Under the Stairs…what’s it good for?
Tag: DIY
My Favorite Colors of Summer
categories: DIY Projects, Home Decor
I love the anticipation of summer. In fact, I find myself in danger of wishing my life away waiting for the next season and the changes it brings. For those of you living in a temperate climate, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, but the change of defined seasons for me brings an excitement only suited to that particular season. The clothes we wear, the activities we do, the cooking we enjoy, are all affected by the change in seasons. Even the decorating. In fact………
I just redecorated our little bathroom (sink & toilet type) a week ago in the bold colors of summer. I replaced the wintery picture of a boy with his dogs, with a painting of sunflowers. I replaced the wintery pinecone potpourri with “GRAPEFRUIT”. Seriously, Aromantique’s Grapefruit is absolutely HEAVENLY! I bought some apple green towels to add to the red and gold ones I already had (I love TJMAX. I can always find something there I can’t live without. Great place for accent pieces, too). I added a wreath with red pears, white-ish/green hydrangeas, and white berries, bringing out the little bit of green in the painting and coordinating with the green towels. I added a soap dispenser with bright orange yummy smelling hand soap.
This looks like a very different room. I love the way it turned out. And because I repurposed almost everything including the painting I’ve had for years and never used, only cost me $30. It was that much because of the $20 potpourri….but worth every penny! The towels were $9. The wreath was one I had been using in my kitchen window but have exchanged with a cute little herb crate that I told you about a while ago.
These colors, yellow, yellow-gold, red, apple green, white, orange are the bright and bold colors of summer that I love. Some may feel the yellows and reds tend to be colors more suited to fall, but when paired with the bright greens, oranges, and whites create a basket of summer you could almost eat!
It’s fun to intermix these summer/fall colors because it stretches your decorating budget by mixing and matching from season to season.
Maybe summer is NOT your favorite time of year. Maybe where you live is hot, humid, dry, or X-hot! Consider using a summer palette to cool down your bedroom, family room, or back porch.
Other fabulous summer palettes, the light blues, butter yellows, celery greens all promote the calm of a summer afternoon. The aquas, sea greens, and whites reminiscent of the Caribbean bring dreams of sun and sand. colourlovers.com has dozens of summer palettes to choose from, and a great help when trying to put together your own preferred palette.
Wherever your summer dreams take you, treat yourself to a deco-treat of a few little changes that will hasten the summer fun you’ve been waiting for.
THESE are a few of my favorite colors of summer:
Pocket Organizers and Reminiscing about Mom
categories: DIY Projects, Home Decor
I guess I’ve been thinking about my mom lately, because many things I see or think about remind me of her. She was a meticulous housekeeper and very organized. She had a place for everything.
We had a closet in a hallway where she kept her brooms, mops, furniture polish, dust cloths, etc. That closet always smelled like Pledge and this floor wax she used to use. She was really ahead of her time, because she had hanging in this closet one of those shoe organizers….you know the kind……the ones everyone are using now days to store everything from “soup to nuts”. I just had to say that, because my mom always said it. She was the queen of clichés! This is where she kept her dust cloths, feather duster, and can of Pledge. I’ll bet she was the very first person to use these shoe holders for something other than shoes!
Well, I just LOVE these handy-dandy organizers. My daughter has one to store
- her kid’s art supplies in
- and how about all the bathroom items there is no room for in drawers or even large medicine cabinets
- You could line your craft closet with these babies and completely fill them
- I have a potting bench in our garage (I will always love my husband for this), what a neat idea to store little garden tools, garden gloves, shovels, rakes, pruners, spray bottles, etc.
- Barbies
- Hair brushes, products and accessories!
- Spices in a pantry
- Scrap booking junkies?? Please!
- Scarves and gloves
- On and on…….. you’ve seen ‘em
Anyway….my mom’s birthday was last week, Mother’s day is in a couple of weeks, and I thought I would just tell you how smart she was.
Way to go MOM!
P.S. If you’ve got a mom that hasn’t thought of this fun little organizing gem, it could be a fun surprise for Mother’s Day.
And yes, these are veggie plants growing right inside this pocket organizer!
Linen Closets and Sticky Notes
categories: DIY Projects, Home Decor
I love my linen closet. I wish it was 3 X’s the size, but I love it just the same. There is something nostalgic about my linen closet. It reminds me of my mom. Her linen closet always smelled freshly different than anywhere else in our home. And believe me, my mom’s house wouldn’t dare have smelled anything but fresh!
My problem is that I tend to stash in the closet I love so much, a decorating item or two that are random pieces and I have nowhere else to put them. Candles for example, or a heart-shaped candy dish. The vases I really want but have no idea where to store.
Well, I decided about 9 months ago to reorganize this beloved closet. I decided that it was no longer going to be a place for misfits. So I removed those random items and put them somewhere else. Come this past February I went to the linen closet to get the light-up heart for my front room window. I just love that heart, and now I have absolutely no idea where it is! It’s been in my linen closet since I got it about 6 years ago. I have not seen another one. Now, I no longer have a heart! 🙂
See, that’s the problem with reorganizing. My suggestion to any of you; if you decide to remove an item from its place of several years and store it in a more “suitable” place, grab a sticky note with the instructions where to find said item. Stick it in the place (in my case, linen closet) where you are sure to search for it the next time the holiday or event rolls around. If I ever find my heart, it goes right back in my linen closet for safe keeping……..OR I’ll do the sticky note thing.
Take a look at these wonderfully organized linen closets!
12 Great Ways to Use Pegboard
categories: DIY Projects, Home Decor
11, okay 12 ideas to use pegboard…but just a drop in the bucket!