Coat closet makeover

You know that one spot in your house that becomes the dumping spot for every random bit that doesn't have a real home?  Ours was this coat closet.  It's hard to take a good picture because it's at the end of a narrow hallway, and it's such a small closet, but hopefully this will give you an idea of where we started.

This closet was only wide enough to hang maybe 5 coats.  And there was so much wasted space on the top and bottom of the hanging rack.  I've been wanting to do this makeover for a few years, so I was grateful for the Closet theme for Point of View to actually give me a deadline to get it done.

After cleaning out all the stuff (coats are now on hooks in the laundry room- we'll share that update on another post), and ripping out the rail and lone shelf, we were ready to get started.

A little joint compound fixed all the holes and marks left from the demolition process.  Some sanding and it was time for paint.  I just used some we already had on hand, but I'm glad it was yellow- to add some brightness to this small space.

We decided to do rails with adjustable shelves because this closet is so close to the hub of our home- the kitchen and family room- we want to be flexible with how we use it.  Right now it is housing books, and over flow office supplies from our new homework area, in an attempt to reign in the visual clutter in the family room.

Are you ready to see the after?

 

This is as good as I can get of the whole thing.  But it gives you an idea of how much more storage we can fit in here.

 

Here is a more straight on shot.  I am so excited to finally have places for everything in here now.  After finishing the basement, we are still in "now that this can't be shoved in the basement we need to find it a real home" mode.  There are a couple more piles that need to be tackled (under the stairs in the basement is one ;) )  But this is a HUGE step in the right direction.

I have to give a shout out to my sweet husband who did the heavy stuff for me.  I appreciate his support so much, even when he'd much rather be doing just about anything else.  You're the best hon.

And now back to our regularly scheduled boutique sewing blitz.  More updates on inventory progress coming up later this week.

xoxo,
Amy

Point of View Reveal- Organize

One small project a month, one small area at a time- we are working this year on "Spots" in our home.  There's nothing like a deadline and a link party to keep you moving forward with projects- right?

The theme this month is Organize.  And here are our Points of View:




So great, right?  I love how each of us did something different, and nothing is super hard, but every project will help make our lives just a bit better.

We'd really like to thank Hilda from "From Overwhelmed to Organized" for being our guest this month.  You can check out her project here.

And you can find the other projects at the regular places:

Steph from Crafting in the Rain

Leanne- Organize and Decorate Everything

My project is Here

Jonie- Just Between Friends

Ashlee from I'm Topsy Turvy

Now, it's your turn to reveal your Organizing projects, link up anything- old or new- and inspire us to get our homes in order.
We are doing something new this year and leaving the link parties open all year long.  So if you get inspired, and decide to join us in our Spots projects, don't worry if you don't get them done the month we post- just come link up any time and we'll be spotlighting projects all through the year on our Pinterest boards, Facebook pages and feature posts on the blogs.

Thanks so much for being part of Point of View.
xoxo,
Amy

Organizing papers

I have revealed in previous posts that my kitchen counters are usually in a major state of disarray.  From papers, to craft supplies, to kid stuff- everything gets dumped in the corner and left there.  Now that our basement is finished- we are land locked.  Everything we are keeping needs a place to live- no more squatting on my kitchen counters. :)

One problem is kids' homework.  I'm sad to say we've lost more than one assignment in the abyss that was the mess of the counter.  

I've had this hanging organizer from Ikea for a couple of months now, but never bothered to put it up.  This month's Point of View project was just the push I needed to finally get it done.

 

I pulled out my trusty washi tape and put a couple rows on each folder- that way the kids would know which one was theirs.  I love the color it adds to a pretty plain piece.

You'll notice it's still on the floor.  I'm waiting for hubby to hang it for me.  This thing is going to be holding a lot of papers which can get heavy and I want it in there good.  If anyone knows how to hang something that isn't going anywhere, it's my husband. :)  Hopefully it will be up tonight, and I can edit this post later and show you how it looks in it's final spot.

Do you have any great organizing tips?  Come link them up at our Point of View party and join the fun.

xoxo,

Amy 

linked up to Friday Flair at Whipperberry

Craft Room Tour

 So, I had a moment on Saturday.  I bought a nice, big, cutting mat on a screaming deal from Joann's.  When I got it home and tried to put it on my craft table, I realized it was about a foot bigger than the table.  Luckily, my craft table is actually my Great-grandmother's dining table, and we had an extra leaf out in the garage.  Easy enough to fix, right?  WRONG.  When I put the leaf in, the table was now too close to where I originally had the sewing desk, this prompted an entire room rearrange and organize.  So, since it's as clean as it's ever been, I thought I ought to document it, for posterity. ;)  This is the view from the door. 

 Here is my fabric area.  I started collecting the front and back panels of Capri-sun boxes to use as mini bolts for my fabrics- and then they changed their packaging!  So this is it for now, until I can purchase some new ones, or get ambitious enough to cut other cardboard down to the same size. :)  This is why the majority of my stash is in the cabinet and on the book shelf.  Harder to keep neat, but it works for now.

 My GINORMOUS cutting mat.  I LOVE it!  This is also where my paper crafting supplies are located.

 This is my sewing desk.  Eventually there will be a t.v. above it, and I'll fill in the wall with other art.  This is my start.  The desk is reclaimed from a house my Dad was renovating.  The house was actually said to be haunted, but so far, they've stayed out of the desk. ;)

To the left of the last picture you could catch a glimpse of my dirty little secret- the closet.  This is where the rest of my "craft junk" (as it's referred to by the 6 year old) lives.  I don't know how people have every.single.piece of crafting equipment they own neatly and beautifully stored.  This is where the ugly lives people. The unruly knit fabric that won't stay neatly folded, the naked pillow forms and all the other bits and pieces I don't always use, but like to have on hand for those Just In Case moments.  It's a problem, I realize that.  It is getting better, and I hope my desire to have a lovely creative space will motivate me to use up a lot of this stuff so I don't have to store it anymore.  That's logical, right?

I love my little craft space.  If you have any questions about what you see- feel free to ask!  There's lots more coming up this week!  So try not to be too shocked when you see me blog *gasp* multiple times in one week. ;)

Thanks for stopping by.
XOXO,
Amy

DownEast Home and Clothing Review {sponsored post}

This month I was given the opportunity to go to DownEast Home and Clothing to do a review.  Now, this wasn't hard for me- I LOVE DownEast Home and all the goodies I can find there.  Usually I'm in the market for small ticket items (as I was this time) BUT, see that gray cabinet?  I REALLY, REALLY want that cabinet!  I'm saving up my pennies and dimes so I can have it. :)

But, since my walls are brown in the room I want this cabinet for, perhaps this would be a better option?  The wood top would be the perfect unifying accent to tie the gray with the brown walls. The thing I love about DownEast Home is the prices.  The pieces of furniture are great quality at wonderful prices.  Prices good enough, I actually have a prayer of getting one of these into my home sooner rather than later. :)

Great furniture isn't the only thing you can find at DownEast.  They have many styles and types of textiles for your home.  I found a wonderful cozy blanket to keep in my newly finished basement for those cold winter nights watching movies.

Mostly though, when I head to DownEast, it's for the accessories.  It's like a great treasure hunt because they have them scattered throughout the displays and you have to look pretty closely or you might miss something amazing.  I love these beautiful serving dishes.  That's what I want the cabinet for- to store my serving pieces, and if I had a cabinet that large, I could get away with buying these too. ;)

I think these stools would be awesome in my new craft room.  Easy to move around and tuck away when not in use.

However, as I said, I was on the hunt for accessories to put around my house.  I like a modern cottage feel, casual but not too busy.  I love small accessories for the warmth and charm they give a home, but I don't want it to be crazy with millions of them.  These are the treasures I found for my home.  I love the white pillars with the hurricanes on them- I think they are going to be so fun to use for holidays.  I am thinking of filling them with skulls or spiders for Halloween.  The birds are just little fun pieces to spread around.  I love the colors they are now, but I'm thinking they may look a bit more modern if I spray paint them a solid color.  We'll have to see. ;)  The bike, well, it's just fun.  The pots are wonderful, and again will be fun to change seasonally, but I may paint them as well to have them stand out a bit more.
DownEast has clothing too.  I wanted to take some pictures of the cute pieces they have for the new season, but I got so busy grabbing things to try on, I forgot.  I'll have to rectify that situation and go back soon. ;)

We finished our basement just weeks before the baby was born so we're still in the process of arranging things and figuring out where everything should go.  I'll make sure to keep you posted on these  pieces and where they end up. :)

If you're local to Utah, and looking for a fun place to find treasures for your home or wardrobe- DownEast Home and Clothing is a wonderful option.  You can find them on Twitter here: www.twitter.com/downeasthome ; and on FB here: www.facebook.com/downeasthome.  And if you're not local, you can always look through their treasures online.

Now I better get to work organizing and cleaning up so these beauties will have a lovely place to call home. 
Talk to you soon!
xoxo,
Amy
*disclaimer- I was given a gift card to spend at DownEast but all opinions, pictures and rave reviews are my own*

Forcing Spring

Here is a teaser for my Point of View post tomorrow. This is the brooch I made to go with my skirt! Love the colors and fabrics. And totally off topic, but can I just say what a difference quality cotton makes in a project? I am very thrifty (of necessity) and usually don't splurge on quilt quality cotton, but I'm a believer now! {if I can just get my budget on board we'll be set}
I am DYING for spring to get here for real. We've had rain and cooler temps the last week and a half and I'm gunning for some high 50's low 60's! It doesn't seem like too much to ask does it?

Last week in desperation I had my sister meet me at our local thrift store to see if I could find something to brighten up my front room. Well, that was a bust, but I did talk her in to coming out to my house and helping me style my room to make it a little brighter and more colorful.

You may notice in these photos that some things are still in process, the small white pillow in the club chair is now this pillow and the table topper isn't bound. {I'm telling you this so when I blog about it you'll be impressed. ;)}

This wall is where the front door opens up. I'm loving the wreath on this wall, it opens up the room a lot. Thanks mom for the hand-me-down! {she has good hand me downs}

This is the front half of the room. I inherited the secretary from my Aunt. It used to belong to my great-grandmother. I think I'm going to paint it white. I love the shape and function of it, but the color is a little heavy for me.

All the furniture in this room needs to be re-covered in some way. I'm hoping I win the slipcover DVD Char is giving away over on Crap I've Made. Speaking of expensive fabric {we were, weren't we?} I'm not looking forward to the price tag on fixing these, but I'm sure it will be cheaper than buying new furniture. Any takers on doing the slipcovers for me? No? Bummer. :) Guess I better get to it.

Get on with it already Spring! I'm ready for you!

xoxo,

Amy