When It Takes You a Year and a Half to Organize 2 Kitchen Drawers...

Remember that one time when we moved into a new house and I literally dumped my old kitchen draw from a brown box into a new kitchen drawer, and it stayed like that for about a year and a half?

And then remember that time one of my friends was over at my house trying to help with dinner, and it took her about 10 minutes to find the freakin' right measuring spoon to use, because my kitchen drawer was a shiz show?

(palm to forehead). So embarrassing - Sorry Kathryn :( 

Well, I've had it. It's time to get my act together.

Thank the stars for Ikea and their super inexpensive drawer organizing options.

With only about 30 minutes, a quick assessment of what I actually needed, and didn't, I turned my once hectic, stressful, embarrassing drawers into this!

TA-DA! 

Mini Homework Station - Krylon Mystery Box Challenge

Remember the big 24 in 24 Krylon event that I attended a couple months back? Well, after that wonderful-madness ended, I couldn't rest for long, because only a few weeks later a big ol' Krylon Mystery Box showed up on my doorstep.

What's your initial reaction when you read these below words, paired with the phrase "Make something, pretty, classy and useful for your home"?

Pipe cleaners, googly eyes, Popsicle sticks and foam stickers.

I don't know about you, but I literally start to sweat, and panic sets in. I have known that this "mystery box" project was coming up for a couple of months now, but (like a true mystery) had no idea what to expect inside. The above mentioned items were on my worst case scenario list, and luckily, I didn't have to deal with any of them. LOL.

That being said, I was still surprised, yet somewhat relieved by the contents inside the box once I got it opened:

- A Shoe Rack

- Red Spray Paint

- 3 Small Plastic Storage Containers

- Chalkboard Spray Paint

- A Children's Puzzle

- A Ruler

- Paper Clips

- Cork board

- Pencils 

Our requirements were to use at least 5 of the items in the box to complete a project, and so naturally I quickly ruled out the red spray paint, because I knew it probably wouldn't go well with my home's decor, and (after a hearty attempt of trying to make it work) also ditched the puzzle.

In the end, this is what I came up with, and here's how I pulled it all together!

My first concern/priority was that funky shoe rack. I pondered long and hard over that crazy piece, and in the end decided that using PART of it, basically counted as "using it"... right?

:)

So I tossed the plastic ends and had Cason cut the metal rods into even pieces for me with a jigsaw. Once I sanded down the rough edges a bit, I hot glued them onto an empty soup can so they would stand up straight.

DIY Framed Fabric Pin Board - A Blogger's Office Makeover

Yay! An office update (sheesh, it's about time eh?) For those of you who are new, we've been working on what WE like to call...

You can read ALL about our office makeover so far here, and specifically more about our most recent projects, which include our custom worktable with faux barn wood finish and DIY stenciled storage boxes.

    

Today, I'm sharing my large framed fabric pin board!!!

I'm seriously in L.O.V.E with this piece and couldn't be happier with how it turned out. A big huge thanks to one of our favorite, long time sponsors, Orange Blossom Shop, for making this fun project possible!

Shauna and Courtney were beyond patient and accommodating when I asked them to create this larger-than-life frame to house my new pin board in. In true House of Smiths fashion, not only does it keep me ultra organized, and serve it's purpose of storing all of my decor madness and ideas, but it's beautiful as well! The perfect backdrop for a Home DIY bloggers office

:)

So here's how we did it:

DIY Spice Packet Organizer and other Wooden Crates for your Space

Who's ready to get a little more organized!?

Today I wanted to share a quick tutorial with you, for these simple, antiqued (totally Pottery Barn lookin') storage crates that I made for the DIY Blogger house project.

When Daybreak contacted me a few months ago, and asked if I'd be a part of helping design/decorate the DIY Blogger house, the first thing I asked was... "What space would you like me to help with?" There was a long pause and then Aly (the coordinator) said..."Well, you ARE 'the pantry girl', sooooo..."

LOL! I guess there are weirder things to be known for right?

:) 

In the end, as you might have read a few posts back, I ended up helping design the dining room and custom hutch as well, with Brian Clark. SO much fun!

Organizing for the Summertime

Summertime is here! I don't know about you, but for most of us this means that our kids will be home ALL day, for about 2 months. (whew!) Since most of the activity in our homes happens in the kitchen, I thought I'd lend a few helpful tips for keeping your kitchen organized and functional this Summer, while more of the family is home during the day.

 I don't know about your kids, but when mine are bored, or can't seem to find anything much to do... they keep themselves busy with snacking. So having some simple, easy-to-grab, healthy snacks within reach, is always a great way to make sure your refrigerator and pantry stay nice and organized.
And you know how much I love me a organized pantry. ha!

Using baggies or small baskets with labels to categorize individual portions for snacks, will also help cut back on overeating, as well as keep you aware of what products need to be replaced, once they run out.

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Wire Basket Storage with Decorative Frame Labels & An Office Update

You know when you feel like you have a hundred projects in the works, and they're all about 90% done, and then you get so stressed out trying to figure out WHAT project to get back to work on, FIRST... that you end up just FREAKING OUT one night on your poor husband, and start ugly crying about how you just wish you could focus on one thing at a time, instead of "project jumping" around!?!?...

.

.

.

Oh good, I'm not alone.

;)

We're slowly plucking away at things on our "to-do" list, for my office makeover, while we're waiting on an accent chair I ordered, that won't be here till the end of May. Some of you might be thinking... "You're waiting on a single CHAIR, to finish up your entire office?" ... the answer is, yes... I am. And the reason why, is because the chair looks like this:

Gah! I know. Not really a "House of Smiths" color per se, but I'm trying to throw in a few pops of "fun-ness" into my creative space... and I just kept coming back to raspberry PINK (because I LOVE it!) At first I thought I'd just use a small accent piece here or there, but then while discussing this pink chair for the 5th time in ONE week with my poor husband, Cason finally rolled his eyes and said... "Holy CRAP, I've never seen anyone so scared of a pink chair in my whole LIFE! Aren't we suppose to be taking risks this year!?!?"

AH! He was right! It was just the push I needed to head over to the computer and click the "BUY" button.

And even better, I found it on sale over at Joss & Main that day. Guess it was meant to be!

Project Entryway Closet Makeover: Part 2 - Design

Yay! We're back with Part 2 of the "Project Entryway Closet Makeover!"

Start at Part 1, if you missed it earlier.

I think I should clear something up first... This closet makeover, to-this-day STILL isn't totally done. So when everyone sends me emails asking to see the finished product ASAP... well, I don't have much to show you yet, because I'm still working on all the finishing touches! I PROMISE that nobody wants to see it completely D.O.N.E more then ME! lol 

So that being said, here is Part 2, the designing stage of our closet. Part 3 will be our LAST stage for this project so don't worry, I'm not just stringing you along. ha! I literally will be searching for the perfect pillows and accessories to finish off the space tomorrow (wish me luck). And once those are found... 

YOU SHALL HAVE YOUR FINISHED ENTRYWAY NOOK!!!

(said with one fist in the air and in my best Mel Gibson, Brave Heart impersonation)

:)

Okay, so let's get this party started...

You know by now that pretty much everything around here starts with a sketch, and this project was no different. We knew that we wanted this space to serve a few different functions.

1. Beauty (visual interest and more open space)

2. Storage (for coats, gloves, hats, boots, batteries, light bulbs, extension cords, etc...)

3. Seating (a place to relax, take off/put on your shoes, talk on the phone, etc...)

So once we knocked down our walls and measured the space that we had available, we started working up our design plan. First things first, rip up the small patch of carpet and build a platform for the bottom of our nook, along with a bench above it.

We did this by building sort of a grid with 2x4's and 3 inch screws, like below.

Converting Closets into Offices & a Pinterest Contest at Homes.com!

As I mentioned before, I've been writing weekly articles over at Homes.com and it's been so fun to be able to explore the internet for some of the best decorating and organizing ideas this past month! I'll be sharing one of my articles here on the blog and also links to my other articles at the end of each month, so you're sure not to miss anything! :)

Also make sure to stay tuned at the end of this post for a really fun Pinterest Contest announcement from Homes.com!

"I believe in small spaces; a place where comfort, beauty and practicality can all co-exist in harmony. Any fool can make things bigger and more complex, but it takes a touch of genius to move in the opposite direction."  - Thoreau & Gower

I adore this quote and truly believe that it is the best way to describe the latest trend of regular closets, nooks and furniture, turned extraordinary home offices. There is a big "wow factor" to these innovative, space-maximizing transformations that really has started a new trend... especially for home owners who find themselves short on square footage, or additional space for a traditional office.

These small, yet multi-functional 'rooms' are actually becoming more and more popular in homes of all sizes. If you've been looking for a great way to create more space out of an underutilized closet, here are some great ideas!

1. 2. 3. 4

Project Entryway Closet Makeover: Part 1 - Demo

A few months back as I was frantically trying to get the kids ready for school, something happened.

...I fell.

Yup! Wanna know where?...Believe it or not, right INTO my entryway closet. Yes, you read that right. As I was shuffling through the collection of coats and backpacks on the floor (because that's where they live, duh) of my extremely cluttered entryway closet, and was simultaneously fighting with my vacuum hose and elbowing my way through random empty hangers... I lost my balance on a ziplock bag full of batteries and FELL... right onto the floor in the closet.

(aka: the dark pit of clutter-prone despair)

From the outside, this closet doesn't seem to appear as much of a threat or pit... just a regular ol' coat closet.

And even in these next pictures you can see that it doesn't look so bad (because I actually picked it up, for the photo) but let me assure you, this random, space-sucking-dumping-ground has definitely been an issue for us in this house! It never stays clean, there is virtually no storage, and the huge 36 inch door either has to be completely open or shut to allow for anyone to even pass through the already small entryway.

So, on with my story... while I was sitting on the ground in our embarrassingly messy closet and coats continued to tumble down on top of me, I realized something...
This closet was actually really HUGE!
Literally it was just a big open cavity of space that had been installed under this decorative garden shelf and it was TOTALLY being wasted! I then stood up and starting taking inventory of how deep the closet was on each side and even knocked on the walls a bit to quickly do a "is there anything really behind here" test and surprisingly, nothing seemed to be in my way from making this closet a LOT more functional!

Once I realized this fact, I pretty much did what any normal DIY girl would do, who just realized that there was an un-decorated space in her house that COULD be better organized and utilized...

I started ripping everything out, throwing it on the floor and grabbed my hammer.

DIY Magnetic Organizational Board from a Thrifted Frame

DIY Magnetic Organizational Board 

I don't know about your house, but ours is filled with lists, coupons and receipts floating around here all the time. It's almost enough to drive me nuts, so I wanted to come up with an easy, accessible, stylish way to keep track of all of those little papers.

We don't have a ton of wall space in our kitchen to add much of an organizing system, so I decided to makeover a thrifted large frame into a functional magnetic organizational board that we could hang on the inside of our pantry door. Here's how it turned out!

I love the pop of happy yellow, and how all of those random little papers now have a specific place!

Here's how we did it:

Music that get's us Movin'!

Who's ready to get movin' this week?
Me? Not really.  After this long weekend, I'm dragging!

But nonetheless, I'm going to tackle my office today. (scary!)  It needs SO much attention!

The only thing that keeps us motivated, when we have a big project, cleaning or organizing task in front of us... is MUSIC! So I thought I'd post our favorite picks, for everyone to enjoy today...

Cleaning out the Garage

It's sunny today! WHOO-hoo!

We've had over 4 straight days of  RAIN this week so we're glad to see a clearing, even if we ARE expecting thunder storms again on Monday. ha!

(I can't complain.  Rain is awesome for our grass!)

Anywho, we decided to tidy up the garage, and get things organized for this summer the best we could, so that we could start in again on some big projects, that we need to refocus on.

Good Design with Kids in Mind: Hosted by 6th Street

  

A 6th Street Design School Segment

1. Is there a way to have kids and nice things coexist in your home?  What are some of your tips to keeping your nice things “safe” from kids.

Yes.  They include:

A Costco sized box of Magic Erasers, A great Dry Cleaner, and LOTS of patience :)

hahaha.

I kid, I kid.

Okay, really... In MY opinion, and experience the BEST way to allow your nice, pretty house decor, and things... coexist in your home, are these few ways:

Where we keep our Toys and Stuff

Okay... that's not REALLY how Rachelle worded it... it was more like...

where do you put the toy clutter and all the "stuff" that is not in your kids bedrooms ???
you've got me stumped!

LOL... Ohhh Rachelle

Okay... well first off... can I start with THIS picture?

OH ya...

WELCOME TO MY REAL LIFE

:)

Cleaning Tips and Tricks

{Toy's and Clean It's}

I've had a few people ask me to share some tips on how I get motivated, or go about getting things organized... So I put a little post together about how I think, when it comes to my house.

And also some pictures of the CLEAN toy room.

Since this room is usually a mess 90% of the time... with kids playing, I thought I would show you how it looked when I finally got to it, and took control.

The girls actually helped me and we had a good time. A bin for dress ups, a bin for babies and their stuff, and another basket for the rest of their toys!

I am a chronic toy throw-er outter-er. I HATE broken, un-played with toys. So I go through them at least once a month and toss out or get rid of the broken/McDonald type/grown out of toys! I usually give them to the DI (Deseret Industries). It's a great way to keep our "toy crazyness" in check.

Plus, my kids actually PLAY BETTER with the toys I keep because they can SEE what they have to play with, rather than opening up a closet, to find a random mess of stuff!