My Kitchen Command Central

I know everyone's mind is on Thanksgiving, but I'm excited to finally share pictures of my 'little' kitchen command central.  This space has been a life saver and it functions perfectly.

When you enter from the garage, you directly walk into the kitchen (with no mudroom) and you might remember one of the first things I did was to create a mini mudroom by converting a hanging closet into a mini mudroom.  See original post here.

We lived with this for about a year, before I decided I need more function.  I basically needed places to put things - artwork, mail, magazines, etc.  I had to think vertically and use only wall space because there was no floor/desk or counter space to use.  You can see my original inspiration here.

First, I needed a large bulletin board to hang the kid's artwork, etc.

When they come home from school, I open up their backpacks and up goes their artwork.  Here is how I made the bulletin board.  The kids (mostly E) love seeing their artwork hung up.

I hung 3 simple hooks under the bulletin board to hang my purse (instead of plopping it on the floor or on the kitchen counter), her backpack (it's small and light) or the kids jackets, etc.

These three simple hooks have made things so much easier!  In the above picture, you can see the garage door to the right.

When you walk directly into the kitchen from the garage, this is your view!  I used this wall to put all my paper 'stuff' - think all the mail, catalogs, magazines, coupons, forms, flyers.......basically, EVERYTHING!!  Before, I was dumping it all in a basket that sat on the ktichen counter and it was so disorganized.

I bought Martha Stewart's magazine/file storage on sale in canary yellow for half off and spray painted it white.  Since the wall space could accommodate one more thing, I got Martha Stewart's cork board (perfect size) to sit next to the magazine/file storage.  It holds the important numbers, reminders and basically anything that mom wants to put on the board.   This wall works double duty!

Well, there you have it - my two wall kitchen command central!!  I absolutely LOVE it and it makes me so happy to walk into the kitchen and not to see a huge mess.  Now, there is a place for everything!  No excuses!

One Room Challenge - Week 5

One more week left for the One Room Challenge (ORC) and still lots to wrap up!  With a chest cold and 20% of my voice left, I got sidelined this past week but slowly getting back in the saddle. (I hope)!

I finally hung up my Serena and Lily mirror  above (that I've had for a while) and some art (that I have also had) above the desk that sits on the opposite wall of the bed!  Since the mirror is small, I need to balance the size of my desk with some artwork around the mirror.  I want to keep it simple and not have a cluttered look.

My desk is a black french inspired desk from Ballard Designs that I got long ago that I will pair with a white slipcovered parsons chair from Ikea.  Desk style similar to below minus the gold detailing.

I finally hung up my  DIY bulletin board (a huge piece of homasote that I reupholstered with ticking fabric) and this will sit above the bench. 

Hanging this was a lot trickier than I originally thought and planned!  Below you can see the bulletin board hung on the wall above the bench with the bed's euro sham and bolster!

So, where am I now?  Oh yes, the headboard.  The headboard has been the most interesting component of this challenge.  I have a new found respect for all the DIY-ers who have made one of these before.  Here is the headboard upholstered with the raffia fabric (bad picture). 

I'm 70% completed with the nailhead and I'll be honest I am not sure I love the headboard with the nailhead.  I know - the horror!!  

I can't put my finger on it as to why, just yet, but I'm hesitating whether to move forward with completing the nailhead or not.  It breaks my heart because I want to love it and after five hours of your life that you won't get back, that is a hard pill to swallow. 

But, that is where I am and I guess both you and I will have to wait for the reveal to see if I decide to keep the nailhead or not.  

But, I know one thing, I'm ready to get this room done!!!  Looking forward to next week - see you then!!  Go here to check out what my other fellow ORC-ers are doing!!  

DIY: Nailhead Corkboard

I saw Bryn's bulletin board tutorial and immediately thought I need to try this. 

I used white duck cloth from joann's and shiny brass nailhead.  I am loving brass these days.  From start to finish (completely hung), it took me an hour and half.  So easy.  I am completely smitten by nailhead!  There is something so sexy about it.  

I have yet to pin anything on it.  I will post pictures of my soon to be inspiration board!

In other news, today is my blog's 3 month anniversary!!  I am loving every moment I can step away from my job, motherhood, cleaning the house (not hard to do), cooking and life in general to partake in an activity that fills my passion.  


Thank you for anyone who reads this blog - seriously!  You give me the mojo to carry on!

Kitchen Command Central Continues

Our kitchen has two external entry points - (one from our garage) and (one from the backyard) - which translates into high traffic areas with no room for a mud-room.  You might remember this project, where we converted a regular hanging closet to a mini-mudroom.

I am so happy we did this - it has helped with the clutter of jackets, coats, shoes and backpacks.  

Since now we are painting our kitchen, I can move to phase two, where I plan to use vertical wallspace to create a command central spot.  Unfortunately, there is no counter space in our kitchen for this so I have to think vertical and use wall space.  See inspiration below.

I desperately need a letter bin of sort to control the mail, school papers, magazines, bills, etc. I also need a bulletin board to hold important numbers, tickets, coupons, etc.  I need a couple of hooks for the kids backpacks and lastly, a tote or basket to hold random items.

I found both the cork board and the magazine holder (which I'll use for mail, papers, etc.) for an incredible price - both for $60.  They are part of the Marta Stewart Living collection from Home Decorators and I bought them when they had an additional 40% off their outlet prices (MLK weekend).  I actually bought them in the ugly cornflower color to get the outlet price plus the 40% off discount (I guess nobody wants that color).   I plan to paint both white.  See here and here.  And, let me just say, I am so impressed with this magazine holder - very heavy and the slats are removable!  Top notch!

Wish me luck!!  Can't wait to get this completed!  

ORC: Week Six - Final Reveal

I can officially say that I have completed Linda's One Room Challenge and survived to tell about it!!!  I might've neglected my family, our pet fish and the house for the past week, but I am very, very happy with the outcome!!  AND I can also officially say (and my husband will agree) that our guest room is soooo much nicer than our master bedroom - and there is something completely not right with that!

I am happy to share it with you.  Here is my guest room reveal….

Those beautiful brass nailheads caused a couple of gray hairs and took so painstakingly long.  For every one I got right, I ruined about twenty.  No joke.  But, it worth the hundreds I saved from buying a new headboard.  

If you remember, below is a picture of our guest room BEFORE:

And, this is our guest room (and which also pulls double duty as my office) AFTER:

Below is a snapshot of my huge homasote DIY bulletin board that also serves as my catch all inspiration and design planing board. 

And, my little desk below surrounded by all the many things I love and treasure.  

For those of you who have followed along, thank you so much for sticking with me!  This was a great challenge for me personally and professionally!  If there is enough interest, I'd be happy to put a blog post together about my DIY headboard.  I think I spent approximately $180 in materials and supplies at the end of the day. 

If you are just tuning in, I've just spent the past six weeks participating in Linda's One Room Challenge and you are welcome to read more about my guest room's transformation during the previous weeks here.   Thank you Linda for hosting my first ever ORC.  Hop over here to see the other participants and their crazy transformations. 

Also, I'd like to thank Nicole Pullen who helped me with the photography! She is based in Louisville.

Sources are listed below.

Paint // Euro Fabric // Lumbar Pillow // Coverlet // Scalloped Sheets // Bed Skirt // Sconces // Headboard Fabric // Headboard Nailhead // Bench // Bench Pillows // Desk // Desk Chair // Mirror // Desk lamp //

Knee deep...

in paper!  This year I am trying to pick one to two home related goals each month and try my absolute hardest to get them done.  It's all about time management and that is why you'll probably see me less and less on pinterest.  Up this month is organization.  As you can see, I'm revamping our filing system...

I been using my trusty label maker the Brother P-touch to make our file folder labels.  Is it normal to love a label machine as much as I do??

I am hoping that by getting the paper clutter under control, I can then start focusing on creating my desk space.  I'm loving this office space lately by Kelly McGuill.  I love her sense of style - she is completely inspiring!

I am also working on organizing our kitchen.  There is small part of the kitchen where you come in from the outdoors that I need get organized....think key hooks, bulletin boards, baskets, indoor/outdoor rug, calendar, clock, etc.  I've downloaded this free printable calendar to use on our bulletin board.

Love it!  And, I've been taking advantage of the new year sales and ordering some things to make all my organization projects look pretty!

Got this awesome indoor/outdoor CountryLiving herringbone rug at KMart for $27!

This Landsend seagrass basket (after using 30% discount) for $34.00

This cute chalkboard (not on sale) online via Tracery Interiors. So, that is what I've been up to!  What organization projects have you been working on?  I hope by February I'll have some updates on these projects and pictures to show you!

2011: A Year in Review

Happy New Year!!   2011 has brought a lot of success in so many ways!  Of course the greatest is little E that is now 3 and 1/2 months old.  Other successes were finishing up some long standing projects around the home and getting our house sold in a relatively quick manner.  Here are some Green Street 2011 highlights:

DIY bulletin board

Before & After Kitchen Roman Shade

Before & After Kitchen Stool

RIT Dyed Lamp Shade

DIY Painted & Stenciled Ikea Rug

Before & After Kitchen

Before & After Patio

Before & After Hallway

DIY Greek Key Roman Shade

Before & After Renovated Bathroom

Before & After Dining Room

Before & After Sideboard

Make sure you click on the links to see the 'before'.  There are some huge transformations.

All of these projects were completed before Elizabeth was born in September and our house sold in October.  Phew! We accomplished a TON in 2011 and I look forward to a new adventure when we temporarily move to Vienna, Austria (leave this Tuesday).  

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Day and the next time you'll hear from me will be in Vienna!!   Bis dann....

One Room Challenge - Week Three

Originally, I thought we had until November 19th to finish the ORC, but found out last week that it really is November 12th!  What??  Needless to say, I've had to shift into high gear, chop-chop.

If you haven't read week one or two, I've decided to focus on our guest bedroom (which doubles as my office).  But guest rooms tend to get the short shrift because they get used less frequently than other spaces in the house; mine is no exception.

I wanted the headboard to be a focal point.  I also wanted a tall headboard to give the room more height.  But tall headboards tend to be pricey so I knew going into this challenge that I would need to make my own.   Oomph's Charleston (below) is one of my inspirations.

Oomph's Charleston Headboard

I didn't want my headboard to be exactly like Oomph's, but I designed it to have a similar look and feel.  The middle peak is higher thus making the headboard feel taller!  Here is a shot of our guest room painted (BM White Dove) sans headboard:

Here is the skeleton of the headboard made from plywood and MDF (minus the batting, fabric, etc.).  Not finished yet … but it's on the move.  

So happy with how it turned out.  I will be upholstering it in a raffia fabric - see below!  I have trim and naihead picked out if I decide to go down that route.  

via

I was able to hang woven shades and get my bamboo curtain rod hung this past week.  Ignore the blue painter's tape on the bamboo rod!

I also tried out my budget-conscious Ikea panels.  I'm not sold on this look.  I think these drapes achieve the casual look I'm aiming for (they're sheer and light).  But a pinch pleat would be more professional looking, however it might be too formal.  I will keep you posted.  

I wanted a bench on the wall opposite the window.  This will be a place for guests to sit, put their luggage, lay out clothes, etc.  

Moreover, I plan on mounting a huge fabric-covered bulletin board above the bench.  This is where I will pin my inspirations, fabrics, notes, etc.  Recall: this room doubles as my office.  

Back to the bench: I chose a bench from Ballard Design (below).  When I saw it online I liked it.  When it arrived at my house, I fell in love with it.  It is perfect for this space!! 

And, lastly, to give you a preview of what other elements will be going in the room, here is a snapshot of what is yet to come.  Oh, and don't worry, I haven't even gotten to all the bedding (shams, bolster and bedskirt) and pillow fabrics!!

Does this really have to be completed by the 12th?  Yikes.  With friends coming in from NY this weekend and the guest room in still disarray, I foresee perhaps an all-nighter in my future??  Hopefully, this room will turn out better than my accounting final did in college.  :)