65 Baby Blake's Beautiful & Bright Nursery

When my bestest gal pal found out she was preggers with her baby this past year, it was one of the happiest moments in my life.  Erin is like a sister to me, and she went through a very long process to grow her family, so the day it became a reality that she was plus one in her tummy, much joy was spread and happy tears were had.

The excitement stayed strong throughout the entire pregnancy, and once she found out she was having....

....a GIRL, I couldn't wait to help in the nursery planning!  Seriously, a little lady room?  How could I resist?  I am always living in all boy mode of blues, reds and oranges... I couldn't wait to play with pink.

Erin and I had many chats about her little gal's nursery, and it all came back to a very common theme which was low fuss, simple and budget friendly.  There was no need to go crazy and fill it with designer items and trendy finishes, just items picked and made with love {which is totally the best kind of nursery in my opinion}.  And she already had a crib, bookshelf, changing table and glider from their first baby, all which she wanted to use again for baby numero dos.  So it was my job to take those items and bring in the pink!

Only, she didn't really want a lot of pink either.  But she did want color!  Which I love to play with, so here is what I came up with:

The inspiration started from some striped fabric we found one day while on a girl's shopping trip to IKEA.   The plan was to use that fabric for the curtains, paint the walls a muted purple/gray, find some meaningful art for a gallery wall thanks to Etsy, photographs and free printables, sew up a pouf for in front of the glider and to later act as a play cushion, recover the existing glider, install some light fixtures and throw down a rug to tie it all together. 

Here is how the room turned out after lots of painting, sewing, painting and more sewing!

It turned out to be such a happy and charming space.  I love all of the little details...

Let's take a quick tour around the room, shall we?

The room has a small wall in-between the closet and door into the room, so the bookcase landed there as it fit just right.  Some baskets for baby essentials, along with adorable L O V E blocks {from Target around Valentine's Day}, and the shelves were cute as can be.  Above the bookcase, Erin spent time wrapping a giant cardboard letter with purple yarn for some soft texture.

Next up is the changing area...

The dresser received a hardware upgrade thanks to some pretty acrylic pendant knobs and a super adorable pink dot changing pad cover.  A small tray corrals all of the daily baby goodies.

A special shout out to the Target dollar spot!  Fabulous little drawer organizers win big for the small baby bits!

And just above the changing table is the sweetest little gallery wall, filled with hand-picked art by baby's mama, along with some maternity photos I snapped for my favorite fam.

A small sconce was installed in-between the changing table and glider rocker because late night diaper changes and feedings need just a little light, not a lot.

As I mentioned, there was quite of bit of sewing.  I contributed only a very small portion in that department {more on that in a moment}, Erin's mom was amazing and whipped up both the curtain panels and the DIY pouf {using this tutorial}.

The fabric is mainly Premier Prints patterns found on Fabric.com.  And isn't that glider absolutely incredible?  Just for the cost of some fabric and the love and help from Grandma Barb who was a sewing wiz, and the chair had a very Cinderella moment.  It felt so much more high end than the plain oh-so-typical glider that it started out as.

On the other side of the room, is where the little lady rests.

Some books are stored in a set of wall baskets found at HomeGoods, and toys are corralled in a woven basket below.

And yes, this happened.....

I brought my sewing machine to Erin's house and attempted to use it for the very first time, with the help of YouTube videos.  It was a fun and comical learning experience... but in the end, we still saved so much time making a DIY mobile.

To make the mobile, we selected three shades of teal cardstock paper and used a paper punch to make stacks of circles, which I fed through my machine to create an ombre effect.  The ring at the top is the inside of an embroidery hoop which received a quick coat of white craft paint.

The wall art with Miss Blake Waverly's name, was a DIY done by the hubster and I.  Remember this Instagram sneak peek? 

Many of you guessed it was for my studio.... it ended up in the nursery instead!

And that completes the tour!  It's been really fun to take the room from vision....

To reality!

And the biggest congrats to Erin for delivering the most precious little peanut.  She made me a super proud "Auntie" again!  Sigh.... baby fever has set in....

Pretty sweet, charming and happy baby room right?  And it is one that little Blake can totally grow within, which makes for a happily ever after nursery story!

40 UHeart Organizing: A Closet with a Plan and a Lovely Linen After

My pal Ashley, from 7th House on the Left, sure knows how to make every organizing project look simple, clean, fresh, smart and all around inspiring.  Today, we get to see how she planned and executed her linen closet, and if you still haven't tackled yours yet, my guess is you will be running towards it before this post is even half over....

At the end of our hallway, we have a small, narrow linen closet. Since we moved into our house, we haven't really used it as an "official" linen closet--more of a space to stash extra toilet paper and towels. However, after seeing all of the amazing linen storage inspiration here on iHeart over the last month, I had to finally get around to organizing a real, honest to goodness linen closet.

Like any project we tackle around here, it all started with a sketch. I measured the space, drew the closet on a scratch sheet of paper, and made a list of everything we wanted to store in there. The closet opening is only about 17" wide but a good 21" inches deep. I didn't want to stuff it with as much stuff as possible because a) I really don't like clutter and b) I knew it would just get majorly unorganized down the road. So, after a quick talk with the Mister, we put together an efficient yet simple organizing plan.

One of the first things we wanted to tackle was the bottom shelf, where the bed linens would be stored. Since the closet is so deep, we knew that getting to the very back of the bottom shelf might be difficult at times - especially when you're trying to neatly put away clean linens. The solution: a slide out drawer. We have these in all of our lower kitchen cabinets and they've proven to be very convenient and make organizing things (and keeping them organized!) pretty easy. After shopping around a bit, we ordered a Bamboo Roll-Out Cabinet Drawer from The Container Store. The clearance opening inside the door frame is just about 15", so we purchased the 14" wide drawer.

Because we wanted the drawer to match the shelves, we spray painted it with a few coats of White RustOleum Universal Spray Paint (in Satin finish). Luckily, the white matched perfectly and made the drawer looked like it was custom made for the closet. Cue: happy dance.

Now that the drawer was installed, I made a quick trip to Target to pick up a few baskets, then ran to Staples to buy a package of bookplate labels and stock up on some tape for my label maker. Once I got home, I was ready to get started on Operation Linen Closet. About 20 minutes and a glass of iced tea later, the closet organization was finished!

Let me take you on a little tour…

On the bottom of the closet, we have a basket stocked with extra toilet paper. Next to it is a plunger. This particular plunger has a stand that twists shut, keeping the end covered and everything around it protected from the nastiness that is a plunger.

The bottom shelf is the new pull out drawer, which now holds sheets. I keep the king sheets for the master bedroom in the back and the queen sheets in the front. I also attached a bookplate label (that I spray painted with Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint) to the front of the drawer. Because we had to get a drawer that would clear the door, there’s a good-sized space on either side of the drawer - perfect for storing extra bottles of hand soap.

On the next shelf up, we have four plastic containers (these are the 5 for $5 containers from Target). Each of them are labeled (with another spray painted bookplate label) with their contents: Travel, Back-Ups, Guest Toiletries and First Aid. The Travel container is where we keep all of our airline-approved containers as well as a few airplane necessities like hand sanitizer and travel size lotion. In the Guest Toiletries container, we have small bottles of shampoo, toothpaste, and a few new toothbrushes. This is also where I stash the mini bottles of shampoo from our Disney trips, haha. Our Disney-loving family members get a kick out of it when I put them out for them in the bathroom when they stay with us. In the First Aid container, we have a heating pad and a few ice bags. Lastly, we have the Back-Ups container, which is where I keep extra makeup, face wash, makeup remover wipes, etc (kind of like my own personal emergency makeup counter).

Right next to the plastic containers is a long, narrow basket where we keep extra candles, tea lights and a backup candle lighter.

The next shelf up houses the most-used items in the closet - which is why we put these things at eye-level. Along with the extra towels (we keep towels, washcloths and hand towels in each bathroom in the house), we have a tray that holds a lint roller, linen spray and a small bowl of safety pins. Next to the tray, I put two 3M hooks on the wall. One holds a pair of scissors (which comes in handy for stray strings and cutting tags off of new stuff) and the other hook holds a little pouch that has needle and assorted colors of threads.

Now that the closet is completely organized and isn’t too bad on the eyes, I must say that I’m tempted to take the door off just so I can look at it each time I walk down the hallway, haha. Overall, I’m just really excited to have an organized space to keep the linens, extra toilet paper and goodies like back-up candles. Who knew a small 17” wide closet could pack such a punch?

Thank you all (and Jen!) for letting me take you along on our linen closet organization project. Until next time!

"I'm Ashley from 7th House on the Left - a blog where my husband, Greg, and I talk about renovating, decorating and living in our first house here in Hanover, Virginia. I’ve been an interior design enthusiast and a long-time fan of all things organizing. Yep, I was the kid with the perfectly arranged Disney stuffed animals, alphabetized coloring books and the categorized and color-coded sticker book. When I'm not busy writing or doing projects around the house, I love classic TV shows (particularly I Love Lucy) and curling up with Greg, Bentley (our 9-pound Pomeranian), a blanket and a good black and white classic movie – I’m a complete sucker for Audrey Hepburn, Doris Day, Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant films. I'm thrilled and honored to be a part of the IHeart Organizing team and excited to get to work!"

21 Reader Space: A Marvelous Closet Turned Mudroom

It is no secret that I always give high fives and thumbs up when closets are treated like rooms and extensions of the home.  They not only boast storage, but they can literally transform into an office, a nook, or in today's case, a mudroom!

Today's reader is a fellow Wisconsinite and she had a typical builder's grade closet that just wasn't functioning the way she wanted.  So, she did something about it, got creative, and gave herself the cutest little mudroom.

Here is the super adorable Kate from Still Room to Grow now!

What is the main function of the space?

"I desperately wanted a mud room when we moved into this house and the cost to put one in this same space with custom lockers was $1000.  That was not gonna happen because my husband thought we already had a perfectly good closet to store all the same stuff.  I saw Jen's closet turned office and the wheels started turning!  I just knew I could create a functional space, that was easy on the eyes too.  This was a quick weekend project and I am loving the results."

Any superstar tips for keeping it organized?

"Bins at the top are great for holding stuff like hats and gloves and swimming items.  And then I have one that says, 'Stuff', it holds random items we use depending on the season.  Each kid has a basket and it holds their current shoes for the season, I tuck socks in there too so we don't have to run back upstairs to get them.  The basket to the side of the storage bench holds items that need to be returned, like library books and store returns.  I also only keep on coat out per kid.  The others are kept in another large hall closet in our front entrance."

What items did you find were essential when organizing the space, and why?

"Labels so everyone knows where stuff goes!"

What did you do to go the extra mile and "Make it Pretty"?

"Hand painted letters above each hook, a wall collage with a calendar and inspirational quotes.  I used an indoor/outdoor rug, that can take abuse of winter weather and I can hose it off anytime I need too.  A color combo I love, red, white and grey!"

What items did you DIY to stay on a budget?

"The bench was from Pottery Barn and did not have a cushion, we were using it initially in the playroom.  My hubby cut a piece of plywood and I added foam, backing and the faux leather fabric I had leftover from recovering the chairs in my kitchen.  It turned out perfect and wipes clean!"
 

How has it impacted your life for the better?

"It was a win-win for me and my hubby, he didn't think it was necessary to spend the extra money, but thinking outside the box, I was able to get what I thought was more aesthetically pleasing to the eye and a very functional space.  I love not having to dig around in a dark closet for items.  The kids can actually reach the hooks and know where everything belongs, so it stays fairly organized."

Seriously, this is what she started with....

And one more look at what she gets to look at every single day...

Isn't it amazing what a little creative thinking, paint and organizing can do?  I really heart this because by keeping it open, it really brightened things up, but it also gives a little extra motivation to keep it tidy and organized.  When we have closets that are dark holes, it is a lot easier to neglect the space and let it become an unorganized dumping ground that eventually spins out of control.  I also love that everything is clearly marked, and that it is easy for the kids to maintain as well.  When they are able to lend a helping hand in hanging up their items, or putting on their own socks and shoes, everyone smiles a little bigger.  And what a smart mama, keeping socks in the "mudroom".  Love that!

You can read all about Kate's mudroom makeover on her blog here.

Your turn!  Any other fans of turning a closet into a mini "room" in your home?  How do you make your closet an extension of your space vs. closing it off and letting it sit dark and unloved?

ATTENTION!!  Want to be featured in a Reader Space edition?  Have an awesome organizing story to share?  I am looking for projects that have made a positive impact to your life.  Please submit your story and photos here and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!!  Photos should be high resolution and unedited.  Please include a description of the project, including any costs, inspiration, and how it has changed your life and routine for the better!  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!

18 IHeart: See Jane Work & a GIVEAWAY!

It's no secret that I am a giant super fan of every. single. item. over at See Jane Work.  In fact, the kind folks have been sponsoring my blog for as long as I can remember, and I still have to pinch myself daily.

The first question that pops into most people's heads when they hear about the company is, "Who is Jane"?

Jane is a fictional character who embodies everything working women are today. Whether our work is in the home, in the office, or, in our home-office, we are expert organizers and multi-taskers who can lead the staff meeting, make the contract revisions, and schedule the vet appointment, all before we've had our second cup of coffee.

Many of us grew up in the days when little girls wore pink dresses and Mary Jane shoes to school. Of course, some of us wore jeans with holes in the knees and cowboy boots. Still others had a style all their own right from the start. {And woe to the well-meaning mother who would try to repress that style.} Jane of See Jane Work is that little girl, all grown up. Maybe she's traded her Mary Janes for Prada pumps. Maybe she's still wearing her cowboy boots. Or maybe her unique style became a trend, and eager not to appear trendy, she re-invented her style, {and her mother still doesn't get it}.

The point is, Jane is a big girl now, and while she might still occasionally manage to skip rope, she must also manage to organize her career, her home, and her future.

See Jane Work offers working women, no matter what kind of work they do, the tools to manage their time efficiently, and to get and stay organized, so that they will be successful in whatever they do.

And they are here today to offer you a slew of amazing, quality and stylish organizing office products, so that you can be successful in your work environment too!

That is right!  Today's giveaway is for:

• 2 Art Boxes
• 2 Binders
• File Box
• Hanging File Folders
• File Folders

a Rafflecopter giveaway

From today through April 16th, you can receive 25% off your order at See Jane Work with code: IHEART25!  Wahoo!!!

Good luck everyone and....

 IHeart Organizing official giveaway entry rules can always be found here.