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The Design Inspirationalist

~ Inspiring Ideas | Spectacular Creations

The Design Inspirationalist

Tag Archives: space

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.

Guest Post: Tips for Organizing Your Closet
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.

Guest Post: Tips for Organizing Your Closet
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.

Guest Post: Tips for Organizing Your Closet
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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

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

Time to Get Organized

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.
Time to Get Organized

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.
Time to Get Organized

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.
Time to Get Organized

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.
Time to Get Organized

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!
Time to Get Organized

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

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

28 Monday May 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

balance, color, design, interior design, nature, rugs, small spaces, space, texture

Redefining Space

Here is another collection of ideas that will help you redefine spaces in your home. Sometimes it just takes a few tips to get you started and then you are set to go. There are easy and simple ways of accomplishing successful design. You just have to keep the space in mind and figure out what works best.

Have a stairwell in need of some love? Hanging photos or artwork on the walls will usually do the trick but what about the corner of the stairwell? Don’t think you can’t do anything with them just because it is a small space. Shop around for a corner piece of furniture or place a plant on a plant stand. Two ideas that will solve the problem and look beautiful. You can also dress up the stairs! Get creative and have some fun.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Corners in a room are very important. In my previous apartment I had glass bookshelves in the corner which looks great but still seemed a little empty. I happened to have a big branch that I found in my backyard that I felt would be perfect for the spot. I already had it in an oversized vase on the floor but it wasn’t doing much where I originally had it. This corner was the ideal spot. Not only does it fill up the space, it brings a natural and whimsical feel to the room.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Bringing natural elements into your home is one idea I always recommend people do. The Earth is such a beautiful place and it gives us so much to work with. This is one thing you can take for granted because most of the time it’s free and best of all, it enhances your everyday life in the process.

For natural elements, look around your local parks or even around your backyard. Remember not to settle with an item just because you want to get the project out of the way. Bringing in plants and flowers will always brighten up a room. Your home is an extension of who you are so allow it to represent your style and personality to the fullest.

Another problem I feel people have with defining space is understanding ways to open it up. If you have a small room, you shouldn’t bring heavy, dark furniture into the space. It will just make it look smaller. That doesn’t mean you can’t use browns and darker colors, it just means you should watch how you combine the elements in the room. It should always feel balanced. Knowing your measurements should help solve that problem.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

You can have a big, lofty room and still have it feel relaxing, airy and warm. If you want to fill up the space nicely and can use large furniture, then go for it. For big spaces you can choose from many colors that are warm or cool. It’s just a matter of how you want the space to feel. Color plays a big part as well. The warmer the hue (reds, oranges and browns) the space will seem cozier. The cooler the hue (whites, creams, blues and grays) the space will feel more open and airy. But as long you have a nice balance between color, furniture and texture, you can create the space of your dreams.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

For my living room, I chose a cool blue/gray palette on my walls and included a lot of white. I balanced that out with metal and dark gray furniture. Although its nice to have  a lot of light neutrals in the space, there should be some weight to help balance everything out. This is why I chose darker gray metal pieces with a mix of wood to fill in areas.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Textures also play an important role when balancing a space.  Again, if you are stuck with a small room, brighten it up with a high textured rug but don’t hide it with a heavy coffee table. To show the rug off you want to purchase a table that you can see through or has a very light feeling.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Try to be creative when it comes to furniture. You don’t always have to buy something already made. Make it yourself! A year ago I purchased several crates from Etsy and stacked them to make shelves. Once I placed some of my vintage accessories on them, it stood out brilliantly. Keeping a collection together is more dramatic than spreading it around so try to pair up pieces by style, form or color.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

For vintage crates and things of that nature, stop by garage sales in your neighborhood. You never know what you will find. There are a lot of things in my home I found at yard sales and for a very good price. Don’t forget about antique shops too! Get creative and work with the space you have. It’s all up to you to make it functional and beautiful.

Hope you all have fun playing around with some of these ideas. Remember, it’s easy to design your space and balance it out. Just keep these tips in mind and DIY your way to brilliance.

Scrapbooking 101

26 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Art & Design

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

art, books, crafts, designs, layout, paper, photobooks, photos, scrapbooking, space

Maintaining, organizing and keeping memories close to your heart is an everyday task. There are plenty of ways to protect and preserve the things that really matter in your life and scrapbooking is one of them. Not only is it a great way to tell your personal story but it is a unique way to tell someone else you care. A handmade or printed scrapbook makes an excellent gift.

There are a few elements to this craft one must know in order to successfully create a collection of keepsakes. Once you are aware of them, the process is much easier. Think of these tips as a guide to inspire, motivate and help carry you down the yellow brick road of scrapbooking.

Imagine
First, you must know why you are creating it. What is this book going to say? What is it about and who does it reflect? Knowing the meaning of the book is the best way to create something honest, personal and meaningful. This will definitely reflect through your work.

Scrapbooking 101
{Create interesting pages by combining the use of text, color and imagery}

Scrapbooking 101
{Allow the pages to also have enough negative space}

The Main Attraction
Now think of what type of book you want to use. If you are going the handmade route, you have lots of options to choose from from. Deciding on the style and size will send you along to the next step smoothly. If getting the book professionally printed is your preferred method than research companies and pick the one that fits your price range and offers a great product. Some I recommend are MyPublisher, Inkubook and Blurb.

Scrapbooking 101
{Experiment with different layouts before you decide on the final design}

Scrapbooking 101
{Arrange items so they are readable}

Collect
Gather up all your materials you want to use.  Whether it’s a collection of photographs, various items from a vacation or mixed media, having it all in front of you can allow you to see the bigger picture. This will help you tell the true story and layout the pages much easier.

Scrapbooking 101
{Collect all your materials together and get ready to create something beautiful}

Get Crafty
Now think of any extra materials you want to include. Decorative paper, special borders, stickers – there are tons of creative ways to add that touch of flair to any project. Think out of the box and come up with items that are not so traditional. Whatever you choose, remember to carry a theme throughout the book and reflect the materials used. Having it  all make sense and show a cohesive look will help it become a piece of art.

Scrapbooking 101
{Add some color or texture to the title page for interest but make sure it matches the theme of the book}

Tell the Story
Layout each page in the order you prefer and play around with some ideas. Think of this as sketching out a drawing. It’s good to design a temporary version before you carve it into stone. Doing this will allow you to make changes as you go and not have to redo something that is permanent.

Scrapbooking 101
{Use color to highlight spreads by adding unexpected borders}

Scrapbooking 101
{Don’t forget to include a title page}

Scrapbooking 101
{Combine imagery and text in fun ways}

If you follow these few essential tips you will be on your way to scrapbooking bliss. I also recommend you do some research to see examples of what other people have done. You can do this on the internet or check out some books on the subject. I always say it’s a vital step to any art form.

Gaining inspiration from the stories of others will help you not only distinguish your own but present it in a way you might have never thought of. Happy Scrapbooking!

{For more inspiration check out my previous projects: custom photobooks}

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