More useful stairs

Thought I'd add some more interesting ways of using the stair area.

 freshome.com

 interiordesign-center.com

 mimicharmante.blogspot.com

 thebirdspapaya.com

 thisarchitecture.com

 

thisarchitecture.com

 

yournestdesign.blogspot.com

 

toxel.com

 

wineclubsworldwide.com

 

beneathmyheart.net

Clever ways to use the space in and around your stairs

In a previous post I collected photos of beautiful staircases. But the space under, over, in or on the stairs can also be used for other purposes such as storage, an office, a vanity room, a cloak room, an art gallery, a prayer room, an entryway, a play area, a library or whatever else you can come up with. Check out these clever uses of stairs.

How would you use your stairs?
Shobha.

  {1} Basement pantry

  {2} Home office, from freshome.com

  {3} Library, from sliceoflifedesign.com

  {4} Library, from measuringtape.tumblr.com

  {5} Photo gallery, from Best Pins Ever! by Cherelle Gellert

  {6} Cloak room and reading nook, from daisypinkcupcake.blogspot.com

  {7} Display, from freshome.com

  {8} Another beautiful reading nook, from wanelo.com

  {9} Bar, from chictip.com

{10} Storage, from Home Design Ideas by Monique Summers via deriba.co.uk.

{11} One more cloakroom, from chictip.com

The Versatility of Ladders

Now ladders seem to be incredibly useful objects. People have come up with a variety of uses for them apart from their original purpose for being. I love their ingenuity. From clothes rack, to bookshelves, to bedside tables, to magazine or newspaper stands, to a vertical garden, even a Xmas tree! The possibilities seem endless!

If you have an old ladder hanging around taking up space, think of giving it new life and repurposing it and tell us how you would use your ladder.

Shobha.

{1} A towel rack, from americanfolklife.blogspot.com

{2} Great way to display clothes at the store, from ffffound.com

{3} Love this one! From detailsandmore.tumblr.com

{4} Save up space in your kitchen by hanging your pots and pans! From funkybeardecor.com

{5} How unique! From Stefanie Haining's Isnpiration page on Pinterest 

{6, 7} How about an entire pantry of ladders? From inspirationforhome.blogspot.com

{8} So many clever ideas on this ladder! From ashbeedesign.com

{9}A shoe rack... When it comes to shoes we will always find a way! From inspirationforhome.blogspot.com

To Do List

 
There are those who say that having to-do-lists makes their brain go lazy. You would make less of an effort to use your memory power if you knew there was something else you could rely on.

Well... if you are a mother (or even otherwise) your brain has to keep in check all your stuff, as well as your kids’ stuff, and the house stuff and your husbands stuff and if you have your parents (or in-laws) living with you. Not forgetting working mothers... It’s just more things your brain has to keep track of. Something is bound to go awry. And, in my case, my brain never was good at keeping track of anything in the first place. So much so, that a very dear friend of mine of over 33 years still messages me to remind me of my father’s or my brother’s birthday.

That is how a To-Do-List becomes your most reliable friend. And how about the enormous satisfaction you get when you tick that item off that list? If the task is too overwhelming and you need that kick to keep you going break down your task into smaller easier tasks so you can tick off each of them until you’ve finished that big task.

For starters, here’s a list of 10 things you can do before you go to bed at night that will make your morning less chaotic.

1.     Clear up your dishes

2.     Get your bag ready for work

3.     Get your outfit ready for the morning

4.     Put away your remote controls, papers, books and CDs (if you still use them)

5.     Charge all your electronics (mobile phone, laptops, tablets)

6.     Set the table for breakfast (yes! Set the table the night before. I’ll have a post about this one soon.)

7.     Write your to-do-list for tomorrow   :)

If you have kids add these items to your list:

8.     Make sure your kids have their school projects/ homeworks done

9.     Make your kids get their school bags ready

10.  Make your kids get their school clothes ready. Ensure that they are prepared for sports day

Anything else I’ve forgotten to add to the list?

Shobha.

Chinese Lanterns and The Moon Festival

My son (L) goes to pre-nursery. It may seem harsh to send a 21-month old to school at such a young age but I found that not knowing kids around his age he lacked the social interactions that I think are an important part of the fabric of life. I researched several schools and chose one which seemed more agreeable to me. Mainly, they believe that children should be children and they should be allowed to enjoy their childhood as much as possible. So during the past month he has been going to school for 2 to 3 hours a day, 5 days a week to play and sing and dance. And he loves it. He is always eager to go and already has a favorite teacher who brings a smile to his face when he sees her. Did I mention that the teachers sing songs and read stories to the kids in Mandarin as well as in English?

Now the Moon Festival has arrived and there are moon cakes {11} being made and sold around every spare space. I had 48 moon cakes made for L's school by Mariz. Made with the original recipe of lotus seeds, they are healthier - less sugar, less oil, no eggs, and yummier! The Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival is the second most important festival (after the Spring Festival) celebrated by the Chinese. Held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar it typically falls in September or early October. As part of the celebrations beautifully crafted and brightly colored chinese lanterns are lit everywhere.

L's school asked the parents to help their kids make their own lanterns to take to school. I'm not a very crafty person but I'm excited to learn new things with my son. I searched on You Tube for the easiest way to make a lantern and here's a tutorial that worked well for me - Try to make a paper lantern 01.

A simple way to make the lantern look fancier is to either paint the paper - if you are good at these things (not me!), or pick a printed one. I chose a couple which had patterns on both sides {1, 8}.

{1} Material: A thick paper printed on both sides, a pencil and a ruler to mark the lines to be cut, a pair of scissors to cut the paper, an eraser to clean up the pencil marks after you're done cutting and a sticky tape to hold the shape of the lantern and the handle.

{3} Before you do anything, cut a strip of paper that will be used for the handle {2}. Then mark down the two ends (top and bottom of the lantern) with a thick band and make the lines connecting the two bands (any width you like) which is where you'll be cutting the paper.

{4} Proceed to fold the paper in half and cut on those lines. Don't forget to clean up those pencil marks whencyou are done.

{5} Join the two sides with sticky tape, both at the top and bottom.

{6} Stick the ends of the paper strip to the lantern to make the handle.

There you have it - the easiest way to make a chinese lantern {7, 9, 10}!

 How would you make a lantern?

Shobha.