The Coat Closet/Armoire That Almost Was

Strangely, our house here in Delaware has zero closets on the first floor. No coat closet. Nothing.

I contemplated buying this armoire/hutch from Craigslist to use as a make-shift coat closet. I ended up passing on it because the bottom two decorative moulding panels were smaller than the top ones and the proportions were driving me crazy. Plus, the price was a little steep for me.

I had planned on painting it and replacing the glass with mirror, for some extra sparkle and so you wouldn't be able to see the coats/stored items.

Windsor Smith

Even though we're moving in a few months, I'm still contemplating the idea of an armoire turned into a coat closet. (I'm sure I'd have plenty of other things to store in the actual coat closet, if we have one. Paint and tools come to mind) It would be easy to find an inexpensive armoire on craigslist and just add two wooden cups and a closet rod dowel cut to size, if there wasn't a rod already.

I would take any of these...

Windsor Smith

Carrier and Co.

Elle Decor

Domino

Cottage Living

Family Command Center

Hi friends,

Happy Monday! I hope you had as much fun as I did this weekend. I'm home with my family in Arizona. We had a mini family reunion here and it was so wonderful to see almost all my siblings and their families (though we missed you, Heather!).

As a side note, I'm shockingly behind on emails. I won't be back in Delaware until March 3, and won't really be working at full speed until then. If you need an answer faster than that, please email me a second time. Thanks!

One of the fun parts about coming to see family is they always let me experiment with their home decorating projects. I usually get to do four or five projects or rooms each trip.



My sister moved to a new house this year and I think we're going to try this project from Southern Living in her kitchen. She has an end cabinet that looks just like this one in the picture.



Right now it's painted with chalkboard paint, which we'll keep, but I think some of these suggested additions will do just the trick, like a piece of cork, a magnet board and some trim to finish off the look.


Thanks to a tip from an LGN reader, we will order some over-sized nail heads from this site.



And for the ribbon border we'll be making a stop to one of my favorite little shops in Mesa - Ribbons and Lace.


We're planning to pick up a roll of cork at Michaels and we'll get some metal sheeting cut at Home Depot for the magnet board.

images via Southern Living

Just Looking At This Makes Me Nervous

I will never be this woman.

Can you keep a secret ?

I will never be this woman either.

Lord knows my mother tried to make an organized person.

I rebelled. 

The first thing I did in my 1st apartment 

was to leave my clothes on the floor. 

I didn't even want to leave them on the floor, 

but I did

because I could!!!

This is not my laundry room!

Ahhhh....if only this were my laundry room 

and was this ORGANIZED.

This is

NEAT AS A PIN.

You guessed it.....

...not my office.

All this extreme tidiness and organization makes me feel nervous,

stressed out, and feeling a bit ' less than.'

Because I really do, I want to be organized.

    If this were someone else's desk,

and I were temped to borrow something.....

I would not.
I would be too freaked that I would not put it back
in the same exact spot.
Like I said.....
this much organization makes me nervous.
(and I guess it should)
''The obsessive-compulsive is at the extreme end of a continuum that begins with the person who, for instance, is scrupulously neat about his desk,'' said Blanche Freund, a psychologist at the Program for the Clinical Study of Anxiety Disorders at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia." 

"Evidence from brain studies of people with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, done by teams led by Dr. Rapoport and by Lewis Baxter, a psychiatrist at U.C.L.A., suggest the involvement of a brain circuit that runs between the frontal lobes and the basal ganglia, a series of structures at the base of the brain.

Those brain areas are involved in coordinating what the senses register with how the body responds to it. Dr. Rapoport believes they may have a role, for instance, in patients who doubt the evidence of their senses.

''These patients will turn a knob to check that a door is locked, then start to doubt it as they are going down the steps, and go back again and again to recheck,'' Dr. Rapoport said."

The hardest lessen I have ever learned in life 
was that I need to TRUST MY GUT.
And isn't trusting your senses trusting your gut?

Don't get me wrong I am not a disorganized pig.

I am very CLEAN ( I promise ).

I just am someone who makes piles.

And when the pile is really old.......it gets tossed.

I mean how important can it be if I haven't  needed anything in the pile?

And trust me...........I know my piles!

And approximately what is in them.

I am very organized in that way. LOL

Can most of us agree

that most of us are not this neat?

Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) 

is a personality disorder which involves an obsession with perfection, rules, and organization. People with OCPD may feel anxious when they perceive that things are not right. This can lead to routines and rules for ways of doing things, whether for themselves or their families.

I was already working on this post

when one of my best friends came over to have coffee and return something.

We have both been busy so we were catching up.

Her boyfriend ( who she lives with)

was just taken to a mental health facility

  ( nut house, loony bin, funny farm ).

He is the most annoyingly rigid,

and organized person within a 5 mile radius of where I live (maybe).

He is about 56 or so............

he just started not sleeping at night....

and continued  to be his uptight controlling self.

Still he was constantly 'directing the show' and anybody else's 'show'

that would listen.

*Ever meet someone who always knew the RIGHT WAY

to do something or the RIGHT ANSWER to a question?

Always.

Everything and Anything.

You can't tell them anything.

They already know everything.....

and if they don't know.....they bullshit their way through.

( and I don't like that )

Well, that is him.

*Extreme control of your environment through organization

of things (or trying to control the people around you)

is usually because you feel out of control.

He's out of control alright.
He's on his way to a very controlled environment right now,
which should have him feeling out of control.
But I guess that's their plan ( at the 'facility').
What ever issues he has, that feeling of fear,
being out of control, just being controlled by others
should bring all his internal garbage right to the surface.
I feel so sorry for him,
and my dear friend.
We are all very fragile
I know you are wondering if my 'dear friend ' reads my blog,
she says she does....I know she doesn't.
And I guess this will confirm it.
It is okay either way. I have said all this to her before his psychic break.
I had a feeling ...and was worried about her being in the relationship.

Last but not least,

this picture was titled 

" command  center."

( Scary Stuff )

Do you know someone 

who is wound really tight? ( besides me)

Are you neat as a pin?

Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....

credits: NYT  , and here


Interior Design, Palm Beach, Boca Raton,Ft.Lauderdale,Design Service, Window Treatments, TurnKey Interior Design Service,Paint selection, Floor-Plans,Online Interior Design,
Design Center of The Americas, D.C.O.T.A., Compulsive behavior, Neatness, Organization

Kids' Rooms Organization

Lindsay was hoping to get some quick advice from me about organizing kids' rooms. I'm sure she would love to get your input, too. Here's her email:

Hi Jenny,

I am new to your website and I have to say love it! I too am a mom (of 3) and married to a law student. With a limited budget its always fun to get creative, and inexpensive decor ideas (like the paper alphabet in the nursery! That is my project today).

My kids ages are 4 yrs., 1.5 yrs., and 4 mo. With the youngest two's ages, I still have a ways to go before they are out of that destruction mode. I'd like some ideas on how I can decorate my house with child friendly accessories, but still have the feel of an adult space with class. Another thing is we currently live in a small apt. and, as much as I'd like my girls to have a playroom, we can't. Therefore all the toys are in their room, and it is always a mess. I feel like it is a full-time job just cleaning and reorganizing their toys. I am tempted to buy tubs and put the toys in there, put them out of reach and only pull one or two tubs out at a time. That way I can limit the amount of mess, and they can learn to pick up their toys themselves. What do you think of this idea?

Is there a better way to have a stylish childrens' room that can be clean, organized, and free of destruction?

Lindsay


Well, Lindsay, there are a lot of toy organization systems available, but not all of them are functional and stylish.

Just like you, we don't have room in our townhouse for a playroom. Some of our toys are in the girls room, stored in painted baskets under the crib and under the play table, but many of the toys are downstairs in the living room. I found a solid wood toy chest at Ross two years ago that had a sailboat painted on it (not cute). But the shape was classic, the hardware was nice and the price was $20. I painted glossy black and added some gold accents. It looks great in the living room and is super functional, though some days I hate having toys in that space. The toy box looks sort of like this one (but ours is painted):


Here's a pretty toy box for sale on your city's Craig's List for $20.


Or here for $30.


Or here.


I'm pretty sure one of my first purchases post-graduation will be a few of these Land of Nod bins ($150 each). They look well-made and sturdy, and I think the functionality is obvious. Toy organization and clean-up would be a breeze, even for the kiddies. (Seleta loves these, too)


IKEA's Expedit system ($159) is a really good option for storing a lot of toys without making a huge footprint in the room. I would fill some of the shelves with soft canvas baskets from HomeGoods, Target or IKEA. Virtually any store with home furnishings will sell these bins.

You could also use galvanized buckets from Home Depot in some of the shelves. These look great in their original finish, but can be painted any color you want to match your nursery. They are perfect for blocks, Barbie clothes, flashcards, really any smallish toys that need corralling.

And the Expidit shelves are obviously good for book storage too.

You could paint or paper the insides of the shelves to make things more interesting.

via flickr

This Ohdeedoh reader painted her Expedit shelves with chalkboard paint.

via Ohdeedoh

Here are a few Expedit shelves from your city's Craig's List:

here, $50 (comes with the two baskets, which you could paint)


here, $40

and here, make your best offer.

Another option that's worth looking into is Target's version of the Expedit system, called the itso system.

If you're looking to go another route, I like the idea of refurbishing the inside of an armoire.

The great benefit being that you can shut the doors and not see any toys in the room.


This is a great armoire from your local Craig's List. I like that it's lower and wider, so the kids can easily reach their toys.

You could put this antique wooden case on top for extra storage.


And/or these mail slots. These look straight out of Anthropologie.


These wooden shelves are really narrow and would take up very little floor space. They could look really great with a few coats of paint and some pretty paper on the backs and sides of the shelves.


I know it's not exactly an armoire, but this antique cabinet could be gorgeous with a little TLC (including a new base made from MDF). Only $20.


This armoire is another good option.


Storage ottomans are also great for hiding away toys. These below are new from Target and cost $130 each. One of my clients is considering buying a pair of the brown trellis printed ones for under her small entry console. There are lots of other great color and print options to check out, as well.

As an alternative to the above, you could buy this leather ottoman and reupholster it in a fun, youthful outdoor print for the nursery or in something more sophisticated for the living area.


A whole different direction would be this canvas and chrome rolling laundry basket. Toys could be tossed inside and pushed into the closet when not in use.This Ohdeedoh reader shared her idea for hanging galvenized buckets on the wall for small toy storage. Love it.


Library-style book display shelves can be really pricey, but I think so worth the cost and space. I coveted the Pottery Barn Kids Schoolhouse book shelf ($$$) for a long time before they discontinued it. This $22 bookshelf could really do the trick. {Isn't it just screaming for a paint job?} And, to save space, you could mount the shelves on your wall.

Here is one of my favorite ideas that I can't wait to try. We all have seen (or used) these cheap plastic crates that are available at most home stores, like Target and Walmart. I have never used them because they're pretty ugly and small items always fall out through the holes. Frustrating.
This genius woman is sharing her easy tutorial for making cute and functional crate liners. These now-adorable crates would be perfect inside an Expedit shelf or just stacked, like below. She used Amy Butler and Heather Bailey prints here.


Do any of you space-savvy mothers have some additional tips for Lindsay? What is the best trick you have for keeping toys off the floors when not in use?