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.

Tips for Organizing Your Closet

26 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, Kim Willington, The Home

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

closets, Clutter, Donate, Hangers, Helpdesksoftware.org, Hooks, Kim Willington, organization, shelves, space, Vertical Space

Closets start to become the refuge for everything else in your home that you don’t have a proper space for or just haven’t taken the time to classify. It’s easier to throw something on a shelf or on the floor of the closet to get it out of the way than it is to properly organize your space.

Bedroom closets are prone to even more clutter and mess with piles of clothes, shoes, scarves, ties, and handbags crammed into every last space. Not only does it make it hard to find the things you need when your closet has reached such a state, but it also brings down the feel of the room, creating clutter and tension.

It is important to get your closet organized to free up the space you need and to create a pleasing, relaxing space. Here are a few tips for how you can get your bedroom closet organized:

Clear the Clutter
Before you can start organizing the things you need in your closet, you have to first get rid of the things you don’t need. Sort through all your clothes, all your shoes, all your accessories and ruthlessly cut the waste.

Donate the items that you haven’t worn in several months. Stop hanging on to those jeans you think you’re going to wear after you lose 10 pounds. Get rid of those shoes you hang onto for a special occasion. It is better to buy these things again when you actually need them than to waste your time and your mental energy maintaining them.

Use Hooks and Shelves
Most closets have a basic rod and top shelf, creating only limited space for hanging clothes and storing boxes. You can create more opportunities for storing and hanging by adding more shelves and hooks. Use the shelves for folded clothes, shoes, boxes, and handbags. Use the hooks for ties, scarves, handbags, and necklaces.

Photo Credit: The Container Store

Creating this additional space will give you more opportunities to organize your items so that your belongings are not cramped and cluttered.

Choose Tiered Hangers
You can only create so much space with more rods or shelves. If your closet is very small or you just have too many clothes to fit comfortably in it, you can create more space by using tiered hangers. These hangers lock onto one another vertically to allow you to hang up to five items in the space of one. You may not be able to use them for bulky items like sweaters, but you can use them for most other items, creating much more space in your closet.

Be sure that the rod in your closet is strong or is reinforced. By using tiered hangers, you are significantly adding to the weight on the bar.

Do Double Duty
Take advantage of all the space in your closet by making some items do double duty. Suitcases can be used to store linens like tablecloths and sheets, or you could use them to store last season’s clothes. Handbags can stores scarves, hats or mittens — or even other handbags.

Don’t store items that you will use on a regular basis, such as clothing. You’ll only create more work for yourself when you go into your closet, and the point of organizing is to make life more simple.

Create Vertical Space
Don’t limit yourself to the width of your closet. Create more space by storing all the way up to your ceiling. No, we don’t mean piling clothes and boxes as high as they will go. Instead, add shelves and other storage devices all the way to the ceiling. You can create space over the door and along the sides, as well. You can even create a basket on the ceiling that can hold wrapping paper or similar items.

Photo Credit: HomeSessive

Organizing your bedroom closet is a first step towards creating a simpler, cleaner space in your bedroom. These simple steps can take your closet from a cluttered mess to an orderly space that makes it easy for you to find what you need and makes you feel good about your living space.

Photo Credit: The Buffalo News

How do you organize your bedroom closet? Share your strategies in the comments!

Written by Kim Willington

Time to Get Organized

17 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Crafty Ideas, The Home

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Tags

better homes and gardens, labels, organization, organized, Repurposing, space, vintage

I have always been an organized person. I feel being this way helps people to live a better and saner life. Some don’t really know where to begin and others just can’t keep it up. Well here are some easy tips for getting organized that everyone can follow. Thanks to Better Homes and Gardens for sharing such great information.

Labeling bins, crates or baskets with everyone’s name can certainly help a bunch of items stay put – I borrowed the whole idea from Wunderlabel France. This is especially great for kids too.

Having a large family can sometimes get hectic. Even if you only have two kids it can get a little crazy. By giving everyone their space, each of their things has a place it belongs. Doing this in the entry is a great idea because things are put away right when you walk in the door which gives you one less thing to worry about.

Having an organized office space is crucial to getting things done in a timely manner. It’s also good for your sanity! I make sure my home office is always tidy and clean. Otherwise, I cannot work to the best of my ability. When I see ideas that not only work but look good too, I get super happy. This oversized pocket protector is perfect for keeping folders, papers, magazines and all sorts of items in place and close to your desk.

Reusing items or vintage objects is right up my alley. I love this idea to use an old suitcase to store linens. It can be used to hold other things too which is really cool.

With all the gadgets people have these days, needing a charging station is sort of essential. Back to repurposing with this vintage tool box reuse. Great idea!

{For more great ideas on how to organize your space, visit this article on the Better Homes and Gardens website}

Guest Post: How to Part with Clutter

28 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Allison Moody, cleaning, Clutter, Donate, functional, labeley, money, organization, organized

You’d be surprised how many people have a really hard time parting with clutter. What I mean by clutter are old clothes, old books and magazines, broken-down furniture, hardly functioning appliances, rusty dishes, worn-out carpet rugs, etc.

There are two types of people who can’t part with clutter:
1) Those who keep old stuff but also buy new things, and have a really hard time finding room for everything.
2) Those whose frugality borders with stinginess and keep repairing, sewing, gluing, stitching and painting old stuff, so they wouldn’t have to buy anything new.

Recognizing you have a problem is the first step to making your life easier. In order to bring yourself to a place where you’ll feel good about parting with clutter, you’ll need to sit down and think about this problem seriously. Admit to yourself that you don’t really need most of the things lying around the house and making it impossible to tidy up completely. Realize that these are just material things that should not have any emotional significance to you – at least most of these things. They are replaceable and SHOULD be replaced every once in a while.

Of course, this is not to say that you should be one of those people who go out and buy a new appliance every two months. The planet is polluted enough already and we should all learn not to waste stuff. So how do we make a distinction between wasting things, and parting with clutter at the right time?

Photo Credit: Sane Spaces

Hints That Help You Recognize Unnecessary Items

Clothes you haven’t worn for over a year
Appliances that break down every other time you use them
Dishes that burn food
Furniture that looks run down, peels away, is uncomfortable to sit or sleep in
Rugs that look dirty even after washing them
Books and magazines that you don’t absolutely love

Photo Credit: Audrey Thompson

Once you’ve realized you’ll be better off without things you’re either not using, or you’re better off not using them, you can do several useful things with them:

1. Donate clothes to charity.
2. Find out which stores accept old/broken down appliances, and they’ll maybe give you a discount on new items.
3. Books and magazines can be sold on ebay or any similar website.
4. If you or anyone you know have a summer house where you don’t spend much time and aesthetics are not of importance, any old furniture, dishes, rugs etc. could do.
5. Throw away items that no one needs without a moment’s hesitation.

Now that you’ve cleared away all that clutter, your house and wardrobe are ready for new, functional things. Don’t over-buy or buy hastily. The point is not only to make your house a place you can breathe in and move about easily, but also to learn how to spend money wisely, on things you actually need.

Don’t buy a book the moment you feel like reading it; try borrowing it from a library or a friend. Think carefully about what you will really need and use in the kitchen. As far as clothes go, invest in good boots, jackets and winter coats, but don’t pay too much money for blouses, pants and skirts that you’ll get tired of quickly. Recycle all that you can, and feel good about moving on from old stuff.

Photo Credit: Ken Lauher

{Allison Moody writes about parting with clutter from her experience. She works much better in a tidy space, and she enjoys writing and reading about useful tips. Allison is a freelance ghostwriter and currently she’s working on promoting her new FREE online tool, Labeley. She can be reached at allison.moody@labeley.com.}