organize

Storage for Kids Rooms

September 10, 2013 By Lauren 2 Comments

Finding enough storage in children’s bedrooms can be tough, but if you buy furniture and accessories with storage in mind, you should be able to find plenty of storage for kids rooms.

My daughters, 10, are twins and naturally enjoy sharing a room together. So, when I chose the children’s furniture for their room, I chose children’s furniture that would give us the most space as possible for storing their things.

Their room is fairly large, but not that big, considering that we must fit two twin beds in there, a dresser, and as many places as possible to stash all their clothing and toys.

Extra Storage for Kids Rooms

So, I chose a storage bed with drawers (South Shore Furniture, Lily Rose Collection, Twin Mates Bed 39″, Romantic Pine), which is available from Amazon.com. The twin bed frames, at $165 each, are fairly affordable, and offer three large drawers for storage underneath. The beds are an attractive and easy way to add additional storage for kids rooms. The frames only allow for a mattress (and not a boxspring), however, so I got pillowtop mattresses for my kids to make their beds more comfortable.

We purchased our children’s storage beds from Amazon.com, and got free shipping, which is a great deal, since shipping for large furniture items can be expensive!

Lily Rose twin bed with drawers underneath

One of the Lily Rose storage beds in my daughters’ room

My husband put the South Shore Furniture twin storage beds together for us, and he actually marveled at how well made the beds are, and how simple they were to put together.

I like the light wood tones of the twin storage beds, their Shaker style and the pretty flower pulls on the drawers. I also appreciate that they are made from composite wood carrying the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, which means that they are eco friendly.

Storage for books, toys

To add more storage to the room, we added a bookcase headboard (South Shore Furniture, Lily Rose Collection, Bookcase Headboard 39″, Romantic Pine) at about $90 each behind each daughter’s bed, which gives my kids a place to store their favorite books and their extra special treasures. I love looking at those headboard bookcases to see how each daughter has decorated it, as each girl has added her own special touches and treasures to her bookcase, making it truly her own.

Lily Rose Bookcase Headboard

Dresser for Kids Rooms

We also bought the Lily Rose Collection, 5 Drawer Chest (South Shore Furniture, Lily Rose Collection, 5 Drawer Chest, Romantic Pine)
at about $169 for the room, and the dresser gives us ample space to store kids clothes.

My daughters’ Lily Rose five drawer dresser, which offers plenty of storage for clothes.

We’ve had the storage beds for over a year, and they are holding up excellently. The only problem we’ve experienced so far is that one of the three drawer knobs on one of the beds becomes loose occasionally, causing the pretty flower drawer pull to fall off.

I’ve allowed my daughters to put store items of their own choosing in the drawers under their twin beds, so it gives both girls a place to keep their most treasured stuffed animals, toys and art supplies.

I was going to go with bunkbeds for my children’s bedroom, but I am glad that I didn’t because should my daughters decide they want their own rooms when they get older, they can take these twin storage beds with them, and I won’t have to invest in new furniture – which is always a good thing! If my daughters decide they want more adult-looking drawer pulls on the dresser or bed drawers, or want to switch them out to change the style of the furniture, changing the pulls should be easy enough.

Organize Your House and Improve Your Life 15 Ways

August 22, 2013 By Lauren Leave a Comment

Did you know that on average, Americans spend one year of their life looking for lost or misplaced items? If you are like the average American, you are probably aware of how easy it is to accumulate a ton of stuff in your home. I know I have! There are many of us who really need to organize our home.

The more things you collect, the less space you have to store it. As a result, people often find themselves living in a home full of clutter. While you might find it difficult to part ways with things that have sentimental memories, home organization experts recommend getting rid of items you rarely use. Most of us really need to organize!

Organize Your Home

SpareFoot, the largest online inventory of storage units, has some advice on why you should cut out the clutter at your home. Their infographic on clutter gives 15 reasons to keep a tidy house. Decluttering your home can save you money, relieve stress, improve friendships, and improve your relationship with your significant other.

I, for one, know that if decluttered my home, my husband and I could save money — we are always buying new office supplies, etc., because we can’t find the stuff we already have!

It’s incredible all the ways you can better your life with a little home organization. Check out the infographic below for all the great benefits of decluttering your home. I know my life would be vastly improved by decluttering my house!

Filed Under: clean, DIY Tagged With: clean, clutter, organize

Black and White Craft Room Design

July 20, 2013 By Lauren 24 Comments

Last month, I shared photos of my friend Christine’s fabulous dining room turned craft room. I think her new craft room design is just amazing!

I received a lot of questions about her beautiful craft room design, so I asked her if she could spill some more details. Being the awesome person that she is, of course she gave me more info about her room renovation, as well as some great photos!

Before and After

Considering all the great textures and vibe in her craft room design, I was totally surprised to see her craft room’s before picture. Can you believe that her craft room (which was her home’s dining room) looked like this? Where’s all the bling and the dramatic black walls?

Card Catalog Craft Storage

One of the coolest parts about my friend’s new craft room is the vintage card catalog that she uses to store her crafting supplies. I wish I could snag me one of those card catalogs!

I love the way she used an old typewriter font that she downloaded from the Internet to make the labels on her card catalog look like they were typed on a vintage typewriter a long time ago. Wonderful!

I adore how all her fabrics are stored neatly in the bottom drawers of the card catalog.

My friend uses the top drawers of her card catalog to organize a ton of craft supplies like scissors and cutting tools, spools of thread and other crafting supplies.

Her room also has a really useful sewing table that can fold out to create a bigger working space.

I don’t think I am ready to convert my home’s living room into a craft room, but I’d love to turn some basement space into a crafting area! When I do, I’ll have to use some of my friend’s great design and storage ideas in my new space! You rock, Christine!

If you have any great craft room designs or storage ideas, I’d love to hear from you!

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Black and White Craft Room Design

June 24, 2013 By Lauren

Do you have a space in your home that’s not being used to its full potential?

My friend Christine did, so she turned it into a rocking craft space!

Dining/Living Space Turned Craft Room

The space she converted into her craft space is just off her home’s kitchen and would normally be used as a dining or living room area. But Christine, who does wonders with a sewing machine (she created a beautiful parade banner for our Girl Scout troop) and is quite handy (she built a dollhouse for her daughter with working lights), decided the space would work better as her crafting area. The craft room design that she used for her space looks great!

The space has a really cool black and white color palette – I think it’s a bold move that really paid off! (I would be nervous about painting walls in my home black, and I am sure my husband would never go for it, but I love the way it looks in her house!)

I love how she added the white molding and shelves, and I adore the black and white curtains and matching storage boxes. I REALLY love her card catalog – I wish I could find one of those for myself! (I am so nostalgic for those card catalog days! I’ve always loved libraries!)

The room has an awesome sewing table that can fold out to create a bigger working space.

There’s also a really great desk area in the room. I also love the black chandelier she added to the space – it really adds a lot of glam to the room!

I think it’s great how she added French doors to close off the room and added really cool artistic elements to the wall in white. (Notice the sewing theme!)

Thanks, Christine, for letting me show off your fantastic space!

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This Post Was Shared At:

Filed Under: Crafts, Decor, DIY, furniture, home improvement, Organize Tagged With: craft, decor, DIY, living room, organize, sew, sewing, storage

What’s New and Popular on Mom Home Guide

June 6, 2013 By Lauren

Check out the latest and greatest on Mom Home Guide!

Father’s Day Gift Guide

Take a look at Mom Home Guide’s picks for gifts that will please any dad this Father’s Day!

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Girls’ Night Out: Henna / Mendhi Tattoos

Looking for a fun idea for a girls’ night out? Why not try getting an all-natural, henna /mendhi tattoo? A friend of mine and our daughters got mendhi / henna tattoos recently. Read more to check out the designs!

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Prep Your Outdoor Space for Summer

In this post, I feature a video from Mom blogger Sarah of Thrifty Decor Chick on readying your outdoor space for summer entertaining. Check out my patio — which is pretty much ready for the summer. My Adirondack chairs, however, which get good use while my kids are playing in our side yard, need to be spray painted to look their best!

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Keurig Kitchen Beverage Station

Check out my family’s Keurig K Cup beverage station. With a touch of a button, my family can make coffee, tea, hot chocolate and hot apple cider. Our mug stand keeps cups for hot chocolate, tea and coffee within reach. The coffee brewer makes for a great Father’s Day gift!

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Planting a Spring and Summer Flower Garden

I’ve caught the gardening bug! Check out my new spring and summer perennial garden, as well as my choices for flowers that should provide my garden with color all spring and summer long.

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TIKI® Brand Torches for Patio Ambiance

When TIKI® Brand asked me to try out their flame and solar torches, I was thrilled! Come see my video and review on how their torches have added much-needed lighting to my home’s backyard patio.

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DIY Salsa Container Garden

Would you love to grow fresh ingredients for homemade salsa, but don’t have much room for a garden? Then a DIY container salsa garden might be just the thing for you!

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Love for Lilies

I have long been a big fan of lilies. My parents grew lilies in the backyards both of my childhood’s homes when I was growing up, so I have a sentimental attachment to them. It is easy to remember the beautiful patch of orange day lilies that grew in our backyards. I always remember the lilies as a hallmark of the many fun summers that I spent in my backyard with my family. Now that I am a homeowner, I have planted….

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Giveaway Winner … and Entry Hall Reveal!

When Lot 26 Studio gave me the chance to try out one of their wall decals and offer a giveaway and 20% off coupon to Mom Home Guide’s readers, I jumped at the chance. I love wall art and have already used wall decals in several rooms in my home.

Last week, Mom Home Guide ran a Rafflecopter giveaway for Mom Home Guide’s readers to give away $50 to use toward a Lot 26 Studio product, and a winner has been selected!

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Wall Art to Cover Basement Walls & Giveaway

Check out the large canvas wall art from Lot 26 Studio, which you could win this week on Mom Home Guide. I think the art would be great for any family space or for covering up the gray cement walls of an unfinished basement — like my home’s basement walls!

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Wall Decor Giveaway from Lot 26 Studio

Enter Mom Home Guide’s giveaway for your chance to win $50 toward wall decals and canvas wall art from Lot 26 Studio.

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DIY Garden Project: Backyard Flower Tower

See how I made this easy flower tower for my home’s backyard patio. Once the petunias fill in, this tower is going to be a beauty!

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Budget Remodel: “Finished” Basement

Basement with painted blue walls and laminate floor

Tips for ‘Finishing’ a Basement on a Budget– browse for thrifty basement improvement and remodeling ideas, like painting the basement walls, staining your wood beams or adding an epoxy to the concrete floor.

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Thrifty Decor: Budget Burlap Table Runner

DIY craft: Come see how I sewed this beautiful fringed burlap table runner for about $14.

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Quick and Easy Decor Craft

ribbon trim, no sew, velcro, curtains, craft

Tutorial on how to add trim — and color — to drapes and curtains without sewing! This is a simple and quick DIY home improvement project.

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Quick Family Mexican Dinner Recipe

Check out my chicken enchilada casserole recipe, and a chance to win $5,000 in a giveaway from Country Crock!

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Keep Your Pool Clean and Sparkling

Guest blogger and pool owner Becky Flanigan shares her secrets for a crystal clear backyard pool!

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Hallway Turned Fun Kid Space

Come see how I turned a large upstairs hallway into a fun media / TV / hangout space for my kids by painting a feature wall and adding a fun wall mural, a TV and beanbag chairs.

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Giveaway Winner… and Entry Hall Reveal!

May 13, 2013 By Lauren

Last week, Mom Home Guide ran a Rafflecopter giveaway for Mom Home Guide’s readers to give away $50 to use toward a Lot 26 Studio product, and a winner has been selected … Sherry A. An email has been sent to the winner — hope to hear from you soon, Sherry!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

But for those of you who didn’t win, don’t sweat it! You can use the Mom Home Guide coupon code, MOMGUIDE20, through May 19 to get 20% off wall art at Lot 26 Studio! Plus, Lot 26 Studio is offering free shipping to its customers this entire month for even more savings!

Entry Hall Reveal

The Lot 26 Studio product that I got to try out is Lot 26 Studio’s Home Sweet Home wall decal. I thought the decal would look really cute in the mudroom area that I’ve created in my home’s small (but functional) entry hall. I’ve been working over the past several months to make the entry hall useful and pretty!

I put up the Lot 26 Studio up a few days ago, and I really like how it came out! Putting up the decal was quite easy — I just measured out where I wanted the decal to go and taped it up with blue painter’s tape (masking tape would also work). Once everything was where I wanted it, I carefully removed the backing from the decal and used the plastic application tool that came with the decal to rub over the decal.

Applying the Lot 26 Studio decal to the wall was really quite easy!

I carefully rubbed over the decal to remove any air bubbles from the decal and to make sure that the decal adhered properly to the wall. I can be a klutz at stuff like this, but it came out really well — what do you think?

My home’s entry area with the addition of the new wall decal.

In all, I think the decal only took about 20 minutes to put up — putting up the wall decal was certainly a fun and easy DIY project!
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Filed Under: Decor, DIY, giveaway, Organize Tagged With: decor, giveaway, mudroom, organize

Safe Kitchen Knife Storage with a Knife Block

April 14, 2013 By Lauren

We all have them — the kitchen drawer that is just a mess! That drawer for me used to be the knife drawer. That is, until I purchased an inexpensive knife block.

My kitchen counters are already pretty filled with appliances like the toaster oven and my bread maker, so I haven’t wanted to purchase one of those countertop knife-blocks for chef knives and other sharp knives.

So instead, I used to store all my knives in one big kitchen drawer. But that meant that there were all sorts of knives in that drawer without any sleeves or any sort of protection on them. So, one had to be very careful about putting one’s hand in that drawer!

My kitchen’s knife drawer before the knife block.

Safe Storage with a Knife Block

My knife drawer is no longer unsafe, anymore, however. That’s because I recently visited my local Bed, Bath and Beyond Store. I wanted to participate in the Spring Cleaning Challenge at Anna Mosley’s blog, so I thought that organizing my kitchen’s knife drawer would be a quick and easy organizational challenge to complete for that challenge! The drawer has several chef knives stored in it, and used to be a rather unsafe place to stick one’s hand into!

At Bed, Bath and Beyond, I found the perfect solution to my problem: a wooden and cork knife dock that is made so you can simply store your knives safely in a drawer — the knife block has soft cork dividers in which you can nest your knifes, so you don’t have to worry about cutting your hand on the pointy edge of a knife when going through your drawer! I also like that the drawer knife block is made from sustainable and recycled materials — since I try to be green and eco-friendly when I can!

What I especially like about the cork dividers in the knife block is that they can accommodate different sizes and numbers of knives. I was able to store all of my kitchen’s knives in that one knife block. And since the drawer in which the knife blocks rests is pretty wide, I still have room on the other side to place other utensils. (All of my knives do fit in the block, even though it looks like from the photo below that I forgot to put two of the knives in the knife block — silly me! All of the knives are in the knife block now.)

My home’s kitchen drawer could use a little more organization, but it’s safer now!

Bed, Bath and Beyond Coupon

I didn’t have any coupons with me when I went to purchase my knife block, but one of the salespeople there was nice enough to give me a one, so I got the drawer knife dock, which normally sells for about $30, at 20% off. (It seems that the staff at the store keep the coupons on hand for customers like me who wouldn’t normally buy something if they don’t have a coupon — I was about to walk out because I forgot mine.)

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How to Organize Kids Rooms in Your Home

March 19, 2013 By Lauren

You might have noticed that I write a lot about making my family’s home a more beautiful and organized space for my kids. I’ve written about children’s furniture that add storage to a kid’s room, how to organize children’s toys, how to convert a basement into a fun and organized playroom, and how I turned a large upstairs hallway into a fun media and study space for my children. Needless to say, I’ve done a lot of research into how to organize kids rooms in a home!