Image from www.google.com
If you’re going to have stairs in your home it’s a good idea to utilise the space for storage. A bit of clever thinking and a good stairmaker and you should be able to add loads of storage (and value) to your home. Some stair storage solutions to inspire…..
Image from www.homyoto.com
Image from www.livingetc.com
Image from www.plastolux.com
Image from www.blueprintbliss.blogspot.com
Image from www.modernjanedesign.blogspot.com
Image from www.chiskwickwoodoworing.co.uk
Image from www.toxel.com
Image from www.ooamouroo.blogspot.com
Image from www.google.com
Image from www.google.com
Armoire is just French for wardrobe. So I suppose French wardrobes (generally a lot more ornate, like the one above and below) are more genuinely armoires…but really any freestanding cupboard makes the grade.
Image form www.simplypix.tumblr.com
A bit of colour on the more ornate ones can look gorgeous.
Image from www.thedailytelecraft.com
Image from www.etsy.com
How cute is this one?
Image from www.houzz.com
This one has no curved top and far less ornate detailing, but it’s still a gorgeous armoire.
Image from www.restorationhardware.com
And this design is totally restrained…if not a little spartan…but so beautiful!
Image from www.bhg.com
Plain and a bit banged up…but this old wardrobe is full of character and is still, you guessed it…. an arm wah darling.
Image from www.pinterest.com
For those of you with holiday homes, now is the time to get yourself organised for the next break away. With a constant stream of towels, hats, jackets and beach paraphernalia, the beach house hallway is more in need of an effective transfer station than most rooms.
Image from www.themarionhosuebook.com
At the risk of repeating myself…hooks and baskets are always the answer!
Image from www.anthropologie.com
For groovy hooks with character scour your local antique shops or check out Anthropologie for these sweet vintage style ones. If you don’t have any wall space then Pottery barn have a gorgeous over the door hook option…see below.
Image from www.potterybarn.com
The other essential item for orgainsing is a good looking, sturdy basket or bag. If your carry bags are beautiful, then wherever they end up (hallway, kitchen table, lounge room floor…) will continue to look nice.
Image from www.potterybarn.com
Pottery barn have these great hessians bags…really multipurpose pieces that will hold your beach stuff or your firewood!
Image from www.iwanthmewares.com.au
Equally multifunctional, market baskets can do anything you need. www.iwanthomewares.com.au has a variety of sizes and leather colours.
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
So get motivated and get yourself a system. If the answer is always the same to “Muuum, where’s the…?” then maybe you’ll stop hearing it quite so often!
Image from www.etsy.com
I’ve been finding some pretty cool ideas for kids lately. So here are a few images to inspire you, from custom made to home made.
The wee toy box above is so cool. And so easy to do. A trip to bunnings and you have castors, spray paint and stencils. All you need to make an old crate come alive with a fun new purpose.
Image from www.designdazzle.blogspot.com
Maybe these will start being mass produced with the increase of multiple births nowadays…but for now you’d have to get it custom made.
How cute!
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
Admit it…no matter how gifted he/ she is, kinder artwork always looks crap up on the wall! That’s because they’re unframed and floating in no-mans land. By giving them a flush start point with the picture rail, and grounding them with a solid colour below they look as they did when they first came home…adorable!
Image from www.tumblr.com
I want to change a lot of things in this room…but not the cubby house bed…that’s fantastic.
Image from www.geckostickers.com
And for a cheaper bed option…check out www.geckostickers.com for this cute counting sheep bedhead decal.
Image from www.house8810.com
If you love a retro look then your kitchen is a great way to introduce your new theme.
Image from www.blog-craftizine.com
Retro kitchen accessories are readily available and add a great splash of colour to a bland kitchen.
Image from www.nicoleshicole.blogspot.com
Bright cannisters always look great, but there’s loads of other cool retro pieces you can use from aprons, biscuit tins to vintage posters.
Image from www.houseofturquoise.com
Your main pieces of furniture in a kitchen are your dining table and chairs so here is where you can make a big retro statement. Some images to get you going…
Image from www.kitchendesignideasworld.net
Love the red checkered table cloth.
Image from www.pinterest.com
Image from www.countryliving.com
Image from www.apartmenttherapy.com
And the old formica tables are fab!
Image from www.retrorenovation.com
Image from www.shootfactory.co.uk
Image from www.houseofturquoise.com
And then of course there are the big ticket items. If you’ve got the cash these old style fridges and stoves are gorgeous.
Image from www.goodkitchen.com
Love the pale blue and chrome!
Image from www.houseofturquiose.com
And old vending machines are a very cool addition to a kitchen.
Check out www.retrotogo.com www.mattblatt.com.au www.vamptvintagedesign.com www.thesecondhandshop.com.au and keep an eye on ebay for all things retro.
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
Your hallway is the first and last impression of the inside of your home…so don’t ignore it.
Image from www.pinterest.com
The right piece of furniture can bring your hallway to life and set the tone for the rest of your home.
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
If you don’t have a lot of space, (like the above…that overlap would drive me crazy, but the day bed is gorgeous) benches are a terrific addition to a hallway.
Image from www.thebrickhouse.tumblr.com
They hold transient things on top, shoes underneath, are purpose built for sitting on to put those shoes on, and team perfectly with a rack of hooks above.
Image from www.livingetc.com
For a softer look an upholstered ottoman is almost as practical and gives you the opportunity to inject some colour into the space.
Image from www.pinterest.com
Stools, hooks and a bit of customising and you can have an epicentre of organisation just down the hall.
Image from www.tani-sweethome.blogspot.com
In whatever style suits your home and lifestyle.
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
Hallways are a great solution to the extra chair dilemma. We need them when we have a dinner party…but for the rest of the time they float around getting in the way. Flanking a console with two chairs breaks down a long hallway really effectively.
Image from www.google.com
Or a similar combo can serve as a baseline for a fun galleria in a wide hallway.
Image from www.remodelista.com
Even if you’re a total minimalist…you need some form of surface area in the hallway.
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
And there are loads of ways to get around a space issue…
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
We all need some sort of home office, but often we don’t have the room, let alone a full room to allocate to the task. There are a number of clever ways of introducing your study without taking up too much precious space.
Hiding equipment and paperwork away in a built in cupboard is a great way to organize yourself .
Image from www.evadesigns.com
And it’s even more effective if you choose a chair that can slide in under your improvised desk.
Image from www.bhg.com
If you want a softer look, then remove the doors on your cupboard/study and use curtains to hide away any daily office messiness.
Any excuse to introduce some great fabric!
Image from www.home-designing.com
If you want to get a little more inspired then go on the hunt for a piece of furniture you can customise.
Image from www.iheartorganizing.blogspot.com
Or keep an eye out for fab old vintage pieces that can be perfect substitutes. I love the height on this one …visually gorgeous and very practical for storage.
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
And sweet writing desks like this never lose their style and functionality.
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
Or..add your own style to a plain bureau.
Image from www.frenchbydesign.blogspot.com
Odd nooks in the house are terrific for converting into study’s. Almost every house has a funny little space or alcove that isn’t being used to it’s maximum. Rather than fill it with useless decorative pieces, kit it out to be a really functional area.
Image from www.apartmenttherapy.com
From a design and styling perspective ( particularly for a study), odd spaces with multiple angles can be your friend in creating an interesting space.
Image from www.houseandhome.com
And whilst I love a good window seat…this is a much more practical and still very inviting use of a window nook.
Image from www.desiretoinspire.com
And I love the use of this space under the stairs…particuarly as the light still comes in through the indivicual stairs. Very clever.
Image from www.housetohome.com
Or… if you’re like me and like to merge life and work, then blend your office into your living area.
Image from www.pinterest.com
Shelving and the right choice of chair and you’re on your way.
Image from www.sweethomestyle.tumblr.com
So…stop taking over the dining table to do your bills, re-think your space and furniture and you’ll probably find you have the space for a fully functioning home office.
Image from www.realsimple.com
We’re all spending lots more time indoors this time of year so if you’re sitting in your lounge/dining/kitchen/bedroom staring at the same boring wall you were staring at this time last year, it’s time to do something about it. Hanging a print or canvas is great…but sometimes a room needs more than that, particularly if you have a couple of blank walls uninterrupted by windows or doors. By having a print on one wall and shelving on the other you add another dimension to the space and many more points of interest.
Image from www.ideastosteal.com
A shelf gives you so many more styling opportunities. Books can be teamed with sculptures, frames with letters as above, any mix of the things you love.
Image from www.westelm.com
Shelves are also a great way of diluting the visual impact of a block of colour. A print, large or small is basically a square within the square of colour , but shelving, and the objects you place upon them break the block with a variety of shapes, textures and depths.
Image from www.decor8blog.com
If you don’t know what sort of shelf to use then white shelves on white walls are a very safe bet. White on white means it’s the objects that draw your eye, not the line of the shelf. This is a really versatile look that works for many styles, from vintage above to very contemporary below.
Image from www.livingetc.com
I’m not as fond of dark shelves on light walls. I think it adds a heaviness to the room… but sometimes it can work.
Image from www.designfiles.com
This one works because the owner has real confidence in styling. Using a fun, bright mix of pieces overlapping the boundaries of the shelf blocks.
Image from www.crushculdesac.com
Or…if the items you’re displaying are very uniform, then you can highlight the brackets. These beautiful vintage hooks look great against the white tiles and dinner ware.
Image from www.thehandmadehome.net
Or… you could get all architectural and use an old mantle (they also look fab as bedheads!).
Whichever way you choose to go about it…get something on that wall. You’ll keep hating it until you do. But you’ll totally love yourself once you have…
Ria FitzGerald has worked as an interior stylist in Melbournes inner east for the past twelve years.
Now based on the Bellarine Peninsula, Ria continues to offer in-home styling consultations for both the visual and the practical elements of your home, renovation and colour consulting and event styling.
Rias work can be seen featured regularly in Home Beautiful Magazine.
\"The I want I want I want! blog is a weekday (ish!) update with reviews of the best online homewares shopping, styling tips, peeks into my favorite homes and commentary on design, interiors and art.
Hopefully you will find new products, designs and ideas to inspire you to make your home the most fabulous place it can be!\" Ria x
