favorite inspiration for an organized bookshelf?

Picking the Right Storage Bench

One of my favorite tips for keeping a small space organized is finding a piece that can multi-task.  Using a storage bench for your entry way, mud room, bedroom or any other room is like adding an extra closet to the space.  And we all know how precious closet space is.

This classic, wooden bench has built-in cabinets.  Place it in your dining room, as it's perfect for hiding servingware and extra place settings.

(via Organize.com)

The tailored look of this nailhead upholstered bench is a gorgeous choice for a sophisticated bedroom.  It can serves as a linen closet, housing your extra blankets and second set of sheets.

(West Elm)

I like this subtle color this fabric can add to a room.  And the deep chest can store all your board games, perfect for family night fun.

(via Home Decorators Collection)

Talk about multi-tasking: this bench has both cubbies underneath AND shallow storage on top.  You can even pick out your own baskets or bins to add color and streamline the organized look.

(Real Simple via Bed, Bath and Beyond)

 A storage bench that acts as a true seating area.  The grander scale of this furniture would make a lovely statement in your foyer and use the underneath bins for shoes, outerwear accessories and the kids bags.

(via Brookstone)

Tell me, Appleshiners, how would you use a storage bench?

Appleshine: Coat Closet

Hi friends!  This week, I Appleshined a coat closet.  My client was already halfway there with good intentions (note the matching hangers, wicker baskets and large bins) but needed a little direction in order to complete the look.

The main goal was to get everything off the floor, except for shoes.  And I even limited those to 'utility shoes' like sneakers, rain boots, snow boots, etc.  Anything else (ie- nicer) went into their bedroom closets.  Luckily, the green bins were a perfect size for the job and the bendable material allowed for a little give with the odd shoe sticking out.

The baskets on the top shelved housed outerwear accessories like gloves, scarves, hats and umbrellas.  I arranged the jackets by seasonal weight, the lighter, warmer-weather jackets in the front and the heavy, winter coats in the back.  The kids coats were moved into their own sections in the family mud room.

Like I said, all the key tools were there but needed that organizational finesse to make it functional.  Sometimes, it just takes a little extra time to think through the flow of the space to create a truly organized system.

Tell me, Appleshiners, what tricks do you have for organizing your coat closet?

PS- Check back tomorrow for a very cool post on some very cool, space saving furniture!

An Organizer's Dream: Crafts Room

I was the little girl who went on playdates and cleaned up my friends' rooms for fun.  And I'd mentally configure every small space I encountered into a one-room home.  The bed would flip out over the kitchen sink, which was above the stove and next to the closet, all on one wall.  That left me 3 other walls to construct.  Yup, that's when I knew that lifestyle organization would be my thing.

Decades later, I still play pretend with an imaginary space.

This image from Better Homes and Gardens is such an awesome inspiration for a crafts room.  There's ample storage yet everything's close at hand.  Letting your space ramble gives way to disorganization.

You can get the shelves here, the storage unit here and the baskets here.  These are a alternative type of wall shelves, if you'd prefer.  And here's a desk similar to the one pictured.

The designer let the storage space continue up to the ceiling with covered baskets, great for small items.  They even used these magazine holders for the shelves.  The flow of the room allows for lots of crafty materials to be contained in a small space.

And the best part about the design is the colors.  The soft gray walls, white and natural units, with only a dramatic pop of blue print keeps the space creative but not overpowering.  Ah...I love a good day dream.


Tell me, Appleshiners, how would you organize your 'dream' crafts room?

Mud Rooms

It's a spot for all your outside stuff to reside while you're inside your home. Most are divided by family member, including room for shoes, bags, coats and other small items.  Cubbies and baskets are typical but some are simply a bench and coat rack.  I've found a few images of mud room concepts that I like:

This is one of the first mud room's that I Appleshined.  I kept it simple to go with their natural decor.  They'd already picked out these large wicker baskets to hold all the kids' shoes underneath.

This is a similar concept to the one above.  Here they use pegboards as the backsplash, which offers a little color and flexibility when hanging different items.

I love how a simple closet can multi-task from clothes storage to a desk to even a mud room.  Again, using baskets to store smaller items keeps the look clean.  And placing the shoes on shelving keeps them from clumping on the floor.

Centsational Girl did a great job with her entry way.  She used a basic storage bench and a few hooks; it serves it's purpose while still maintaining an artistic aesthetic.

Tell me, Appleshiners, how did you arrange your mud room?