Monday, July 11, 2011

Talk back...

Ok all, I have some questions for you!  Of course I've been thinking alot about our impending move and thus, the house we will be moving into.  There are a few areas that I'm just not sure what to do with.  Or I have too many ideas and need to get them narrowed down.  So this is where you come in!  If you have anything to say on any of the following areas of decoration/renovation/organization, I'm all ears!  If you can include links to pictures (pinterest perhaps?) that would be even better, though I'll gladly take suggestions without a visual if that's what you're offering.

First up: laundry area.  Our laundry area is located kinda as a short hallway between the main floor bathroom and the rest of the house.  It is fairly out of sight from the rest of the house, but everyone who uses our bathroom will pass by this area.  As is, it is about closet sized with top load washer/dryer on the bottom and a set of three darker wood, outdated cabinets on top.  I LOVE that I'll have cabinets to hide laundry soap and stuff in, but it's not very pretty.  What would you do?  Paint the cabinets?  Cover it all with a nice curtain?  Something else entirely? 

Next: Master bedroom closet.  Picture this: typical double sliding door-size closet, without the doors.  I'm seeing huge potential.  Built-ins anyone?  Yup.  That's my goal/dream.  All I'm wondering is, do I go with lots of space to hang stuff and just a few shelves?  Or do I go with more shelves?  Do I make specific shelves for things like shoes?  What kinds of things do you store in your master closet and what would your dream closet be?

Moving on: Cloth diapers.  How do you store them?  Right now mine are sitting in a pile, spread eagle, on top of my diaper pail.  They're easy to grab and use, I'll give my system that much, but they sure don't look pretty.  And one of the best things about cloth diapering is how pretty all the fresh, clean diapers are!  So do share, where are your balls of fluff between being laundered and being used?

Entrance: being a bi-level, our entrance leaves much to be desired.  We are fortunate enough to have a closet at the end, but foot-room is lacking.  SO, if you have a small entrance, how do you keep the crazies out?  How do you keep things organized and looking beautiful?

Basement: wide open spaces!  One half of our basement is bedrooms and bathroom.  The other half is open!  I'm hoping to make myself a little craft area (need a table...) but the part I'm thinking most about is the tv area.  See, we sold what little basement furniture we had when we moved from Altona.  We have but one 2' square cushion for the floor and that is IT.  We have no tv stand.  We have no couch.  And I'm kinda hoping we have no chairs either (Nathan has a dorm chair from his days at Bethany that I'm kinda hoping doesn't survive the move...).  Anyone have any decently inexpensive ideas for making the basement a comfy family area without tons of furniture?

Kitchen: this one will probably be the lowest on the priority list, but remember those dark, outdated cabinets that I mentioned were in the laundry area?  Well, I'm pretty sure they were taken from the kitchen at one point cause that's exactly what's in there.  New counter tops (YAY!) but old wooden cabinets.  Has anyone tried painting cabinets?  What were the results?  Would you recommend trying to beautify what I have (paint, new hardware) or should I just leave it completely alone until we can redo the kitchen with new cabinets (probably 15 years down the road!).

Let me know!

6 comments:

Marsha said...

I can't comment on everything but here's my two cents:

Master Closet: HANG HANG HANG! (saves you from having to fold too much laundry and having fold creases in your clothes) I hang EVERYTHING!
If I had my choice I would do a double bar system. with a low bar for pants(folded in half over hanger), skirts, etc and a higher bar for shirts (you may need to store a stool depending on how high the top bar is) and then shelves above it for out of season clothes. no specific shelves for shoes or anything b/c it can limit you. I also like having a hook for belts and scarves tucked in the back. My only problem..having enough hangers lol!
Oh! And I use those under bed containers to store out of season shoes and jackets and such.

Kitchen:
whatever you do...don't try to sand down and refinish...it's EXHAUSTING work! Definately paint and new handles. Relatively affordable and can happen sooner so you don't wait forever for a fresh kitchen :) And if you do decide to do new cabinets in the future, you still get your money's worth out of the paint (Let me know and I'll come down for a painting weekend...I LOVE it!)

Entrance:
Share your tips with me b/c My entry is a mess! lol

Can't wait to see your new digs!!!

Tara said...

My 2 cents may not be that great but I had to comment since I'm thinking about all these things too since we'll be having a new house soon! The difference is we'll be renting and can't change to much...sigh :-)

but I would paint the cabinets white! I love that look from seeing it in pictures on the internet although I'm sure they'd get quite dirty...

My cloth diapers are stored in a basket in a corner of the living room since that's where we usually change diapers.

laundry area...I think I would get a nice curtain. Maybe where you can tie it to the sides when company isn't over.

so there's my 2 cents :-)

Alicia Buhler said...

Hopefully I'll get to see your new place in a few weeks and can give you my thoughts when I actually see it!

The Hatch's said...

Hey Niki, So here are my thoughts...
Laundry: Take the doors off the cabinets and get some nice matching baskets for the shelves.

Master: Depends on if you prefer hanging or shelves. I like shelves, LOTS of shelves personally. If you are doing hanging make sure you have a section for your longer dresses and things. I would say for shoes if you want to have those organized you can get the shoe boxes with the open fronts and customize a shelf that way. Then you're not committed if your shoe collection changes over time.

Cloth Diapers: Mine are in baskets on the change table shelf.

Entrance: Keep only the things you regularly use in the entrance, find another closet for the rest of your stuff. Also a narrow bench that can open up is always nice so that you can chuck all the random extras in it.

Basement: I'm of no help, I've never had too much space to deal with. I always have the opposite problem.

Kitchen: Paint! and then get new handles. It will make it feel like a whole new space!

Have fun dreaming up ideas for your new place!!

Marni

Sparlingo said...

Some closet inspiration:

http://johnlouishome.ca/

Entryway ideas:

pinterest.com/pin/17990264

pinterest.com/pin/14197431

Trev and Rebekah said...

Have fun setting up home. It gets costly to do it all at once. Pick one room you want to do at a time. For the master closet I like more space to hang things because that means less wrinkles for the clothes. The more houses I go into the more I love houses that have little decorations but are still really simple and nice. I love the uncluttered look...unlike my small house which is full of books and toys and just stuff.