Most Versatile Piece of Furniture - The Armoire

You know, I'm beginning to think that armoires are one of the most versatile pieces of furniture in the entire world. They rank right up there with dressers and storage ottomans, but we'll save those for another time. ;)

After moving our office into a computer armoire that we scored for $100 from Craigslist back in August, I just CANNOT stop singing the praises of the armoire.

There's just something so appealing about forcing yourself to contain all the clutter of one aspect of your home inside a nice cute little piece of furniture that you can easily close the door on.

I could have one in every room of the home. You can use them to hide TVs or computers, or you can set up a little craft or sewing station like these gals did:

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Or you can use them for clothes in a bedroom that lacks a closet!

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Or create a stand-in coat closet in an entry way that lacks one...like I mentioned in last week's post.

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Or you can repurpose your armoire as a freestanding pantry for food or dishes in a kitchen that lacks cabinet space.

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And while you're at it, check out this fabulous armoire makeover by Lisa from Recaptured Charm. The before/after is amazing!

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The possibilities with armoires are endless...craft cabinet for the kids, book storage, DVD storage, CD storage, a place to keep files that's much cuter than a metal filing cabinet. You can line the inside with gorgeous wallpaper, fabric, paint it a bright color. You can do anything with this piece of furniture. And they are pretty easy to come by at garage sales, flea markets, Craigslist. Also, as Ange, from The Blooming Hydrangea, pointed out to me once, the fabulous thing is that you can take an armoire with you when you move! ...Can you tell I have moving on the brain? Just one more week. . .

What other pieces of furniture do you find extremely versatile in your home? Have any of you used an armoire for a surprising purpose that I did not mention here?

Mandy's Entry - Brainstorming Solutions

When I asked if anyone had any problem areas in their homes they wanted advice on...our dear cousin, Mandy, sent me a photograph of her current entry situation.

This is what she said:

 "Katie, here is our problem- old farm house remodel! Only closets we have are the bedroom closets! And the bedrooms are upstairs so no one ever wants to go up to get anything and there's zero money for new furniture! Coats hang on hooks, top shelf acts as catch all for kids' current art projects, second shelf everyone has boots and a pair of shoes, bottom shelf has blankets for in the TV room, and underneath are my weights."

First of all, I told Mandy that the changing table set up didn't really look THAT bad. It is definitely very functional and orderly, given what it is. I think I personally would have a hard time keeping an open unit like that looking half as neat though. You all know I love CLOSED storage. I certainly give her kudos for working with what she had on hand to find a great solution for their family. We live in such a "disposable society", it's great to see someone recycling.

Still, Mandy was looking for other ideas. So this is what I came up with:

Armoire. My first thought was since she does not have an entryway closet, which would be ideal for this type of stuff, then she should get an armoire and repurpose it to serve as a closet. All you'd have to do is install a hanging rod inside just about any armoire and there you go!

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I think I saw this once in a Real Simple magazine and LOVED the idea. 

I suggested she use baskets on shelves or a hanging sweater organizer, as shown in the photo above, on the right, to corral hats, shoes, gloves. We had one of those hanging sweater organizers in our "Mini Mudroom" closet for a while and really loved it. I took it down on whim and packed it up in the attic but the more I think about it, I'd like it back in there. We would keep items handy that needed to go out the door with us, like keys, sunglasses, library books, etc.

Mandy could also install hooks on the back of the armoire or inside the armoire doors for bookbags. She could also hang a mirror on the inside of the door for a quick peak as you walk out the door.

An armoire could completely transform this space. It would be the coat closet they'd always wished they had.

Storage Ottoman or Bench. Another option would be to purchase an inexpensive storage ottoman (like the one mentioned in this post from Young House Love). Or purchase an inexpensive bench with room for storage baskets underneath and set up a "mini mudroom" under the mirror with hooks that Mandy already owns, kind of like this one from House*Tweaking.

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Still, I understand that all of these options so far would cost money, and that is not always easy to come by. So, I told Mandy that if I were her, I'd rack my brain to see if I could come up with some cash for this transformation. 

If I were her, I'd consider selling the changing table (and any thing else around the house that I don't like or need anymore) in a yard sale or on Craigslist. I would be sure to search my home for items that could bring the most money so that I would be more apt to round up the cash for something I really wanted - a functional piece of furniture that would really brighten our day every time we can in the door. 

Also, like I've seen on the Nate Berkus Show before, it's a great idea to look at your monthly budget and see if there's anywhere you can carve out a few extra dollars (cut the cable, clip grocery coupons, etc.) to make these kinds of projects possible. Even if you can just save $10 a month, after 6 months, you've got $60 to throw at home projects. I think it is very important to create a warm, inviting, functional space that you and your family will love. And if that means sacrificing in some other areas, that might be worth it. You just have to decide for your family.

I estimated that Mandy might be able to get $40 for her changing table on Craigslist and then I did a quick search in her area and found a couple really nice armoires for $125-200. Here's the one for $125. 

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Solid wood, originally $600. Can't beat that! A quick Craigslist search also yielded a couple used storage ottomans for $40-$65 in her area. And I picked up our brand new leather storage ottoman from Target for $50 on sale.

Now, moving onto a few more ideas that wouldn't require as much cash. . .

Use free scrap materials. Another option would be to re-use scrap materials like wood from pallets or previous building projects to create a custom shoe storage dresser or bench of some sort. There are tons of plans available on ana-white.com.

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According to her site, this amazing option can be built for $20-$50. It's very similar to the HEMNES shoe dresser from IKEA.

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Upcycled Baskets. Yet another option would be to simply add some decorative baskets with cute labels to the diaper changing table. In fact, you could even wrap cardboard boxes (even diaper boxes!) in wrapping paper or fabric for a really cheap custom storage option.

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Have one basket for shoes, one for weights, one for art, etc. 

Free Tip. Also, consider hanging the mirror with hooks a bit higher on the wall so the bottoms of the coats don't brush the top of the changing table. That would go a long way in making it look neater. Of course, I don't know if all members of the family would be able to hang up their coats, then...

So, what do you guys think? Do you like some of these ideas? Does anyone else have any great suggestions for Mandy? Or are you inspired to go clean up your entry way?

Please email me if you, too, have a problem area in your home. I'd love an opportunity to help brainstorm some solutions!

Day 10 - Laundry Room Closet - Mini Mudroom Area

It's Day 10 of the 31 Days to a Clutter Free Home Series. Thanks for sticking with me as we work our way thru the home busting clutter in every space! As mentioned on Day 5 when we were discussing laundry rooms, I said we have a place to put away bags and coats. Today I'm going to show that to you. I call it the "Mudroom".

Mudrooms are so cool. Who would not LOVE to have a super-functional mudroom like some of these images I found on Pinterest?

I just love the cheerful orangy paint color in this one.

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The beadboard and storage cubbies are so beautiful in this one.

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And oh wow...reclaimed wood!

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As usual, I'm inspired by Sarah Richardson!

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I would even settle for a mudroom in a closet like one of these!

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But we all must face reality, and work with what we have. And our laundry room is kind of a hallway. On the right side is a big empty wall. On the left side is a closet that contains the water softener, followed by our chest freezer and washer and dryer. There's only about 35" across in that walkway.

Now, granted, we could get rid of the chest freezer and build / buy some sort of bench or something for sitting down, taking shoes off, etc. But for our family, we'd rather have the freezer to store meat and save money at the grocery all year long.

Also, our breaker box is located on the side of the closet and you can't build cabinets within 3 ft in front of it, so wipes out building any shelves over the bench as shown in the first few photos above.

In the past, we had some hooks on the wall on the right (as you can see in the below photo taken during the remodel). But the problem was they were ALWAYS in the way. You would inevitably bump a purse or coat, knocking it down, on your way in the door. It was not a fun way to be welcomed home. Not to mention, it looked cluttery. And this is the entrance we use 99% of the time to our home.

So our solution was to use what little space is available inside the water softener closet for a little "mini mudroom".

I bought an over the door rack from Target for hanging our most frequently used coats and the diaper bag.

The top shelf is for the gym bag and a basket containing an umbrella, my purse, and a couple other bags (and hats and gloves in the winter).

The photo below gives you an idea of how tiny this closet is. But we are determined to make the most of it. There's enough room to hang 3-5 large coats to the right of the water softener.

And on the right wall we have an iron & ironing board stored in a rack that's mounted to the wall.

On the floor we keep our stepstool, 2 fire extinguishers and a trash can.

Even though our space is limited, we were able to fit in a "mini mudroom" in this utility closet to keep our laundry room looking clutter free. Does this give any of you ideas on how to declutter your main entryways?

Day 5 - Laundry Room

Welcome back to Day 5 of a 31 Day series on a Clutter Free Home. Today I will be revealing details of the Laundry Room.

Over the course of about a year we slowly remodeled our Laundry Room. The reason it took so long is that we did some major things such as building a closet around the water softener, (having a baby!), replacing water damaged subflooring, relocating plumbing from the middle of the room to behind the wall (like in most homes...not sure why it wasn't there to begin with), etc. This is what the floor used to look like.

See all those holes? Those are the former locations of our water supply and drain for the washing machine, etc. What kind of plumber or DIY-er puts the pipes 2 ft away from the wall??? Beats me.

Here are a few more BEFORE PICS. We had installed that handy dandy little white shelf under the cabinets and it sat just above the washer/dryer. The problem had always been that we would set things down as we walked in the door on top of the washer/dryer. So I got the genius idea of installing that shelf so that we could put things up there instead and I wouldn't have to spend 10 minutes clearing off the appliances just to use them. I liked that fact...but it always looked a bit messy (and I'm more of a keep-things-behind-closed cabinet doors kinda gal.) Still, some of you may think that's a fun clutter-busting idea for your home. A place to put things when you walk in the door that won't prevent you from doing something else.

And here's my handsome hubby relishing the fact that all our plumbing is now tucked neatly INSIDE the walls:

And then we lived with this set up for probably 6 months...Yuck. Whatever you do, don't drop clean clothes on the floor on the way to the dryer.

So, anyways, when all that was done, we removed the border, repaired the drywall and then re-painted. We also installed a new exterior door.

We chose the color "Bay Sands" by Valspar. It is a very pale blue, almost gray color. It just looks very clean. I welcomed that after all that remodeling dirt we'd been living in.

We re-used some of our old white stock laminate cabinets from the room and just changed out the hardware and added a little bit of crown molding to the top to dress them up. We sold the rest of the cabinets on Craigslist.

We also tiled the floor with 16" square travertine tiles. And we replaced the old finnicky track lighting with a much brighter light. I love a well lit work area!

The $5 Walmart rug shown in the photo above ended up getting a pull in it and I decided to upgrade it. I searched all over the place. I even purchased one from Home Goods and another one from Garden Ridge and returned both of those. They just did not look right. And were too expensive for something I didn't love. Finally one day I was grocery shopping at Walmart and decided just to glance at their rug selection. That's when I found this one. It was perfect. Dave & I both love how it matches the tile flooring/grout so well. And it was less than $20.

We try extremely hard not to let things collect on top of the freezer, washer/dryer these days. But, as you can see in the photos below, that doesn't always happen. (Just keepin' it real...) We do have spots for all that stuff in the laundry room closet (which will be shared at a later date in the 31 Days series). We could put hooks on the wall to the right as you enter the laundry room from the kitchen too...but we found from previous experience that our laundry room is just too narrow. You end up knocking coats/purses down that are hanging out in the way. And I can just see my little man Levi swinging from the diaper bag!

My clutter busting tip for this is to assign everything a place and be religious about putting it in its place at all times. And yeah, do as I say, not as I do...

Another thing we do to reduce clutter in the laundry room is to keep everything tucked away in the cabinets or the closet. I am all about keeping things hidden.

The cabinet on the left, above the washer, houses laundry detergent, stain treaters, dryer sheets and household cleaning supplies. I repurposed Schwan's ice cream buckets for stain treating and to store cloth diaper soap. And I repurposed a tupperware with no lid to act as a cleaning caddy for tall cleaning bottles.

The cabinet on the right houses all garage-related stuff (since we don't have a garage). We do have to work very hard to contain this to one cabinet, but it works.

On the top shelf, I repurposed a diaper box for car cleaners. The antifreeze and grease sit to the left of that. On the bottom shelf, we have rubber gloves, a bucket that contains the car cleaning sponge and rags and I repurposed a container that had no lid for brushes and other cleaning tools.

We also have a mini-barn out in the backyard where we keep other garage-related things like the mower, shovels, rakes, outdoor brooms, weed eater, gardening tools, etc. I'll show you more about that later, as well.

In general, I've found we just can't have a ton of stuff. Purge, purge, purge!!! That's the key. Like I said before, we had to come to terms with the fact that we live in a 1300 sq. ft. home with no garage or basement and somewhat small closets. You really just have to live more simply than the average American household. But there's NOTHING wrong with that. It's actually pretty refreshing...and money-saving.

I'm linking this up to The Mustard Ceiling today on the Roomspiration Blog Hop. Be sure to check out Elizabeth's gorgeous stenciled laundry room. It is amazing! Have a great day!