{You Can Never Have Enough Storage}

Being in a Townhome with a little over 1200 square feet, I sometimes feel as if I need a bigger home just for storage. If it were just Adam and I, sure we could handle this home and even have a little wiggle room, but throw a two year old into that mix and you can run out of room very quickly.

No one tells you about all the stuff you will accumulate when you have a child. You think, “oh they are so small, they won’t take up much space”. Yes, they may be small, but this tiny human being needs so many things to help make YOUR life easier. From baby swings, high chairs, toy boxes, birthdays, Christmas,etc; your house fills up pretty quick. If you are like me and can’t part with any of his stuff, then your home is running out of room for storage. Here are some simple ways to boost storage in any home.

Tutorial

Tutorial

Tutorial

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Those are just a few great ways to increase the storage in your home. Stay tuned for more!

{Why didn’t I think of that?!?!}

Here is a small compilation of smart ideas for your home. If I were to ever build or remodel my current home I would definitely incorporate some of these ideas.

Hidden Outlets…

 

Secret Drawers in the Staircase for Storage….

Washer and Dryer in Closet….

For Recycling….

{The Power of Spray Paint}

Did you know that there are many varieties of spray paints out there? You can transform anything into something new.

Below are just a few of the many unique ones that you can use on almost anything. I can’t wait to try the glitter blast!

1. Chalkboard- create a chalkboard anywhere 2. Edible, yes you can eat this! 3. Magnetic 4. Make it stone- great for re-doing countertops 5. Dry Erase 6. Glitter Blast

7. Looking Glass- For that mirror look 8. Plastic Fusion- transform your patio funiture 9. Stainless Steel- update your kitchen for cheap!

Here are some great examples of ways to update anything in your home with a little spray paint:

Tutorial Here

Tutorial Here

Tutorial Here

Tutorial Here

Tutorial Here

Like what you see so far? Follow me!

As you know, I just started this blog last month and I already have a ton of topics to post throughout 2012. If you want to be the first to know about new posts, giveaways, decorating tutorials or product reviews then look over to the right. You will see a link called “Follow blog via email” sign up there and you can also “like” Arcadian Elegance on Facebook. You don’t want to miss out on what’s to come!

 

{Words to Live By}

These are some of my favorite quotes about a home….

{A Tour of My Home} The Nursery

These pictures are from last fall so there are alot of changes but I wanted to post pictures of the progress of decorating my home so we will call these the “before” photos!

My favorite thing to do is pick my favorite object and plan the whole room around it. When I first found out I was pregnant I immediately started a hunt for the perfect bedding. I don’t know why it was so important to me at the time, maybe I was nesting, but I was not going to settle on anything until I found the perfect set. I spent hours on the internet browsing baby sites, amazon, overstock, etc; because lets face it, when you are pregnant you too tired to actually go out and find something!

I didn’t want the usual baby boy bedding like trains, cars, or jungle animals. I wanted something different. I found this bedding site at Banana Fish. I then took it to Home Depot to match up some paint colors. After I purchased the bedding I searched anywhere and everywhere for teal, brown, stripes or damask.

It was hard to find exact matches but I decided to make my own decor. See those picture frames above the crib? I found a set of funky frames at Kirkland’s and used my new paint to paint them to match. Then I went to Michael’s and picked out some scrapbook paper with similar colors. Those frames cost a total of maybe $25. They are still one of my favorite do-it-yourself projects.

Then I took an old dresser that was missing knobs (we lost one, I need to get around to replacing it) and painted it with my matching paint. I got two small paint cans of each color and painted the dresser, shelves, and frames. I still have some left over, so you don’t need a lot. I bought a few brown baskets for toys and other odds and ends.

I found the Damask painting at Home Goods for $7. All the little things on the shelf were gifts from my baby shower.

I found some blue cardboard magazine holders for Parents magazines and some cloth cubbies.

I added some brown curtains and an animal hammock.

Here’s my little guy (at about 10 months, he’s now two) hanging out in his favorite part of his room, the bathroom! He loves to unroll the toilet paper into a nice little pile. I have since stopped replacing the toilet paper roll in that bathroom

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{Some of my favorite things}

I wanted to post a few of my favorite accents of my home. I usually fall in love with one item for each room and base the theme of the rest of the room on this one item. I’m a big fan of matching colors of different hues. For instance the following are the themes for rooms in my home:

• Master Bedroom- brown and green
• Son’s Nursery- Brown and teal
• Master bathroom- Brown and blue
• Nursery Bathroom- Green and Cream
• Kitchen- Blue (tealish, eggshell blue hues)
• Dining and Living room- Orange, brown, red, and yellow/gold
• Half Bath- Brown and Green

In case you haven’t noticed, Brown is my favorite color. I love it. If I am ever torn between two colors of an item, I always settle for brown. I have come across fabulous finds from time to time that I pass up because it doesn’t “match” any of my themes. I love earth tones. You will never see pink, purple, or neon green in my home, with one exception- purple. I have a separate photography business with a theme of Black, deep purple, and Silver. So if you see purple, its for my photography business!

To get back on track here a few items that I chose to theme my rooms around:

This is actually a coat rack that I found. I loved it and bought it because it was rustic looking and could possibly go in a few rooms. I kept this little gem hidden away in my cupboard for over 6 months before stumbling upon it again. I immediately thought it would look great in my half bathroom downstairs. I wanted it to be functional however, this bathroom has only a toilet and sink with a laundry room attached. We would never hang coats in here or towels since we already had a towel rack. So I hung it up anyways, I figured we would eventually hang something on it.

I have a horrible habit of taking my jewelry off after work (I have a toddler who loves earrings) and leaving it all through out the house….until one day it made sense to hang it up on this coat rack. It worked great and it was much easier for me to put my jewelry in one place for a change. Then, I found the cute little drawer just randomly on a shelf in a store. I think it belonged to a furniture piece but I never found anything in the store to match it so I asked the cashier to put any price on it and I would take it. I took it home for $3! I added a cute hook to hang it up and now there is a place for my rings, earrings and bracelets.