Wednesday, January 19, 2011

21 Reader Space: Big Function in Small Spaces

Many of you have mentioned to me that you are in the same boat as me.  Hi friends.  If I really was floating around in boat with someone, I would absolutely want it to be with you peeps.  You all rock!

So what is it that we all have in common in this fictional boat we are floating in?  Why, we live in little spaces!

I currently live in a home that has 1198 square feet on the main floor, which consists of a Living Room, Kitchen and Dining Room, two Bathrooms and three Bedrooms.  For a family of five plus large dog, it can definitely get crowded!  The basement was once finished, however, now that the space is gone, we realize how spoiled we were to have it.  And it also required us to get really creative by stretching every inch of living space that we are left with, to making it functional and simplified!

Where am I going with all this?  I get emails by the dozens talking about making the most of small spaces.  And although I have shared some of the things we have done to make our home functional for us, it's always fun and inspiring to see what creative things others have going on as well!!

Which is why I am off the walls excited about today's Reader Space!  Lisa has been determined to make every inch of her home count, and that she has done!  With beauty!

Lisa wrote:

I wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how much I appreciate your blog.  It's like reading about me!  My husband thinks I am nuts but after reading your blog I am reassured I am not alone in by organizing obsessions.  So I relate to your blog and love reading it and I thought you'd like to know that.

I live in a very small house 1300 square feet and have 3 children, so organizing is a MUST.  I am also lucky to have a very handy hubby who builds things and humors me with all my latest projects I want so we can be more organized.

I am attached some pictures for a little eye candy.  One is of our entryway.  The front door opens right into our living room {our main living space}.  My husband built a bench area from a drawing I sketched for him and built a half wall so create some distinction between the two areas.  The other pic is of what used to be out old laundry area.  The laundry has been moved to an oversized closet and is now concealed by doors and I used the room for a small office/craft room. 

Anyway, I love your blog and I love that someone else is as crazy as I am when it comes with organizing!


Ready to be floored?  Check out this awesome entry transformation!  When you are blessed with a space that opens right into a living room with no coat closet... getting your build on is a fantastic solution.  W O W!

BEFORE:


AFTER:


First, I have to say that adding the half wall to break up the space was the most incredible idea.  It really does create the entry she never had!  Now, individuals can come in, have a great place to hang their items, and feel welcomed by the home!  GENIUS!  And who else is drooling over that built in bench and hooks?  Purchasing something like this would cost hundreds times nine.  I love they were able to create a beautiful look, with their own hands. 

But she isn't done impressing me.  Her laundry nook turned office really gets my heart racing.  Like I just drank eleven cups of espresso racing.  We are talking about creating an office nook after all...

BEFORE:




AFTER:




Let's chat some more about why I love this shall we?  Lisa is obviously a crafty person.  And crafts can be incredibly challenging to store effectively, while ensuring they get used all the time!  She created a dream zone.  She was able to move her washer and dryer to a closet to be able to make new use of the room.  No more lugging all the crafts to the kitchen table {which I would just guess she had to do previously}.  Now she has a sanctuary to call her own.  A "mom cave" if you will.  With so much STORAGE!

What I find to be so smart is all of the open shelving added.  This allowed her to pop in smaller containers for all those small craft items, that are right within arms reach.  Plus, many of the storage options are clear, allowing her to know exactly what she is going for!  If she would have left those cabinets in place, sure, she could have stored a ton of items, but it wouldn't have made her time in the space as effective.

And labels galore!  Enough said!  The picture speaks a gazillion fascinating words....


Anything about this project put a little fire in you to analyze your space a little differently?  I know I want to walk to my garage and grab hammer and start pounding out walls... but that is just me....





P.S.  Have an awesome organizing story to share?  I am looking for projects that have made a positive impact to your life.  Please send your story and photos to iheartorganizing@gmail.com and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!!  Photos should be un-editted and a description of the project, including any costs, inspiration, and how it has changed your routine for the better is so helpful!  Oh, and no worries my friends, we will NEVER judge "before" pictures because that just wouldn't be nice!  Only love goes on at this blog!

21 comments:

  1. GENIUS use of space! really! This is right up there with fun office closets! <3 I would totally add a little cushion ottoman so that I could sit in the chair and fold laundry in there while looking out the window. fab!

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

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  2. Ohhh... ideas! I love them so!! I'm going to be helping a friend with her craft room organizing (actually a whole house) & I LOVE these ideas! & will be using some of them. Thanks for sharing! Be sure & check it out over on my blog, sometime in Feb-March.
    DaNita

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  3. I so want that office! What a great job they did. Does she have a blog?

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  4. Hi Lynn!

    No blog that I know of, hopefully she will stop by and let us know for sure! She should start one if she doesn't though because she definitely has some talent that I would like to continue to stalk!! :)

    xoxo,
    Jen

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  5. I am totally planning to put a half wall exactly like how she did. I have been planning it for years and we had just put the floors in the living room (was previously a very ugly carpet and some tile by the door) and were going to get a half wall built but the project was interrupted by a very evil thing called cancer. I still hope to complete the house as per my husband's wishes. Hopefully soon that space will be done. Thanks for this post, it proves my idea for a half wall is the right way to go!

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  6. I love this post!!

    As a small home owner (950 sq ft), I am always trying to get (and stay organized) and Lisa has done a great job with these 2 spaces!

    I'm currently working out ideas for my entry, which needs a major overhaul! Mine also opens up right into my living room. It's nice to see what someone else did with a space like mine!

    And I've been thining about my laundry area as well. I can't move my washer and dryer, but my head is swirling with ideas now after seeing what Lisa did!! :)

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  7. I hear ya - I have 1100 square feet for 4 people, a dog and two cats. yes, we have a basement but it is only for storage - not "living space". So, I have three bedrooms 1 bath, a living room, dining room and kitchen. My entry way is my kitchen - it has been a challenge and still is a challenge to figure out how to make it work as an entry with no closet (and it is also the entrance to the stairs downstairs!!) So I enjoy your blog. On top of trying to organize this small space I have to do it on as tiny of a budget as possible; I'm a stay at home mom and my husband is recently unemployed so my spending has had to come to a halt. So, trying to get creative with what I have on hand pushes me to my limit sometimes LOL Oh well - one step at a time, right? Thanks for encouraging all of us!

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  8. Thank you so much for sharing this story with us. WOW what a great use of space. I can't wait to redo/reorganize.....give meaning to our Laundry Room. It's so ugly and does not have a lot of function. These kind of stories give me lots of inspiration in the right direction to get things done on our project.

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  9. Her office looks fantastic! I really love her entry, though. Thanks for sharing, Jen!

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  10. I'm currently working on turning a closet at the top of my stairs into a tiny office retreat just for me. I'll share pics when I'm done!

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  11. LOVE it. How creative! And I love that Hannah Montana is on her TV when she took the picture!

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  12. Hey guys, thanks for the kind words and thanks for featuring our place Jen! I don't have a blog although I sometimes toss around the idea to start one. I do have lots more projects and cool pics to share though, so maybe I will funnel them through Jen and she can post what she thinks her reader would like :-) Next big re-do is a pantry. That should be pretty awesome! Thanks again Jen!

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  13. i'm so, so happy to see this!! we're moving soon and wrestling with where/how to make me a little craft space or "mom space" and this just confirms that a couple of my ideas might work with the space i'll have...and i can now show my hubby these pics as proof!!! thank you, thank you for sharing this :)

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  14. I happened to stumble upon your blog one day and have LOVED it since! Living in a small home (800 square feet on the main level and one finished 10x20 bedroom downstairs-4 people-3 dogs), we too have had to become creative with some of our spaces. The latest project was incorporating a craft/scrapbook/office area into our family room, which was a success. I LOVE finding new inspiration...and I've found a lot here!! Thank you for this feature!

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  15. This is fabulous to move the coat hooks and then see the space in an altogether different way. Love the transformations. And she gets extra brownie points for labeling her craft stuff. I don't get those who have all the containers you have to look inside to know what's there - no crafter I know can really remember what's in every box - labels rock!

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  16. Love what Lisa has done (and you should definately start a blog)! The shelf thing in the entry is devine... if only my hubby was that handy with a hammer! Love seeing real life examples of how people organise :)

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  17. Thank you so much for sharing! I am starting to rethink every little corner in my house now! I can't believe all the found storage space, impressive.

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  18. Love love love it!! I have to say I am blessed to have a 2000+ sq ft home BUT...I suck at decorating. Everything for the most part is organized and stays clean but my walls are BARE. Bare to the point where there's not ONE hole in any wall in the whole house. I'm so OCD and afraid to hang something only to find it doesn't work there, to move it and repatch & repaint the wall. Ugh!! So frustrated.

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  19. And I would love to have the white thing at the doorway that hangs backpacks and much more but hubby doesn't want something like that in the entryway. He's rather each backpack stay in their bedrooms but of course they forget stuff :-(

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  20. Love it! We turned our coat closet into a pantry..we needed that more. Now I am all at a loss as to where to put coats, but thats ok. Our house is 1080 square feet with about 300 sf of finished basement - for a family of 5 and only one bathroom. It's tight. I'm glad to find a blog that is more relevant to those of us who have a small house! It's like crack to a somewhat OCD person.:)

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  21. I just featured this post on my blog today! Thanks for all the inspiration! HEART your Blog! :)

    http://sustainablychicdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/02/organization-landing-pad-week-2.html

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