Pantry and Kitchen Storage Designs

08 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, Jim Klossner, The Home

Tags

cabinets, country, glass shelves, Hutches, interior design, Jim Klossner, kitchen, modern, open shelving, organization, pantry, Storage, The Spice House

If you spent a ton of time in your kitchen cooking and baking for the holidays, your pantry and kitchen may be looking as though a hurricane came through (mine is!). Whether you are like me and want to get organized after the holiday madness or you are simply hoping to spice up your space for the New Year, there are a number of great ways to create your perfect pantry or revamp your old kitchen storage. Finding the perfect traditional piece or whipping out an unexpected solution are both smart ways to solve the kitchen storage problem.

Hutches and Country Pieces
If you have some under-utilized space in your kitchen, you may want to think about purchasing a dual shelving unit. A hutch with open shelving on top and hidden storage on the bottom is the perfect solution to free up some space in a crowded kitchen. You can display china or stoneware pieces and store away your old pots and pans underneath. And it adds a warm, country touch to your kitchen.

This white hutch combines a ton of space with a design that can fit in with almost any preexisting look and feel.

Photo Credit: House Beautiful

A beautiful two toned version, based on traditional Irish Tipperary Dressers, provides a great backdrop to display antique plates, crocks, or collectibles.

Photo Credit: British Cottage

A built-in hutch stands almost flush with the wall and provides an elegant storage solution without taking up too much floor space.

Photo Credit: Daily 5 Remodel

Glass Cabinets and Other Approaches
If you don’t have the space available to add a large storage piece like a hutch, maybe it’s time to rethink how your cabinets are arranged, and check some new home designs.

Changing out the cabinets can give your kitchen a quick facelift. These glass shelves create the sense of space, and allow you to showcase your favorite pieces.

Photo Credit: House Beautiful

This extremely modern approach to cabinets combines storage space with beautiful recessed lights for a practical effect.

Photo Credit: Digs Digs

This take by Lago completely reimagines what kitchen cabinets are supposed to be, and allows you to make a really personalized statement on what kitchens can look like.

Photo Credit: Fresh Home: Design & Architecture

Open Shelving
Open shelving is another practical option for organizing your pantry or adding a new, functional design element to your kitchen. You can opt for floor to ceiling shelves to maximize your storage space, or simply hang a few open shelves above your table.

Photo Credit: House Beautiful

Partial glass covers create a shared cabinet and open shelving feel that totally functional, but with a beautiful design.

Photo Credit: Apartment Therapy

Free hanging wall shelves can be combined to create any combination of storage necessary for your particular kitchen set.

Photo Credit: Remodelista

Vertical Storage
I also stumbled across another innovative storage solution that I would never have thought of but absolutely love. This vertical storage option is a pole with a wide base that can be placed on a center island or countertop. And the best part is that it rotates, similar to a display that you’d see in your favorite store, so that you can easily access whatever you need at your convenience.

Photo Credit: House Beautiful

An interesting arrangement of wall hangings allows for vertical storage of pots and pans.

Photo Credit: Contempoo

Vertical drawers are great places to store plates, platters and other dishes, in this slide in example that you can work into existing cabinet space.

Photo Credit: Shelterness

This variation offers a vertical spice storage solutions that’s brilliant, and takes up no space at all!

Photo Credit: Home Edit

Whether you are hoping to get organized or would like to achieve a different look for your space, you can accomplish your goal with these innovative storage solutions. Your kitchen will be gorgeous and have your stuff put away in no time!

Jim Klossner is a home improvement professional and amateur chef who needs lots of storage in his kitchen! You can find Jim reviewing products online for The Spice House. Visit their site to see some of his favorites.

Designing the Perfect Study Space for Kids

05 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, Jim Klossner, The Home

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baskets, ceiling light, children, coloring, craft, desk, diy, Funky Furniture, glass globe, hanging shelves, home, homework area, interior design, Jim Klossner, kids, Lego inspired, minimalist, modern, Natural Sunlight, open shelving, pegboard, polka dot chair, reading, Storage, study, Study Space, supplies

Designing the perfect study space for kids can be the key to getting them to focus and finally get good grades. It’s a bit of an art and science: striking the right balance between creating a space that’s bright enough to stimulate them without being so busy it distracts them.

Smart Storage
I loved the following idea of using a colorful pegboard to store supplies for my children. They will have everything they need right in reach and we can also hang up their artwork to inspire them during study time. This idea will help eliminate the inevitable, “Mom, can you help me find this?” question that I seem to hear all too often.

The wide, two-seat table is also a great idea that will fit into our small den space where I’m planning the new homework area. It’s a good idea to consider whether your children work better independently or as a team when designing your study space.

Photo Credit: Houzz

Free hanging shelves and boxes can also be used to create a highly personalized and practical design.

Photo Credit: Rexohome

Another great idea that I stumbled across in my search incorporated baskets and open shelving into the design. This space is much larger than ours, but I loved all of the storage space and the personalized chairs added a special touch.

Photo Credit: Linxwest

Funky Furniture
Another fun touch that gives color and energy to a space is interesting furniture. Ideally, pieces that are kid-sized!

A minimalist desk combines with an inexpensive futon for reading, coloring, and other activities.

Photo Credit: The Lux Home

Simple touches such as a polka dot chair to match a rug and artwork can give a study space an interesting visual feel.

An ultra-sleek and modern look combines chic lines with an uncluttered workspace for a lot of productivity.

Photo Credit: Home in Cast

Natural Sunlight (or the Next Best Thing)
One of the greatest benefits of our new study space is that it has two large windows that let in the afternoon sunlight. Let’s face it, we all feel a little more inspired when we’re working in a space immersed in natural light.

If you have the opportunity to take advantage of the sunlight when you are planning your design, you may find that your child is more motivated because they will be in a better mood and be able to feel the fresh air as they do their work.

Photo Credit: PB Teen

If you can’t get a lot of natural light, here are some interesting choices.

This DIY craft approach converts an old glass globe into a scholarly light.

Photo Credit: Wired

Drum shades give a distinct look and feel to any boring old ceiling light.

Photo Credit: Shades of Light

These Lego inspired LED lamps will be loved by the budding engineers and scientists in your family.

Photo Credit: Inhabitots

The first step in designing a study space for your kids is putting their needs first. Think about their work styles and what inspires them to do their best work. Whether your children would be best suited in an environment where they can work together or if they’d thrive in a space that would allow them to work independently, there are a number of functional and beautiful design options available that would meet the needs of family study space!

Jim Klossner is a home improvement professional and single father of 2. He has enjoyed putting his skills to use, crafting the ideal study environment for his sons’ success. Click here for info on the study materials he recommends!

Piping Hot Design Trends

03 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, Liz Alton, The Home

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bathroom, bedframe, bookshelves, country, exposed duct, historic, Industrial, Liz Alton, loft, minimalist, pipes, recycling, shelving, steel pipes, Storage, upcycling, urban, vintage, wine rack

One of the beautiful things about working in a historic mill building is the gorgeous exposed piping and ductwork. Combined with the brick walls and the high ceilings, it’s one of the selling points of the space. When I was coming up with some creative ways to accessorize the space, I found some visually striking examples of designs that integrated pipes along the ceiling or in accent pieces. If you love this look and aren’t currently calling a loft home, there’s some creative designer and DYI pieces on the market that you can use – from shelving to lighting fixtures.

Exposed Duct Works, Redux
Exposed ductwork is a hot look in a lot of urban apartment and office buildings right now, especially the ones that used to be factories, mills, or big commercial facilities. These lofts go for big bucks, and have tremendous character that you can work with. Lots of natural light, exposed bright, and rich woods permeate the space.

Piping Hot Design Trends

But not all exposed ductwork is urban. This beautiful country example of an exposed duct takes a really practical turn as place to hang pots and pans!

Photo Credit: Trilogy Builds

A colorful paint job makes this design a standout for a fun take on exposed pipes in a kids’ bathroom.
Piping Hot Design Trends
Photo Credit: Houzz

Hanging Storage Solutions
Who doesn’t love a creative storage solution? DIY crafters are rock stars at recycling and upcycling, and these pipe shelves are a great way of using steel pipes and even a bellowsflex hose to create unique shelves and bookcases that can adapt to almost any arrangement.

Here pipes double as both the supports and the mechanism for attaching the shelves to the wall.

Photo Credit: Interior Result

With pipes’ structural integrity, it’s really possible to combine shelves into ultra-creative configurations.

Photo Credit: Yellow Pelow

Hanging bookshelves in particular are a hot item, where shelves can double as both the supports and the bookends. This lighted version is great to illuminate a reading nook.

Photo Credit: Gear Culture

Industrial fittings are used in this one to give it even more character.

Pipe Shelves Scaled
If you love the pipe shelf look but need more than just a foot or so of shelf space provided by the hanging shelves, there are some great examples of floor shelves constructed of pipe. The key qualities translate over: a very artistic and modern industrial look with a highly configurable potential design.

Pipe and wood combine to a really unusual shape in this one – this would be a great idea for working with specific display needs or around an oddly shaped wall feature.

The pipes on this corner shelving unit help anchor the whole thing, while allowing it to fit into a tight space between window and door. Look at all the room you get for books, knickknacks and more.

Photo Credit: Modern Meals for Two

Funky Furniture
There’s also some really fun pipe and hose furniture. This vintage wheel cart combines pipes and antique box wood.

This pipe and wood wine rack is absolutely to die for.

Photo Credit: Manhattan Cleanline

It also makes a sturdy, minimalist bedframe.

Photo Credit: Design Fabulous

A lot of these items are commercially available, but they are all very doable as custom commissions or DIY projects. I think it’s time to sign my husband up for a welding class!

Written By Liz Alton

Tile it Up

30 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bathroom tile, bathrooms, interior design, kitchens, neutrals, renovate, subway tile, tile

You can use tile in a lot of spaces throughout your home. Whether its the kitchen or the bathroom, it can bring high style and a modern updated feel to any room. Since my husband and I plan on renovating our master bath after the new year I have been looking into the many options that are out there. Although I have decided on what we are going to use, I thought it would be cool to share some nice styles I have come across. Enjoy!

The size and color of this subway style tile helps the space seem larger, fresher and more modern. It also is reminiscent of the sea which is perfect for the bathroom.

Photo Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

This mid-century inspired tile is modern yet nostalgic at the same time. The color helps to bring a natural feel to the space.
Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 10.19.25 PM
Photo Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

This floor tile is close to what I want in our bathroom. A vintage style honeycomb pattern brings a nice decorative touch to the space without too much impact. I also love the addition of the flowers, very cute.

Photo Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

The neutral tones in this space are delicate and fresh. It helps to open up the room and give it a clean feel. The marble adds a touch of glamour as well.

Photo Credit: HGTV

This kitchen has so many things I love. It’s vintage inspired, filled with creams and neutrals and incorporates subway tile, which I have chosen to have installed in our bathroom shower. All you need are a few elements you love. Tie them together in the right way and you have a successful space.
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Photo Credit: Chic Deco