Happy Little Fridge

On Saturday, I went for a walk in the Glebe with my husband and two kids.  After enjoying some very delicious gluten/dairy/egg-free treats from The Wild Oat (thank you so much!), I was left to explore a couple of kitchen and decorating stores while my darling husband took the little peeps (aka the things that can't stop touching stuff) to the toy store.  He got brownie points for that one.

While I was walking around in J.D. Adam Kitchen and Home Accessories, I found something that I knew I "needed" but didn't know existed.  I almost did a little gleeful yelp, but I kept it all inside.  This is the gem I found:

Solace Interiors

Oh 'Fridge Binz!, where have you been all my life?  

As many of you know, my daughter was diagnosed with food intolerances in August.  This has meant that our already crowded fridge has become extra crowded as we have to stock dairy and non-dairy substitutes of everything.  I also enjoy cooking and many of my recipes call for multiple condiments.  I had a whole door full of bottles that I might need for one recipe, but don't use on a daily basis.  But, if you push all those bottles to the back of the fridge, I may inadvertently purchase a second bottle of a sauce or spread, thinking I was all out (PET PEEVE!).  Then along comes 'Fridge Binz!.

Here is my fridge earlier today:

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Here is my lovely new bin filled with jams, horseradish, seafood sauce, olives, and good 'ol flax meal.

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While I was reorganizing my fridge, I took took the opportunity to clean it.  My mother would be so proud!  I also ended up moving around a shelf.  Check out my bin on the orange juice shelf.  

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I can pull it out very easily and access any condiment I need.  If you had more storage needs in your fridge, 'Fridge Binz! are stackable and come in a variety of sizes.  The one I purchased was 8"x14.5"x4".  I love it.  On a side note, I was recently working with clients that kept a Kosher kitchen and I wonder if this would be an option for keeping dairy and meat separate in a small fridge.  So many options and so much nicer than a simple plastic box.  The plastic is BPA-free and is extremely durable.  It feels to be as thick at the drawers already in the fridge, so I think it's going to be around for years to come. 

Happy Organizing, my friends!

ORGANIZING: Understanding Your Client

I have known this client for six and a half years and have been trying to figure her out since day one.  While her need to have everything in its place is apparent, her need to create overtakes her space in a short period of time, making her space look like bomb went off.

Yes folks, I'm talking about my daughter.  She has the fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on your view) pleasure of living with me, an organizer.  I have a need for things to be in their place.  I need the sense of calm when I walk into a space.  I think everyone needs a degree of that as well, and sometimes it takes a while to figure out what your needs are.

My little lady has been in this room since her little brother was on his way and she needed to move to a big girl bed.  Being a decorator, I chose to paint the room a soft neutral and allowed all the textiles in the room be the pops of colour.  I made her a duvet cover to work with some great ready made drapery panels from IKEA.  I added the carpet, also an IKEA find.  I'm a thrifty person, working on a very limited budget.  Knowing that, I was able to use previously loved furniture in this space.

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Her room has been "done" several times over the last few years.  First the bed had to be up against a wall or she would roll onto the floor, then it was moved to allow for more play space.  After that, her small 3 drawer dresser was moved into her little brother's room, leaving room for a 9-drawer dresser that had been mine growing up.  If I was decorating the room from scratch, I would say the dresser is too big for the space, but with our budget and my daughter's need for storing clothes, it was just going to have to work.

The bookcase, that was in our kitchen at our previous house, has been in here since the beginning.  As the years go by, the books get placed higher and higher, allowing more storage for bins and baskets. 

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Most recently, she asked for a desk to do her homework and drawings on.  After Barbie's three-storey house was moved to the basement, I found a desk on Used Ottawa for $55.  Not a wow piece, but will work just fine for the time being.  I do love the shape of the chair, so that was a bonus.

All this moving furniture in and out of her room means I have put more than a few holes in the wall, hanging art and magnetic boards.  At one point, I made a wall of 4 Ikea magnetic boards.  I thought it would be a great way for her to showcase her creations.  In no time, it was covered and began to look like a mess.  I kept trying to edit it, but in the end this is where understanding your client comes in.

Her little space

 It's taken me 6 years, but this is what I know of my daughter and her organizational habits.

1. She likes a clean room and is a master of making her bed. 
2. When I ask her to tidy up, she would rather take it all and shove it under the bed so I can't see it instead of finding it's proper place.
3. She likes to keep EVERY SINGLE THING SHE HAS MADE.  This one is a tough one for me.  You can keep SOME things, but not all things.  Otherwise you don't honor how special some of your pieces are.  This is also why the magnet boards didn't work.  I'm trying to teach her this now, so she isn't on some freak Hoarding show in 20 years.
4. She needs places to put things or they will all end up on her desk or dresser.
5. Like most people, she gets frustrated when she can't find something.  Thus her need for the organization.

Her room has been reorganized for the 6th time now, after this final furniture addition.  The dresser and the desk have been separated.  Having them on one wall, meant the mess could continue from one to the next.  Above her desk, I have left her with one of the magnet boards to display changing items.  A while back I picked up these butterfly decals at the Dollarstore (shown above the magnet board in the desk photo).  They work wonders at covering up nail/screw holes and can be repositioned without affecting the paint. 

She has one wall where we will tape up artwork.  This makes it not look so messy.  I tried the blue tacky stuff to hang the posters, but it doesn't stand up to the ceiling fan current. The thought of using paint to turn the whole wall into a magnet board crossed my mind, but then we'd run into the messy wall again.  Not going to do that!

Her artwork wall

Similar to my last post, this is not a room that is meant to be in a magazine.  The books aren't organized by colour or facing backwards with the spines facing in.  But the books are on the shelf.  The desk has room to work.  The room is relatively neat and thanks to a few bins on her bookshelf, I don't step on toys when I walk in to kiss her goodnight.  There are nail holes to fill and yes, I might have to repaint in a few years when the butterflies covering the holes just won't do.  All this is to say, we need to be flexible with our organizing methods.  If we find something's not working (like the magnetic artwall), it's okay to pull it down and move on...holes can be filled.  Life is constantly moving, as are our needs.  Let yourself be flexible to move with it.

Enjoy your spaces and above all...find your organizational balance.

I Would Hire A Decorator BUT...

The other day, I was thinking about what another mother shared with me while we were working on a project for our children's school.  Somehow through our conversations it came up that I was a decorator.  She said that one of her friends had hired a decorator.  She didn't like what they did.  Her friend's home, while it looked pretty, no longer reflected her friend's tastes.  It no longer felt like "her".  Hmmm...interesting point and of course it is a blow to my occupation if people say "decorators" do that instead of that decorator in particular.  When we have a bad experience with a furniture store, for example, do we say all furniture stores give us bad experiences or do we point to the problem one?  Either way, this is what is being said, and it had me thinking.

Overdone or just right for the client? Source Pinterest

What do you say when someone says that?  My personal feeling is, if that's the reaction your friends have to your home's makeover, then the decorator missed the mark.  They tried too hard to make the space pretty without listening to who you are, what you like, and how you like to live.  Just because the final product is worthy of a spread in the local decor magazine doesn't mean it's right for you.

Pinterest

With that I was reflecting on my own sense of style and how I like to live.  Am I a photo-worthy decorator?  What do I bring to the table?  Why am I doing this?  If someone were to look at my space, they wouldn't say it was magazine worthy, because it's not a WOW space, but it's a NICE space and it's LIVEABLE. The living room looks like people use it, the toys have a home of their own, and the colour palette of the finishes are soothing and coordinated.  The bathroom is classic, clean (because it's organized) and again has great budget-friendly coordinated finishes.  The kitchen is small, well thought out and again organized.  The kids' rooms have a level of organization to them, but I do have to close the doors from time to time to forget out the mess.  After all, I'm good, but I'm still trying to figure out their organizational habits, and they can make a mess REALLY fast.

In the next couple of months I am trying to really LAUNCH my business.  I mean I have officially been in business for several years.  I've had a company name, a logo, a business card and a website, I've taught at the local college, I've stayed connected in the decor world, I go to the design shows and I read all the magazines, but my reality is that I've spent a good chunk of my day taking care of my little ones.  With my youngest ready to start school, it's that time when I have to start investing more time into my business.  I'll now be available to give my best full attention to my clients so I'm ready to put myself out there.

I'm excited about this and let's face it, a little nervous.  I think, no, I KNOW I have a lot to offer.  I want my clients to be wowed by their space and love it for years to come.  Not only that...I want to CHANGE people's lives in the process.  I believe if you have an organized, beautiful space, your life can be better.  You'll have more time for the important things in your life, you'll have less stress, because you can find the things you need and you have less clutter...who wouldn't love that?  And above all, I want the space to reflect YOU, not me, when I'm done.

I'm looking forward to September my friends.  Bring on the crazy spaces and let's have a makeover, shall we?

Reason to Hire a Decorator #3: Organizing

Yesterday I was sitting on the basement floor with my four year old, attempting to recreate a Lego flying object from one of his books.  The floor was littered with hundreds and hundreds of different pieces that he had been given to him by his 17 year old half brother.  As I was trying to find pieces that might work for his flying object, all I could think of was how much easier it would be to find a piece if all the pieces were organized by colour, size and function.

Source: ebay

So I will admit it, hand in the air with the other over my heart...I have an organizing fetish.  I'm addicted to having things in their place.  I love being able to find things where I expect them to be.  Some people call it crazy, but I think it is efficient.

As a decorator, one of the things I like to do when assessing a space is thinking who will use the space, how will they use it and is there sufficient (and proper!) storage for the things that need to be here.  With 5 people living in our small home, this is especially important.  Even for children, if they have a space to put away their things away, they'll do it.

Recently I added some labels to some existing baskets in my son's room.  I didn't change what was in the baskets, just labeled them.  An immediate change was noted...my son started to clean up his room at bed time, and he was playing with those toys more often.   

In the fall, I was able to convince my husband to tear out an existing useless cabinet in our kitchen and replace it with a PAX Ikea cabinet that we had used in our old house.  For some reason, the cabinet had not fit in any of the rooms in this house and had been sitting awkwardly in my daughter's room.  I measured the opening in the kitchen and with the help of a handyman, turned my horrible open closet to an efficient storage system.  All the drawers were already in the cabinet and they now hold recycling bins, garbage bags, a spice drawer, and baking supplies.  There is even a pull out shelf that holds all the wrapping foils and plastic wraps a girl could ask for.  Beer goes on the top shelf...both the full and the empties.

I was on a roll after this conversion.  One last little fix up was needed for my linen closet.  Storage is not plentiful in this little house, so sometimes I have to be a little creative.  In my linen closet, I have minimal shelf space, but when you close the door, there is a lot of space between the back of the door and where the shelving starts.  So, I started to store things on the door.  My favourite addition? A swinging towel bar that allows me to hang laundered, ironed table clothes.  Now the effort I put into ironing is not wasted when I stuff the table clothes into the closet.

Look around your space.  Could you use the help of a decorator to put things where they belong and make your home more efficient and beautiful?  It'll make you happier...I guarantee it. 

Until next time,

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