Design: Pantry / Workroom Storage Planning

There are always a few items on my renovation to do list. Even though my fireplace is currently ripped apart and waiting for my attention, my pantry/workroom is also on my mind. The room is an absolute mess. It’s a disorganized dumping ground for my tools, supply remnants, and random pieces of just about everything.

The plan is to turn this room into a more efficiently organized workroom and a cantina. A cantina, for all my non-Italian readers, is a cold storage room (or pantry, I guess). The cantina is basically the second heart of the home for Italians (2nd only to the kitchen). This is where we store thing like jars of Nutella, homemade jams, and extra household supplies. (It’s a gem of a room, let me tell you!)

I love that my house has a room that I can dedicate to being a cantina.

So, I’m currently doing research about the best options for storage racks for both my workroom materials and cantina items. I would really like this one room to serve both purposes. I’m totally inspired by the spaces below, but I know that recreating most of them is not realistic for my home. Just dreaming…

34-garage-workbenchvia The Design Files

d69adbe6f950bc62d66d1b4e98cab114Ina Garten’s pantry, via House Beautiful

pantry3via The Vintage Wren

4via Deuce Cities Henhouse

CL0203068t_2_vvia My Home Ideas

20 Below: To Do List Notepad by Garance Doré

I love back to school season! Of course I’m sad to see summer end, but I love the energy and excitement of September’s early days.

I’m heading back to back to school (I’ve never really left, actually), and one of the most essential things I have to have is my daily/weekly to do lists. I like to set attainable goals for my day/week, and if I don’t write down tasks and reminders, I’ll completely forget about them.

to-do-list-notepad-Garance-Dore

 

Garance Doré notepad, $5 (on sale at Chapters Indigo)

Isn’t this a classy notepad? That Garance Doré has got some style!

The Friday Five: Shoe Storage in Style

Have I been doing it all wrong? Shoe storage, that is. I’ve got my shoes in these and these, but maybe I should put them in places that look like these:

shoe-cloche-style-design

Recycled Consign & Design via Pinterest

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Jamie Chung via Elle

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Tabitha Simmons via Escapade

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Whitney Port via The Coveteur

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Whitney Port via The Coveteur

Yeah, right. My shoe collection would look ridiculous if it was anywhere but in the closet. Nobody needs to see my classic ballet flats or practical rain boots leaning against my crystal stemware.

Hope you all have a have a wonderfully luxurious long weekend!

Interiors: Open Shelving in the Kitchen

I had open shelving in my kitchen for a couple of months while I waited for a few cupboard doors to be made and installed. I didn’t quite work for me. Sure, there was one less barrier separating me and my plate, but the overall look was much too messy for me (yes, even considering my dishes are white and neatly stacked). But when I look at the kitchens below, I think the open shelves look completely fine and liveable.

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white kitchen with open shelving, via Southern Living

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white kitchen with open shelving, via Southern Living

white-kitchen-design-open-shelves-storage-organization

white kitchen with open shelving, via Happy Hour Mom

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white kitchen with open shelving, via House Beautiful

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white kitchen with open shelving, via The Simply Luxurious Life

white kitchen my lovely things blog cococozy

white kitchen with open shelving, via CocoCozy

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white kitchen with open shelving, via Maria Killam

stunning-white-inspiration-for-open-shelves-on-the-kitchen

white kitchen with open shelving, source unknown

The Friday Five: Bedrooms & Books

It’s Friday! Hooray! I don’t know about you but I am feeling quite worn out this week! It was a short week and my week wasn’t more busy than usual so I’m not sure why I feel so drained. If you’ve followed the reno updates this week on the blog and Twitter, then you’ll know that my weekend will not be filled with sleep-ins and lounging around with a good book. Instead, I’ll be giving it my all as I prime and paint my home (or as much as possible in one weekend) and I also am attending a “how to install backsplash tile” workshop at The Home Depot. I’m looking forward to it all even though it means my lazy days are on hold.

For today I’m leaving you with five bedrooms that showcase different approaches to incorporating books – aka a growing library – into the bedroom.

tumblr_mmftfrwu1e1rsz7pao1_1280via Snob

april-bookshelf-1

Safdie Rabines Architects via The Fete Blog (I know this isn’t a real bed but I couldn’t resist adding it in!)

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via Alma-Nac

books

via A Merry Mishap

Bookshelf Fantasy For Bedroom White Bedroomsource unknown

What do you think? How do you arrange the books in your house? Are they in every room? Do you pile them high on the floor in your bedroom or do you have designated shelves? I’d love to know!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend.