Kitchen Shelving

Open shelves in a kitchen are one of the perfect places to display beautiful bowls, saucers, cups, pitchers, dishes, canisters, vases, frames.... almost anything!  The arrangement can be a mix of pieces that are used everyday, only for special occasions and even objects that are on the shelf purely for color or interest.  I recently rearranged items on the open shelves in my kitchen using our everyday dishes and more....

When we moved in the house, I removed the cabinet doors, painted the inside shelves Wythe Blue by Benjamin Moore (it's more of a green than blue), and arranged the shelves with a few items from around the house.  Now after living in the house for a year (time flies!), I tweaked the arrangement by adding dishes, bowls and a few odds and ends that had been hiding behind closed cabinets.

I love it best when old pieces (hand-me-downs, garage sale finds, collected antiques, etc) are combined with the new.... there's warmth and comfort with the old.  This used to be my grandma's soup warmer (there's an electrical cord in the back).... I love it!

And here's a few more photos of the open shelves.....

If you're looking for styling tips to decorate your shelves, I listed a few here.... the tips could be applied whether it's shelving in the living room, kitchen, a kid's room, etc.

So, what's your favorite way to display items in the kitchen?

The Husband's Art

The husband had a team building exercise at work where he was given a canvas, a brush and a painting lesson.  I was envious.... mostly because painting is probably one of the last things you'd ever find him doing while it's something I love to do.  So.... yes, we are two of the most opposite people..... I'm art and color, he's analytical and black and white!  But somehow all of our differences and opposite interests bring us together.  Kinda funny.

During the painting class, the husband said that the instructor gave his team a basic lesson... well, I think his painting turned out beyond basic.  I think it's awesome!  Looking at it makes me feel like I'm laying on a grassy field staring at a perfectly colored midnight-blue sky while the leaves are lightly falling all around (more like Virginia weather, definitely not Texas!).

The painting is now resting on the bookshelf.....

..... and the bold blue color really catches my eye from across the room.  So beautiful!  For the next date night, I think the husband and I need a painting lesson together!

Bookshelf Styling Tips

In between painting and organizing my hall closet (a work in progress), I decided to restyle the bookshelf in my living room.  Over the past few months, I've accumulated a few more books and magazines and the bookshelf seemed to be a little overcrowded.  So, a small update was needed.... I love it now!

I moved some books, rotated a few more and then added other interesting objects from around the house.  These are a few tricks I use when styling a bookshelf:

• alternate between stacking books horizontal and vertical 
• add framed photos and art throughout the arrangement
• lean smaller frames in front of books and larger ones against the back shelf wall
• overlap frames to provide an intriguing look
• position treasures on top, in front or beside the piles of books (ie. antlers, handmade wooden vehicles, game pieces, plates, etc)
• display objects that give reminders of special memories (ie. seashells, stones, wine corks etc all stored in glass jars)
• incorporate a variety of shaped objects (ie. rectangular books, round bowls, circular globes, unique sculptures, etc)

Styling a bookshelf is always a fun and quick project!  Here's one last distance photo of the newly styled bookshelf in the living room....

I hope you have an enjoyable weekend.... I'll be back next week to (hopefully) show you a finished painted and organized hall closet!

Guest Bedroom Big Reveal

The guest room is finished!!!  When I walk in the room this is what I see...

Last week, I showed part of the room when I posted about the lyrics I wrote on the black, painted wooden board using a Sharpie paint pen.  I wrote the words from U2's "One".

On the opposite side of the bedroom is a queen size bed and a newly created headboard.  To make the headboard, I took four wooden shutters that were used in the girl's room when we lived in Virginia.  I attached the shutters together using flat straight brackets, then wrapped a twin size mattress pad over the top of the shutters (sideways) and secured it using a staple gun.  Then I wrapped a white flannel sheet over the pad and stapled again.  After the cushion feeling was attached to the board, I added a gray and white striped sheet from West Elm as the fabric for the headboard.  I wrapped the striped sheet over the flannel sheet, then stapled it to the back.  Voila, new headboard!

The nightstand next to the bed is an extra wicker hamper I had.... I placed a mirrored tray on top and added a few books and accessories...

Above the nightstand is a watercolor painting I recently did....  I also gave an update to an old frame by painting it gold using Martha Stewart's liquid gilding.

Ritva curtains from Ikea are hung above the window.... I added black grosgrain ribbon along the edges just like I did in the living room and the girl's bedroom (more detailed directions on adding grosgrain ribbon here).

Along one wall, I placed a bookcase and a few pieces of art.  For the gold and white chevron print, I quickly drew chevron stripes using a Prismacolor marker (just like I used the marker in the dining room)..... they stripes are uneven, but I like the imperfectness.

And here's the best part, the before and afters pictures.  This is the look of the room when we purchased the house a year ago (I had a few ideas and inspiration photos of what I wanted the room to be)....

Then I made some progress unpacking boxes after we moved in the house and set-up a temporary design for the room....

And finally a finished room....

 

.... and ready for a few guests!

Free Printables: Organization Labels

Now that the holidays are over, guests have said goodbye and decorations have been stored away, I realized there were more things lying around the house than what I started with at the beginning of December.... mostly kid's (tiny) toys.  I like to have a designated spot for the kid's toys, especially the tiny toys... it helps me keep the house organized (and limit the number of times I hear "Mommmmmm, where's Darth Vader's head?").

So, after I (uh, I mean "we") ate the last of the holiday sweets, I had a few food containers leftover.... and empty food containers = tiny toy storage (and the need for cute organization labels!).

To get these containers toy-storage-ready, I first peeled off the packaging labels (these containers are the Archer Farms brand from Target, like this).  Then I used Goo Gone to rub off the leftover paper and stickiness.

Goo Gone took off all the stickiness (and of course I forgot to take a picture of the super clean, clear containers).  After the labels were removed I washed the containers in warm, soapy water and let them dry.  While the containers were drying I created and printed labels, then trimmed the edges.....

After the labels were trimmed, I sprayed the back of each label with Krylon's spray adhesive and placed the labels onto the containers, then put a few on the shelving unit in the playroom.....

.... and one in my son's bedroom for all his little Star Wars men, especially for Darth Vaders head!

Here's printable labels for you!  Click the link below to download the pdf file and print on 8.5/11" paper (preferably white/cream colored), then trim off the white borders and spray an adhesive to the back and place on a container(s).  As a side note, the first few are labeled "Toys" and available in a few colors: black (like mine), orange, gray, green and pink.  The last available download is a Word document, so if you're able to open it then you could change the color and/or update the text to be more specific!

Organization Label - Green
Organization Label - Gray
Organization Label - Orange
Organization Label - Black
Organization Label - Pink

Here's the changeable one I mentioned above... the font I used above is Ostrich Sans by Tyler Finck, available here.

Organization Label - Editable

Have fun labeling and organizing!

Playroom Big Reveal

Woohoo!!!  The playroom is decorated and was finished just in time for the start of school.... perfect timing!  I'm excited to be doing some of our school work in such a fun room (and I love that I feel a little more organized since books, toys, games, etc now have their own designated spot in the house).

The Ikea Expedit, that I purchased here, is a tremendous help in keeping the playroom organized.  The divided shelving makes it really easy to put toys away and keep them organized in separate areas. The galvanized bins on the bottom are a huge plus..... perfect for storing Lego's, play food, toy cars, etc.

To add more color on the shelving wall (besides all the toy colors), I flanked the bookcase with two frames, colored decorative paper and my daughter's scribbles here....

To keep their scribbles, doodles and artwork highlighted, I painted an entire wall in black chalkboard paint here.  I was a little nervous to have one whole wall black, but I LOVE it!  The kids are constantly chalking and are thrilled they can draw huge, life-size pictures on the wall.....

To display all their art creations that are done on smallish-sized paper, I strung yarn across the room here and clipped their work using dressed-up clothes-pins here.

I thought one huge black wall needed something else (and I needed a place to put a keyboard), so I painted a table that used to be in our hallway in VA with the same black chalkboard paint as the wall and placed the table on one end of the wall.  I added the keyboard, a Bygel rail and three Asker containers from Ikea (I modge-podged small pieces of decorative paper on the containers), and recovered a round ottoman in a chevron print (I used the backside of the chevron - Flatiron Pacifica available thru Tonic Living - so the color was a little muted).

Across from the chalkboard wall is a huge window that lets in plenty of natural light.  I wanted bold curtains that would help balance the dark wall on the opposite side.  I ordered several fabric samples here and ended up choosing Varenna Charcoal, available thru Tonic Living.  I made the curtains floor to ceiling length....

Next to the window is another table for the kids.... their own activity table!  I used a round wooden table top and plumbing materials to make the height of the table at my kid's seated comfort level (more about that here).  I painted a few kid chairs Heirloom White by Rustoleum and sawed off a few inches from the legs of two larger (adult-sized) chairs here to make them comfortable for the kids.  I painted one chair a peacock blue color and added a few pillows for more color....

On the top of the table is a tray to encourage the kids to create more artwork.... I love rotating their pictures on the clothes-pins and in frames throughout the house....

Behind the activity table is a bulletin board to hang more artwork....

The kids love having their own space for creativity and play.... I love that it's organized (and neat at the moment)...

And now for my favorite part..... the before and after.  This is what the room (office) looked like when we purchased the house.  I removed the french doors here to open up the space, I also removed the curtains and painted three of the walls Floral White and one wall in black chalkboard paint from Benjamin Moore.

Love it!  And now it's time to finish up the kitchen and living room!

Linking up to Savvy Southern Style, Not So Simple Housewife, Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Chic On A Shoestring Decorating, Tidy Mom, Remodelaholic, Simple Home Life, Family Ever After, Tatertots & Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, I Heart Naptime, Lolly Jane Boutique, The Gingerbread Blog, Between Naps On The Porch, The DIY Showoff, Tip Junkie, J&M's Eye Candy & Southern Hospitality.