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.

On My Night Stand

I love my night stand. It is simple and slick. It looks great with the light on and fits all the things I might need at night. This Ikea Rexbo shelving unit is ideal when you have very little space for a bedside table.

I fell in love with it the very first time I laid eyes on it. But as cautious as I am with infatuations, I took my time to decide whether I really needed it. Finally, when I could no longer keep away from it I found they had stopped shipping these units to Singapore. Imagine my disappointment. Fortunately, as luck would have it I had to go to Germany to visit a friend and what do I find at Ikea in Munich? Well, my friend gifted it to me and I was more than thrilled to have it even if it meant lugging it through airports till I got home!

Here I keep my books on the top shelf {1}, I have photos of loved ones, my Ikea Knubbig table lamp, water, my reading glasses, a moisturizer and others. 

Flowers are a must for a flower lover like me. I like waking up and looking at flowers and greenery. Here I used a baby food jar {3} which looks adorable with these little ball flowers. Does anyone know what these flowers are called {5}? 

Something I find very useful is reusing the bottles of Esprit drink as water bottles for the night {4}. They hold the equivalent of a glass of water. They are compact and look nice (just remember to remove the label). I usually keep a bottle on each side of the bed and for each overnight staying guest.

And finally, for someone with a baby like me, I keep a box with a thermometer, extra batteries for the thermometer, baby paracetamol and a couple of syringes to administer the medicine.

What do you keep on your night stand?

Shobha.

References:

Esprit Drink

Rexbo shelving unit

Knubbig table lamp with cherry blossoms in frosted white glass

May Day Flowers

I just saw an article on Apartment Therapy about May Day gift baskets in the US. I know May Day is over but flowers are perennial in the magic they bring to a home or to oneself. So why not gift your neighbours, your friends and your family with beautiful and simple flower arrangements. Using your old jars of jam and recycling those ribbons that came with gifts you received is a also a good way to clear the clutter, clean up your space and recycle your goods. And you get to see a smile on someone you love. 

What do you think of bringing May Day celebrations to the rest of the world? Picnics, gifts baskets, floral-themed decor...

Shobha. 

{1} How simple and pretty, from 24.media.tumblr.com 

{2} Originally from Artsy Craft Projects by Val Pederson via Martha Armitstead

{3} From callmehats.tumblr.com

{4} Why not use a can as a vase! From skiptomylou.org

{5} From decor8.com

{6} You can find instructions on how to make this paper cone at lillyella.blogspot.sg

{7} How about making use of that ice cream container to reproduce this arrangement from flowers-online.com.au?

My Linen Closet

I have read so many times that 2 sets of linen are enough for each bed you own. However, in my case, accidents happen, especially when you have a baby (L) sharing the bed with you. Also now that I can afford to have my linen ironed, and the service offered by my laundry (Renee Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Services) happens on a weekly basis, I have to make sure I have spare sets that will get me through the week. So here {2} you will find 4 sets of linen for my bed. Each set comprises of 4 pillow cases, 1 bolster cover, 1 duvet cover, 1 fitted sheet and 1 flat sheet which lies between me and the duvet. They are arranged in the closet as sets so that next time I need to change my bed sheets in the middle of the night I don’t have to fish for all the different parts. I also use a full mattress protector that I wash every month and a baby mattress protector where L sleeps so nothing goes further than that.

Now if you have no preference for ironed bed sheets or have enough time to do the ironing yourself it might be wise to stick to 2 sets. Although I would still keep 3 sets… just in case.

As for my towel sets {4}, one set would have 2 large bath towels, 2 hand towels and 1 bath math. If you use face towels, please add those to your list. Again I would keep 3 sets as a minimum, for those days when I don’t want to have to do the laundry. I do have a pool towel for each of us too.

In my closet {3}, you will also find 3 sets of linen for the guest room and 3 sets of towels for 2 guests. My parents or my in-laws come and stay with us for weeks at a time so the same rule applies here. There are also some house slippers for guests (those slippers you bring home from the hotels where you’ve stayed in your travels). And for those days when there are more people crashing in than beds available, I have 3 sets of single bed sheets, pillowcase and thick blanket. The latter can be used if I’m just lounging on the sofa while watching a movie.

Beyond these, you will find cushion covers {2} for the cushions in my bedroom, the guest room and the living room. These are indulgences of mine and I change them with the seasons or the occasion (parties, festivals, X’mas, Chinese New Year). Extra pillows are found in the top shelf {5}.

Come to think of it, I have quite a collection going. Maybe I should consider pairing down. Hmmmm...

I also have a shelf {5} where all my arts & crafts stuff reside such as gift wrapping, bead work, sewing material, painting tools. I keep them in boxes for each type of craft so I know where to find what I need.

How does your linen closet look?

Shobha.

References:

-Renee Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Services Pte. Ltd.

3 Simon Rd Singapore 545892

Contact: 6459 8231

Keep life simple, uncluttered, organized and fresh!

I have lived most of my life confined to my bedroom or sharing a house with others or in small studio apartments. With time and all the travel that I have done I had accumulated a lot of things, not to mention all the books I read. My father decided he wasn't going to carry any of my stuff around after he sold our home, so he got rid of it all. It has been 10 years and I am still recovering from it. 

With the space constraints I've endured (and it really sucks to live in small spaces - on the other hand, it means less cleaning!) I realized that my space needed to be maximized in order to keep the stuff that was really important to me. I also wanted to make everything easily accessible to me at all times.

 So I have been learning through my experiences as well as those of others how to keep it simple, uncluttered, organized and fresh. Now that my physical space has been taken care of, it is time to do the same with my personal life: keep it simple, uncluttered, organized and fresh.

Seeing the trend everywhere of incredibly small apartments with even smaller bedrooms and kitchens (have people stopped cooking?) we have to make the most of the space available. And with all the high speed, high tech lives that we lead we really must try to keep it all simple and fresh for our own sanity.

Here I propose a space where we can all share our experiences and learn from each other on how to make our lives a little less crazy, a little more easy to manage, and a lot more beautiful!

Shobha.