Thursday, May 28, 2009

The 5-10 Minute Rule

No matter how beautifully we decorate our homes, if they're messy & disorganized, we can't appreciate or even see the beauty. However, I think of "messes" as reality, at least in my life. I have a toddler and a job, and hence, my house is almost always a mess. BUT in general, I'm okay with this mess, because it can be disposed of in 5 to 10 minutes, tops.


So, I'll never pretend that I can have a "messless" life-- for me it's just not possible-- but I can have "organized messes." I consider an "organized mess"as a mess that's allowed for a time. It's a manageable mess & the most important thing about it is that it MUST BE ABLE TO BE CLEANED UP IN 5-10 MINUTES! That's the rule. It's easy to get rid of because an organized mess has a place where it belongs: baskets, bins, drawers, cabinets, shelves, etc... a SPECIFIC HOME. (This is the key to putting it away quickly, because you're not shoving the mess anywhere, you're putting it back where it belongs.)

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite tools/ organizational pieces used to handle messes and "stuff." Below is a picture of what I consider an "organized mess." The pillows on the sofa are all messed up, toys are everywhere & there are a few magazines/ books laying around. But it would take only 5-10 minutes MAX to get this messed cleaned up. And I'm so okay with it.



In our living room, we have a shelf with baskets full of Christian's toys. (Now I know some might think it sacriligous to keep toys in fairly plain sight in the living room, but it's the way we want to live... we all want to be able to hang in the same room, so I figure for a few years while we have little ones I can give up a half-wall in the living room ;)


Anyway, toys are all over the floor half the time but when we need to get them cleaned up, it takes 5 minutes to put them all away neatly in the baskets. (The key is keeping them in not-too-full baskets because there's always room, even when throwing the toys in carelessly and the little guy can help too. )


This hutch (below) in the family room (pic is from old house) fits tons off storage for toys and also photo albums & other random things. It makes clean-up so easy and totally hides all evidence if kiddies!!


I never regret spending on organizational items like baskets & storage bins. I'm often reluctant to buy them because I would rather spend the money on something pretty, but they're worth their weight in gold.


I LOVe these huge baskets from ikea. It's where I stick all the pages I've ripped out of magazines before they go into my Style Files:


For my office, these hanging file bins are awesome & when there's a mess all over my desk I can easily & quickly (less than 5 mins!!) stow it all away with these suckers:


So, my goal is to have every room in the house obeying the "5-10 Minute Rule." (and right now I'm SO far from that!! It seems as soon as we got our old house in perfect order, we moved!! I'm NOT doing that again!! ) Here's a quick punch-list for our new house:

1) Our closet --> it's a HUGE 4-6 HOUR MESS right now!! We need to install more bars & storage and get things put away nicely. Below is how we've been living: (ahhhh I can't believe I'm showing you this!!) It's tough to feel organized when your closet looks like this:

2) Little guy's bedroom-> Since I stole the toy shelf from his room, he doesn't have anywhere for the toys in his room and unfortunately the furniture form our old house doesn't fit right in his bedroom, which is driving me crazy!!!!

3) The kitchen-> I have more shelves to go up with baskets for extra storage but I'm waiting on the wallpaper install before I can get to this:

4) The entryway-> To put it simply, it doesn't work right now. We need to add some storage & decorate it asap!! It's so drab & unfunctional right now!! (haha check out my dead hydrangeas in the little vase & the dog chow- now THAT'S styling!!! ;)




There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day!!! but i know everntually we'll get there... (don't worry, i'll take pics! ;)

Now, what to do with all that stuff that doesn't have a place? Arrggg like the strange piece of mail you don't know where to put (you need to handle it sometime soon, but not soon enough to warrant immediate attention) or those stupid screws that keep showing up everywhere (with all of these projects going on right now!!!) or the returns you need to make at the store or your pile of giveaways?


Take stock of the all items that keep popping up and start creating places for them. They're not going to go away and isn't it annoying to have them keep popping up? If you create a place for them to go, clean up is so much quicker!! Different times & stages in your life will call for different random clutter-busters. Wintertime items vs. beach towels & sunblock or screws and tools all over the place when you're in the middle of renovating. Whatever it is, realize the type of clutter you have as quickly as possible and find a place for it. The solutions should be easy & obey the 5-10 Minute Rule. (Sometimes this means not organizing down to the last minute detail because clean-up could be really time consuming!!)


I'm on my way to follow my own advice now... So, how are the rooms in your house? Do they meet the 5-10 Minute Rule? Any rooms on your "To-do" list? would love to know!!

xoxo,

lauren

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Nice Country Home Interior Design




Interior decoration, design, images, images and photographs at the house of country: Living room, room to be slept, kitchen. The decorating interior at the house is one of the most personal experiments and most creative which is divided by whoever while they take a step in their residence of joy and dreams. The creation of the perfect interiors at the house for you is not something which can be made in the speed. With the good colors of wall, furnishing and the accessories at the house, one create the line seek each part. Interior decoration at the house of decoration.

An interior decoration of house is always a reflexion of the taste and model of the people living in it. The planning of the glance and the feeling of each part is any least that a work of Article With the changing lifestyles, the concepts to conceive also underwent changes.

The ideas of decoration, the designs and the products of new house are rationalized in a way in which requires minimum maintenance giving to space and model proportioned to develop with your own individualized contact. Thus in a manner we can say that the model of interior decorations of today is a perfect balance of the practical and personal designs, inspiring to us to renovate our house on several occasions. There are various decorators at the house offering various topics and tendencies in interior decoration to the house.
Interior ideas at the house of design of decoration of decoration
Queest this that the most essential elements to make a house are comfortable? The well one can indicate:
* Organization
* Comfort and
* Reflexion of personal model

And if we seek an interior model of decoration of house which will be mixture of all those, then the answer is the 'style'. transient. It is a new model of interior decoration at the house which is strong with rapid growth. In this interior model there are a mixture and a mixture of the traditional and contemporary elements, giving to your interiors at the house a retro glance very last thing.

The idea of today of space is defined by hiding the daily articles which do not gel inside with interior decorations of part. One much more prefers it in the plans of open stage and maintains the whole family related to small recesses, giving to each one individual the desired intimacy. According to the principal draughtsmen of interiors, people nowadays want the interiors which are livable and not simply showplaces to be admired.
interior decoration at the modern house of decoration
After all there is simply no the best than at the house of place.

So much now let us take a 'it more attentive with the various aspects of the interior decoration of house adding the model and the splendour of our house. refinance at the house

Check out Everything LEB

Hi! Good news: THIS NEW COMPUTER WORKS YAY!!! So I'm really, truly back!!



Check out Lindsay's blog Everything LEB here to read my about my favorites in her new series, "Blogger's Favorite Everything!" I was so excited when Lindsay asked me to do this & it was a ton of fun!! Thanks Lindsay!!! Also, you'll love Linsday's etsy shop, here. The pineapple cards below are just a tiny sampling of what she does!!


I'll be back tomorrow with a post on messes!

xoxo,

lauren

Passion - That is the Key

Wolternick 21Wolternick 1
Wolternick 2Wolternick 20 

"Passion - that is the key in Interior / Exterior: the urge to beautify and capture reality and to inspire others."

This is an excerpt taken from the book: INEX by Wolterinck.  It is one of my favourite books as it features the interiors of homes and shows how the surrounding gardens have been designed to compliment the interiors, creating a total lifestyle concept. This concept is especially more relevant at this time of year when the weather is warm and invites us to spend more time outdoors, thereby extending our useable living spaces.  In 1986 Marcel Wolterinck opened a flower shop in the village of Lauren, Holland. His concern for perfection and versatility later resulted in his own furniture range and his passion developed for incorporating the interior of the home with the gardens. 
The above pictures are part of the garden that surrounds an updated 70's house.  Both the garden and the house breathe an Oriental atmosphere.  The garden by the bamboo planting around the house, and a Japanese touch is provided by the oak fence which turns gray when weathered.  The garden fountain is lead produced by W, and the table in the upper left is a work of art in bronze by the Dutch Sculptor, Huub Kortekaas.  The garden chairs are teak and metal.

Wolternick 8Wolternick 5
 Wolternick 7Wolternick 6 

This Provencal Villa (above and below) is situated in St. Tropez. where the emphasis is placed on the exterior life.  This is expressed in an outdoor room and outdoor terraces.  How very pleasant to sit at the large, wooden table with a zinc base underneath the pergola overgrown with Wisteria.  The presence of an outdoor kitchen provides an additional dimension to being outdoors and can be used as an exterior fireplace lit on summer evenings. The planting is a combination of old and new.  An age-old olive tree dominates the view (below) and is surrounded by a row of box trees and a wealth of plants such as Santolina, Pittosporum, Senecio, Helichrysum, Laurus nobilis, lavender, thyme, and Westringia fruticosa, all creating a subtle interplay of greens and grays and a perfect match for the various local types of stone. 

Wolternick 3 

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  Wolternick 15Wolternick 4

Paradise in Algrave: This beautiful villa (above) is located in Portugal.  Wolternick arranged the seating areas surrounding the villa like rooms.  The floor lamps, tables, and chairs with cloth upholstery have been assigned a permanent place in these comfortable outdoor areas.  Taste and rhythm also apply to the exterior kitchen with its fireplace to grill dishes.  Meals can be prepared on the worktop that flanks the fireplace on either side.  At right angles with the fireplace is a bold U-shaped zinc table surrounded by delicate director's chairs.

  Wolternick 12Wolternick 19
  Wolternick 18Wolternick 13

The above photos are part of a 20-hectare estate in Bremen, northwestern Germany.  The 16th century farmhouse on the estate is surrounded by ancient trees and hedges.  The farmhouse court, where horses once stood, was all stone, but was given an intimate character by Wolterinck by means of 60 year old beech hedges, walls, and trained box trees.  The garden has many exotic varieties of plants.  "The people who used to live on estates like these traveled extensively and brought back with them plants from distant places.  This is how many exotic varieties ended up here, like Brugmansia, Hibiscus trees, Agapanthus, lemon trees, figs and PlumbagosIn summer these are put outside in pots, in autumn they find shelter in the orangery". The teak bench from the Lister Collection in the top right picture is in the style of the English Architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944) who collaborated with Gertrude Jekyll the renowned English artist and gardener.

What is your most favourite garden?
What makes a garden special to you?
Please let me know by leaving a comment.


INEX Wolterinck
Photos and excerpts from: INEX Wolterinck
Photography: Sigurd Kranendonk

 Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

Monday, May 25, 2009

What happens When you Try to Bake a Cake and Build Fence at the Same Time

Well, my new computer's not working & it won't let me get online so that's why I've been so MIA. We're going to return the computer & try for a new one tomorrow.


In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some pics from Better Homes & Gardens (they really are getting to be great, aren't they?!!!) The image above shows a lot of what I'm craving: pattern. And I'm usually not into it on drapes, but I have to say this is just the look I'm going for in a client's home right now (existing completely-solid furniture staying) and am considering for our bedroom. Below is the living room and I'm loving the vintage map! Again, I'm loving the energy & freshness in this space... in particular the little blue stool with the yelllow-patterned chair.


Below is another room in the same house, and how fun are the drapes?


Here's a beautiful shot, below. I love all the energy & how time-gathered the space feels.



The homeowner used vintage scarves as curtain tie-backs. What a fun idea!! (And would also be a great way to add seasonal changes in a neutral room!)





Below, I love displaying flowers like this at home. It's so easy & interesting.




Below is some vintage jewelry of the homeowner's. Displaying jewelry is another thing I love to do. (Half the time I forget to even put it on so why not have it make the room look good?!! ;)




Below is from a different house (also BHG) and I really love how the owners displayed these paint-by-numbers ship paintings. Alone, they're kitsch, but grouped together like this, they make a big (beautiful!!) impact.





And one last final image of something that's on my mind: blue!! I LOVE this group of vintage blue glassware (below) and how gorgeous it looks against the blue in the vintage map of Cape Cod. I'll be using this color in our bedroom & I can't wait to share my plans/ pics with you!!




So, wish me luck that the new computer is able to get online!!! (I am techonology-cursed so I really need it!! ;) Also, thank you guys so much for all your sweet. supportive comments about the house!!

xoxo,

lauren


oh, and what happens when you try to bake a cake and build a fence at the same time?? you don't hear the timer from outside & you leave the cake in too long and when you try to get it out still hot from the pan to keep it from burning more, it breaks into pieces. And then you try to "glue" it back together with icing between the cracks and it's actually pretty good, but looks like crap!!! ;) ;)

xoxo

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Ideas of Furniture Wardrobe Design

Nice Furniture Wardrobe Design

Nice Furniture Wardrobe Design

Nice Furniture Wardrobe Design

Nice Furniture Wardrobe Design

The functional pieces of furniture on your interior at the house can make an enormous difference in the small life of space. If you must give up space with any piece of furniture it must fulfill its function envisaged without fault.

The wardrobe is an effective elegant piece designed with the space limited to the spirit. The wardrobe is of 23.6 X 26.8 X 68.5 inches. It is not a great piece. It is conceived in such a manner so that if closed it resembles a full piece - a wardrobe elegant standard. Its design is modern with a definite rocket of art d'co. The wardrobe is really two separate pieces - the section of 'door' and the stationary section 'postpone'. The section of door has a rail telescoping to hang clothing, three compartments and a large rack at the bottom. The aft section has the adjustable racks which allow you to benefit from space under the hanging articles short.

The wardrobe is an excellent example of very space-effective design. These is large a wardrobe which has enough space to contain an important quantity of clothing of an elegant package.

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