Tuesday, August 16, 2011

No Martha Stewart...

No I'm no Martha Stewart or popular interior designer but every now and again I feel good about some decorating I've done. Lately I've discovered Pinterest. For those of you who don't know what it is, don't check it out, you'll be hooked and spend many hours searching and wishing you could change things in your home, make lots of yummy food, discover new styles, or make cool crafts. Actually you should check it out, it's a very cool site. Anyways, it had me thinking on a few spots of my house that need tweaking. I started with my laundry room: that room is teeny and has two doors (from the garage and into a hallway) so I don't have much room to tweak. I wish I had before pictures to show the improvements / changes but oh well.

First is the Laundry room. I found a great metal tray (debating spray painting a cool color) at Ikea that fits and organizes my laundry detergent, bleach, Victoria Secret soap (to die for!), and the 'found in the pockets' bucket. Two little boards with knobs are on the wall, mainly for drying spandex (remember I'm a cyclist's wife). I'm on a tight budget and so these few great finds together were all under $75 but make a big difference.
I took down all the 'junk': toolbox, drill, bleach and cleaning box and replaced with these cute wire baskets. Notice there are five: One for Brian's Stuff, Heather's, Finley's, Eliza's and a hippy bag bin. I'm still in search for a cute twig wreath or great picture to hang above them.
Third on the list, the space between the dryer and wall. Keep in mind there is only 7 inches of space and an awkward 26 inches deep. What do you do with this? I did have an ugly white shelve for shoes but it was always cluttered and drove me crazy. So what did I do? Found these great shoe bins at IKEA. They were the perfect size to fit and open and NO MORE CLUTTER! Each bin holds 3 pairs of shoes and the one for the girls holds a ton. (Brian likes to call these the black hole for shoes)


Finley has decided that she is growing up a little. We've rearranged her dresser and closet to easier access of her clothes plus it lets her have more independence. With all this said, she loves dressing herself and with this you've got to make sure you look good right? So we added this cute mirror to her room. I love the shape, very girly. We've also updated her bedding a little and I absolutely love it! It will last for a long time and can be changed with just new pillows.


Another big change is Eliza. She's been out of her crib for a month now and she LOVES her big girl bed. I also love her bedding. Very similar to her sisters but different color scheme.
We also added this piece to Eliza's room. We went through all the girls' toys and consolidated them. This isn't my favorite looking piece but it sure does it's job. I wish I had a room I could do just as a play room but having everything close and accessible and organized will do for now.

New pillows and ottoman. Love them!
My next area's of improvement: my entryway table, my fireplace mantel, maybe repaint my front door, and I'd love to repaint rooms in my house but I don't think I'll touch that with a ten foot pole. Any ideas you want to send my way, I'd love it!

4 comments:

ryan + carly said...

good job heather!! look at you be a little designer :) i love pinterest too. it's so addicting, i always have like 20 tabs of pics open to look at! your place looks great. can't wait to have a real place of my own one day to decorate!!

Sarah@AlpinePoppy said...

I love your ottoman! Where did you find it? Also where did you get your wire baskets in the laundry room, I simply must have some. I have been looking for my laundry room and haven't found any for a reasonable price.
You really did a lot, and it all looks great!

angied said...

cute! i have always loved your decorating style. and i love your girls beds. where did you get them?

Heather Tolbert said...

Sarah, ottoman is from my moms work and the baskets I think from Gardner Village.

Angie, beds are from my moms work and bedding a collection from different places.