Spring Into Organization

Recently I have invested a lot of time in reorganizing my walk in closet and my heart has been wishing for some bells and whistles. I have the basics but having worked with Elfa Closets from The Container Store, I know what I am missing! These versatile systems can fit in just about any space including no space at all (depending on you ingenuity with some curtains) and the extent of the damage to the walls is a few screws top and bottom of the main rails! The Container Store offers design specialists to help you get exactly what you want and you certainly do not need to live near a store to access these knowledgeable ladies & gentlemen!

My favorite combination of woods is the Walnut & Platnum but depending on your space the Birch or White Woods would work beautifully as well! The wire baskets and shelves can be customized to suit your exact organizational tendancies with lots of great add ons and certainly this is a place with lots of baskets and boxes look fab!


I really love these natural grass braided baskets from West Elm for chunkier items and storage and for shoes, there is nothing better than these clear drop front tweed boxes to keep things in order without having to move boxes all the time as I did for years with the box from the department store!



Finally, every gal (and guy, although most won't admit it!) needs a little place to sit down, add a zing of color and with casters, you can move it around or tuck it away!

Office Furniture

It's very tough to find great looking office furniture, everything seems to look much the same, and then I came across this series by Antoine Proulx I think its very chic indeed. I especially like the large two piece metal hardware on the front. I am thinking of using this for a home office that I am working on....it has a ver residential kind of scale.

A Children's Playroom Built for Inspiration

So many times I have seen well intentioned parents create for their kids a Playroom that only ends up as the one space in the house where the kids can create chaos. I think that that is a shame. In my mind a Playroom should be designed with its use in mind and kept as tidy and as organised as any other room in the house. But the important thing is, it should be designed that way, so it makes it easy for the kids to use, and as importantly, easy for them to keep tidy. Here are some tips on creating an inspiring space for your children:

• Create "zones" within the room, so that it is clear what activities should be done where. For instance, an area with a hard surface floor is perfect for wet play, like painting, whereas an area with carpet or a rug, could have floor cushions and be ideal for games etc.
• Keep it versatile. In the playroom above you can see the great area rug. It is made up of carpet tiles that stick to the floor. This way if I need to make the rug bigger, no problem, or if something gets spilled I can take away one tile and replace it.
• Use Bins wherever possible. The key to keeping everyone organized is to make it simple to use. Bins are by far the easiest way to do this. Be sure to use all different sizes, so that they can be specific to their purpose. Games in one, toy soldiers in another etc. The room above was designed for three kids so each had their own color basket, making it even easier for everyone to keep track of their stuff.
• Have a desk area where they can work quietly. Try and create at one end of the room , a quiet desk area where they can sit and draw or use a computer.
• It really helps if you can create a large framed pin board. I like this idea a lot, it will keep all the artwork contained and as it gets full, old ones come down and new ones go up, making a great rotating art display.