Laundry Room Reveal

You might be wondering what possessed me to update my laundry room - after all, it is just a laundry room, right?  Here is your answer. 

Does this blank wall bug anyone else as much as it bugged me?!!  I always thought about updating our shelving, which would help eat up that empty space, but unfortunately, it wasn't in the budget.  Time to get creative!

What do you think?


It all started with some simple scrapbook paper.  I cut the 12x12 pages into strips and simply taped it to the wall.  I used blue painters tape, hoping that it will be least likely to remove any paint from the wall when I'm ready to move on and try something else.  And because I wanted to make it look seamless, I added colorful clothespins to each of the page breaks.  Hudson LOVES doing laundry, so I casually snapped a few (or fourty) photos of him in action.  LOVE!!

Here is the rest of the tour.  Remember this sign?  I'm still loving it so it got to stay. :)

And I found this piece at the Goodwill for $8.  It's perfect for keeping all those little things (like stain sticks, dryer sheets, etc) organized.

Opposite the washer and dryer were two paintings my husband and I did at one of those "paint and sip" classes, but they just weren't cutting it. 

Instead, I added two shelves and three hooks.  The hooks act as my new drying rack.  Never again will I need to unfold that humongous thing!  Talk about a space saver solution! 

And of course, who doesn't love some cushion under your feet when doing load after load.  Thank you Target!

There you have it.  Laundry just got a little bit more fun. :)

-Ashley

Honeymoon Keepsake Box

When we moved three years ago, I packed anything related to our wedding and honeymoon into a storage box that I swore I would sort through.  And I'm happy to report, I finally did it!

Right after our wedding, I found this box at Marshalls, which matched the colors of our wedding - pink and green.

After sorting through the storage box last night, I was able to fit everything "wedding" in here and nestled it in right next to my wedding dress and both pairs of wedding shoes in my closet.

For our honeymoon mementos, I really wanted something that I could display.  I found this wood box at Hobby Lobby that I thought would work perfectly for storing receipts, ticket stubs, maps and more.  The best thing was it was only $5 and that was before my 40% off coupon!

I wanted to give the box a rustic look, so I used my favorite color stain and applied one coat inside and out.

I then printed out "France" and "Italy" and used a craft knife to carefully cut out the letters to use as stencils.  This is where a Silhouette would come in quite handy!

Then I carefully sponged on black paint.

And removed the paper.

I repeated the same steps for "Italy".


Now this little guy holds all our special memories from our 17 day honeymoon through Paris, Capri, Positano and Rome.

-Ashley

Laundry Room Sign

One of the items I found while reorganizing the loft closet was the cabinet door to this IKEA nightstand.

I removed it last year in order to store blankets in the loft TV room.  I was positive I could do something with the door, so I decided to hang on to it.  And while reorganizing my laundry room this week, I decided to use it to create a laundry room sign!

It was more of a yellow-white, so first up was a couple coats of Maison White.

Then I spent some time putting together the design.  I printed the design out on decal paper as a mirror image and followed the instructions to transfer the image onto the cabinet door.

While I let that set overnight, I used a laser level to mark where I needed to add the nails.  This was my first time using a laser level and I honestly don't know how I've hung anything without one.  It was awesome!

And here it is!  I love how it looks like a laundry chute door!

I'm hoping to add white wood shelves above the washer and dryer to help jazz it up even more!  Doing laundry will surely be a little more enjoyable now! :)

-Ashley

Loft Closet Makeover

I bet you thought I would forget to take a before pic, huh?  Well, you are half right.  I started emptying the closet before I caught myself, so here is a pic of all that I was storing...

...inside my tiny loft closet.

With everything out of the closet, the first thing I did was purge - such a good feeling!  And the next was to purchase more shelving.  I needed a system that would allow me to easily adjust my shelves up or down depending on what I needed to store and ClosetMaid made just the thing.  I drove down to The Home Depot to pick up 3 shelves that were 16" deep.  I believe standard is 12", so I was very excited about the extra room.  And although a bit pricey, this shelving system was worth every penny!

Unfortunately, I didn't take any "in progress" photos, but here are the afters!

I love how clean the shelves look by using these white baskets from Target.  And those little ones I actually scored from Big Lots!  And if you haven't invested in a label maker, do so!!  It makes it so easy for anyone to find what they are looking for, including my husband. :)

You might notice that some of the baskets are empty.  That's the beauty of this makeover - I have even more room than I need at this point.  Whenever you reassess your storage solutions, make sure you take into account future growth!

And you might have also noticed that I stored my seasonal pillows on the top shelf.  I recommend doing this with anything that you rarely use.  Save the stuff you use often for the lower shelves where you can easily grab and go!

And finally, for my beach towels and yoga towels, I found this cute basket at Marshalls.  Next to that are my seasonal hand towels tucked away in a small white basket.

Happy organizing!!
-Ashley

Pantry Makeover

I have the bug!  The "organization" bug, that is and I have it in a bad, bad way. :)  Once I completed the dining buffet, I knew I wanted to spend more time on the inside of our home maximizing all the potential storage space we have.  It's amazing just how much space my toddler and his "stuff" takes up!

I immediately bought an over-the-door storage system from The Container Store (loooooove that place) for our loft closet, but soon realized that the first place I needed to start was the kitchen since it is probably our most used room in the house.  And with the hubby away for a few nights, I had the perfect window.

Along with cleaning out and reorganizing all the drawers and cabinets, I spent a lot of time on our pantry.  I apologize for not having a "before" picture (I promise I'll get better) but here is my "after"!

I love how clean it looks!  I scored these two wood crates from Home Goods along with these super cute baskets.

Somehow seeing 5lbs on the "Sweets" basket tends to keep me away. :)

I also found this at Marshalls - veeerrrry functional!

But what I love most are the labels (big shocker, right?!).  I found these chalkboard labels and chalk pens at Michaels and to be honest, was very skeptical of both.  But take my word, each and every one of you need to run out right now and grab these for your home, to be used anywhere! They are amazing!

I can't wait to tackle the loft closet now!
-Ashley