Books on Display

File this under "Why didn't I think of that?" This wall of books on display in a nursery means you'll never forget what titles you have in the house and is sure to instill a love of reading. Plus, it's fun to look at. While it works great in a nursery it would also be fabulous in a living room. Why hide all those beautiful book covers? And all you need is a few pieces of wood to get the look of an incredible feature wall.

Image via Blabla on Facebook

Bookshelf Stairwell

I was researching a totally different topic for today's post when I came across this bookshelf staircase on Apartment Therapy in an image search and decided it was too good not to share. This is in a London flat and the stairwell is hidden from the main living space and takes the unit's owners up to a previously unused loft space that is now a bedroom.

Being someone who is always looking for storage solutions and someone who hates to get rid of books, although I don't have nearly this many, I figured there are others of you out there that might have a similar storage problem. And it doesn't have to be books. If you have collections of other (non-breakable) items, you could display them in the same way. This stairwell was a new build so they were able to do it exactly to their specs, but it's always good to think about what lies behind your walls. In so many cases there is "dead" space where built-ins can be installed, especially where there are dormers, fireplaces, etc. Obviously you'll need to be careful not to do anything to any load baring walls without the assistance of a professional, but don't be afraid to think outside the box, or in this case inside the walls. Go to Apartment Therapy to read their full story on this project.

Images via Apartment Therapy

Serena and Lily's New Fall Catalog

Belgian Club Chair
Serena & Lily's Fall catalog is out and there are some truly fabulous pieces in it. I've been a fan of theirs for several years, and I just love that they keep expanding into home furnishings while continuing on with their bedding collections. Here are a few pieces from the fall catalog that I just can't get enough of. I think the Belgian Club Chair could easily be used in any room of the house, but is probably the perfect bedroom chair. It's not too large so it would be really great for a kids room too because it would carry them right through their teens and into adulthood.

Senegalese Storage Baskets
The Senegalese Storage Baskets might just be the perfect place to store those items you use every day, but don't want to look at all the time. Think extra blankets, toys, etc. Suddenly storage is looking fun and interesting. Also available in pink and a navy/green combo.

Chakki Ottomans
I'm really loving the Chakki Ottomans which are available in both white and dark walnut. The details in the wood add interest and it's nice to see a round ottoman instead of the rectangular ones we are so used to seeing. Great as a coffee table too!

Lucky Lacquered Table
We've talked about the Lucky Lacquered Table before, but now it is available in Black and White. Tres chic!

"The Coast Is Clear"
This "The Coast is Clear" wall art may not be new, but it was too fun not too include. I love the pink and orange combo. For boys, check out the "Save Our Ship" wall art which is equally as cool. If you haven't checked out Serena & Lily in the past, be sure to add it to your must see list!

Etsy Pick of the Week: Mod Mom Furniture Toy Boxes

Owyn Toy Box
Perhaps you recall previous posts about how I long to be organized, but can't seem to get a grip on corralling all of my children's toys. In my defense, I do have to say that since I declared my ultimate goal of having "a place for everything and everything in it's place" this past January, I have made some progress, albeit minimal. Baby steps.

Riley Paige Toy Box
But how cute are these toy boxes from Etsy shop Mod Mom Furniture?! I wouldn't even mind having one of them in my living room, although the patchwork flower one is calling to me and I'm pretty sure it's saying "Please put me in your daughter's room!" I particularly love how the lids are cutouts and not on hinges so there is no risk of them crashing down on kiddie fingers (my worst nightmare about toy boxes).

Noah Owl Box
And if you don't have a lot of space (all the more reason for needing a place to store things), there are smaller sizes available like this ridiculously cute owl box. These might even earn my exclusive distinction as a "smile inducing object". Now pick up those toys!

Etsy Pick of the Week: Vintage Metal Drawers

When I first saw this vintage metal drawer painted bright yellow, I just wanted to paint a room gray and place it in multiples on shelving. Then as I looked further into Etsy shop Hindsvik, I saw the other great primary colors they had as well and I just love how bright they are. You could place them just about anywhere in a room to add a pop of color. I think bright colors make people smile so add a pop of color to your rooms to put a smile on your face even when you least expect it. This shop also has lots of other cool vintage finds so check it out if you're looking for some treasures.

Message Center

I still have some touching up to do, but I wanted to share my new kitchen message center with you all. This is another one of those vast walls like the one where I just did the Family Photo Gallery Wall which I've had a hard time figuring out what to put here. I wanted to do a giant chalkboard, but because it's such a large space I thought it might look like a black hole. I also knew that I wanted to have my wooden whale that my husband had a woodworker friend of ours make for me years ago hang on this wall. So I decided that I would do a series of frames with a variety surfaces in them that we could use to keep our family organized and then hang them like a gallery wall.
I had been looking for inexpensive frames for a while and finally found some that I could use at a tag sale a few weeks ago. I think the 4 frames cost me all of $6 plus the cans of spray primer and paint I bought to paint them. I went to Home Depot to buy chalkboard paint and was pleasantly surprised to find that you can now get Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint tinted to 12 different colors. It seemed wrong to not take advantage of this and so I had mine tinted to chocolate brown which works nicely with the barn red color of my kitchen. I was also going to pick up a can of magnetic primer so that I could make the chalkboard magnetic when I saw that they had Rustoleum Dry Erase Paint! The man told me it was a brand new item and seeing as I had just done a post on IdeaPaint last week, I couldn't help myself and had to try it. And since both the magnetic primer and the dry erase paint were about $20 per can, and I was trying to keep it inexpensive I nixed the magnetic primer. I bought a piece of MDF that my husband cut to fit each frame and painted onto those instead of directly onto the wall. This worked fine for the chalkboard paint and the dry erase paint took fine to it, but I think the next time I would use a piece of plexiglass or something smoother for a better finish for the dry erase paint. The cork came from an old corkboard that my husband cut down to fit the frame, but you can also buy sheets of it at most superstores. I may end up rearranging it a little bit. I feel like it's a little crowded and maybe a little too low, but I also wanted my kids to be able to reach it so for now I'm going to live with it like this for a while. Overall, I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

Etsy Pick of the Week: Bubbles and Boo Storage Baskets

Despite the fact that my goal for 2010 is to get my house (well, maybe my life in general) organized and I do get excited with each step of progress, most organizers aren't exactly exciting visually. Luckily I just found the storage baskets of Etsy shop Bubbles and Boo.
I love the modern prints of the lemons (top) and the elephants (below), and completely appreciate the simplicity of the linen basket (above) as well. And in addition to the great feature prints, the designer adds an unexpected pop of color with a contrasting print trim.
These would be so great as the storage baskets in an Ikea White Expedit Bookcase or anything similar instead of some boring solid colored basket. Wouldn't they just put a smile on your face every time you walked into the room? Who knew organizing could be so much fun?

Magazine Wrangling

West Elm's Canvas Magazine Butler

I realize that I'm a little (ok, maybe a lot) late in getting today's post done, but I actually have a very good excuse. Do you remember how my New Year's resolution was to get organized and how a week and a half ago I pleaded that less is more? Well I actually spent most of the day working on these things today instead of just talking about them! Yes, I realize that time is often the issue in achieving these goals (for everyone), but I've decided that baby steps are the only way it's going to get done and so I'm going to try to spend at least an hour a day in my quest for a more minimal and organized life. My first step was to go out and buy some basic small storage containers with locking lids that my 1 year old could not get into. I have been so tired of my 3 year old's multiple boxes of crayons, paints, play-doh, etc. scattered about the living room and kitchen so now each art medium has it's own storage bin and they are nicely stacked in a cupboard in the living room that was full of stuff we never used which I emptied out. Why I was letting things we never use occupy valuable storage space in a prime location for things we do use I don't know. Apparently I thought it was going to take me longer than the 15 minutes it took to move the never used stuff.

Pottery Barn's Devon Office Organizer

Next up was the magazines. I don't know if you are like me and like to keep your design magazines thinking that you will go back and look at them when you are ready to tackle that next project. As someone who spent most of my day reading old Interior Design, Architectural Digest, House & Garden, In Style Home, O Home, and Town & Country Home Edition magazines from 2005 and 2006 today, I think I can safely say that it is unlikely that you will refer to your old magazines again. I can't throw a design magazine out without making sure that I've first torn out all the rooms, gardens, fabrics, products, etc. that inspire me, and I promise that I really do sit down every few months and do this, but for some reason this batch of 25 or so magazines from 5 years ago I was really clinging to (maybe it's because literally half of them don't exist anymore)...at least until today.

Crate and Barrel's Invisible Magazine Rack
Ok, so now I have completely rid myself of all magazines unless I have been published in them (those get filed in a magazine file box) or they have arrived in my house within the past month. I do have a large stack of tear sheets that need to be added to my binders so that I can refer to them when I need a little inspiration. But how do I make sure this never happens again? Well, I have a magazine rack that probably holds about 10-15 magazines and my new rule is that every magazine or catalog in the house has to go in that rack, and if there isn't any room then it's time to get rid of something if there is something new I want to keep. One in, one out (making sure I've torn out any pages that I HAVE to have). The Container Store's Fabric Wall Mount Magazine Holder

Bottom line, if you are a media hoarder like me, find a magazine rack, shelf or something else with limits to its capacity and agree that you will limit the amount of media clutter to that space. Everyone's threshold for how much they keep on hand may not be the same depending on whether you live in a small apartment or a large house, but keep it to a reasonable amount that you can sort through every few weeks or so. Here are a few products that may suit your space and help you get organized.