Linen Closet Organization

This is a bit of an odd post, but my linen closet was driving me nuts!  We have almost no storage in our bathroom due to a pedestal sink and a tiny medicine cabinet which holds only the most frequently used basic necessities such as toothpaste and contact solution.  So everything else ended up out in the hallway closet. And this is what happens when you unpack in less than a week:

Messy messy.

I didn't know where anything was, or even what I had in there.  I needed a way to be able to see everything in that deep, narrow closet, and also create more space so I could buy those money saving value packs of tissues and toilet paper.  

The solution was to add storage to inside of the door of the closet.  There are a lot of hanging over-the-door storage solutions out there such as these, most of them being for shoes.  But I thought the pockets would be perfect for extra bottles of shampoo and such.  However, all of these types of organizers were way too long! The closet door is only 40 inches long due to the drawers below, and only about 20 inches wide.  After days of searching the stores and online, I found this!  At 36" long and 18" wide, it is the perfect size.  And it rang up at half price in the store!

Side 1: large things.

Side 2: small stuff.

Everything that didn't fit into my new storage solution, I separated into containers...

Nail polish.

Hair accessories.

Yes, that's a lot of sunscreen.

Travel size bottles.

And here's the after...

Much better.

Now I know where everything is because it's organized and easily visible.  And I have more room to stock up on necessities.

Entryway Makeover

While the inside of my apartment is beautiful, the entry hallway definitely lacked appeal.  This is the first thing we see everyday when we come home from work.  It's our dumping ground for coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and boots and the first thing guests see when they come over.  The previous tenants left this awful and anything but welcoming wire shelf, lined with bright blue shelf liner.  Not only was it dirty and gross (I can't believe I even set my things in there), but it wasn't even securely attached to the wall.  I added a couple of 3M hooks for the time being to hang our coats from.  There's plenty of holes in the walls to suggest that the previous residents took their hooks with them when they moved out.

Entry Before.

I knew we needed something that felt more homey, but was also functional.  I wanted hooks for our coats, as well as concealed storage for hats and gloves.  After searching all over for something with the right dimensions and functionality, I found this at Christmas Tree Shops for under $30.  I loved the mirrored drawers and black knobs and hooks, but wasn't crazy about the rustic distressed wood.  There's two different styles competing here.  Not good.

Shelf before.

I turned to my good old standby, paint.  I removed the drawers and unscrewed the hooks before I started painting.

Here we go...

I decided to keep the formal feel of the mirrors and knobs, and go with a sleek and elegant black.  It also matches the rug just inside the door.  All it took was two quick coats, and I was done before lunchtime.

Done painting.

As I was waiting for the paint to dry, I pried down the old shelf and spackled a few of the holes out in the hall.  Then, I popped the drawers back in and reattached the hooks.  Now it looks like a much more expensive piece.

Shelf After.

 After some measuring, leveling, and nailing, it's up!  A much more welcoming sight to come home to.

Entry After.

Chevron Monogram

Ever since I got married in September, I've been obsessed with monograms.  My mother embroidered beautiful monogram towels for my bathroom as my bridal shower gift.  What I really wanted now was a big "G" to put on the door of our new apartment.  It's something you really can't do when you're single and living with roommates.  But now that we're starting our own family in a new space, I wanted to make it feel like our home.

So I purchased an unfinished wood letter "G" from the craft store for about $3.

Before.

It was a no-brainer what design to paint on it.  Chevron is everywhere right now, and I'm in love.  But I really had no idea what the best way to get the design onto the letter was.  What I ended up doing was printing a picture of a chevron design off of the internet.  I then cut along the top line of the design and used it as a pattern to trace, sliding it down in even increments as I went. 

Pattern.

Traced chevron.

I debated taping off each color as I painted in order to get straight lines, but it seemed like it would be a huge, time-consuming hassle, so I just free-handed it, using paint leftover from other projects.

One color down, two to go.

After the black was fully dry, I proceeded to the gray.  A small paint brush was key, as was having enough paint on the brush to do full, smooth strokes, instead of small, choppy ones.

Getting closer!

Again, once the gray was dry, I could paint the third color.  But you could do only two colors, as seen in the pattern, or a rainbow of colors.  I also painted around the edges of the the "G" which is about 1/4 of an inch thick.  I glued a scrap piece of ribbon to the back to hang it from, and it's done!

After!