Shelf That! (part I)

Remember when I talked about how clutter accumulates in an area that just 'doesn't work'? Almost two years ago I showed you the mess that was our front porch, how its set-up just didn't work for us and how it caused us to give it the red-headed step-child treatment until we switched it up? You can refresh your memory here (and I'm happy to announce it's been mess-free since then!)

Little Man's room is experiencing a similar problem. Granted, he's a kid and as such a crazy mess is part of the territory but something isn't quite working or not working well enough. What especially caught my attention were all the little LEGO creations and knick-knacks cluttered on top of his low shelves. Maybe some display shelving is what is needed?

Don't let the picture fool you - it's never that tidy these days.Anyways, since shelves are easy to create and inexpensive I decided it's worth a shot. I was thinking two shelves on either side of the window would work well.

I managed to run off to the home improvement store to grab a few shelf brackets, a can of Kermit green spray paint and two 8 foot long pre-primed MDF boards I hadcut into 4 foot lengths at the store. 

I wanted the look of floating shelves without the hassle of figuring out how to attach them or having to build floating shelves so I faked it by spray-painting the shelf brackets a happy bright Kermit the Frog green to blend into the wall color in Little Man's room.

Quick light sanding to roughen up the metal surface and light even coats of paint did the trick!

We now have green shelf brackets! Stay tuned for part II tomorrow.

Hook'em up!

The other day, on my way to pick up the Little Man from school, I used the chance to drop into TJ Maxx. It's been forever since I last had had a chance to mosey through the aisles of this store, especially since they closed their store closer to us and moved it out closer to the Beaches, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

There were a couple of interesting home goods to be found, some sparked ideas for other rooms but in an effort to not get carried away, put unnecessary strain on our house budget and stay focussed on the current project area (well, okay, areas), I window shopped for the most part and only scored two really cool hooks for the bathroom which were on the "to buy" list!

Yay me!

Back at home I couldn't wait to grab drill and drywall anchors with screws to get my new hooks up and at the wall! The husband and I each own a bathrobe and those needed a dedicated space!

Tools of the trade: drill and screw.

Making a guest appearance later: level and pencil

Aren't they pretty???? I love love love our new bathrobe hooks!
They came in at $3.99 a pop and they are quite heavy.

I quickly drilled two holes, hammered in the dry wall anchors and screwed in the screws that the hooks hook into and I was done!

Now our bathrobes have a dedicated place and we have a chance to keep our sweet master suite a little tidier! No more bathrobes lounging around where they shouldn't.


Hooks fit for a king and a queen ;o)


And here's a sneak peek of the "closet project" (don't mind the yet unpainted door frame to the dressing room and the equally unpainted plinths of the closet door frame - I will get there eventually): the open doorframe is one side of the former teeny hallway between the upstair's hallway and our then kitchen, now master bathroom. I have to paint the door frame and then hang the door and it will become a closet for towels and other bathroom paraphenalia!

For that huse "negative" aka open space in the middle of our bathroom I'm hoping to find a nice traditional rug in washed out vintage-looking beiges and browns rather than a blah bath mat and maybe add an ottoman for convenient seating [for like when you're brushing teeth :o)]. I'm also on the hunt for baskets and some charming old wire organizer, all to warm up our crisp and clean white bathroom. And art and window treatments. Good thing Calico Corners is having a Sale coming up next week!

Death by laundry

I guess one of the biggest lessons (finally) learned is that order only comes through having a space of its own for everything you own.

At the Ugly Duckling, laundry tends to accumulate quickly and infinitely. My normal state of being is "between piles": the unwashed pile o' laundry and the ready-to-fold pile. And once that is under control, you know, for that half an hour a week, the cord to the iron tries to trip you and the ironing board is lurking in the laundry room just waiting for the moment to whack you over the head good.

When I was over at the Blue Box today, I spied with my little eye this nifty little thing:

[Quick and easy laundry organization? Yes, please!]

That sounded like a quick and easy way of securely coralling the wicked iron and its board into a safe corner and a first step to creating some semblance of order for our laundry situation.

So it went into the cart and home with me.

[Before: Into the corner with you!]

Here's the corner I chose for our unruly iron and its partner in crime, the ironing board, before the installing. All that was required were two holes for drywall anchors and then the shelf was screwed into the wall with two screws. That took all of 5 minutes after locating all necessary tools (a drill, a level and a pencil and a screwdriver)

[After: All well-mannered and orderly!]

So much better! Now the iron has a place to go and hangs nicely secured so unexpected whacks over the head are now a thing of the past. The iron has a nice spot to sit and the starch can go right next to it. And me? I'm tickled about tidy it looks.

Now if I could only make the laundry vanish ...