Staying home to remodel this long weekend? @consumerreports recommends that you steer clear of DIY. bit.ly/13txxDT #smartdesign
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The 5 Essential Elements of a Boutique Closet -
3 Ideas: How to Create Storage with Stairs & Angles -
The 7 Secrets to Smart Organizing -
Home Organization: 5 Tips for 5 Rooms
The 5 Essential Elements of a Boutique Closet
Custom closets aren't just functional storage systems, they're extensions of the style and personality of your home. One of our most popular styles is the "boutique closet". This is a walk-in closet that makes you feel like you're entering your own personal boutique. With a few simple touches and a smart design you can create your own boutique closet. I've highlighted five essential elements that you can choose from (or try them all!). Even just adding one of these elegant touches will change the experience you have when you use your closet. Lighting You could do almost nothing else but hang a chandelier and you'd have a boutique closet. The sparkling lights give an immediate feeling of style and charm. Excellent lighting helps you see your wardrobe and accessories and plan your outfits accordingly. Seating A custom bench, comfy sofa or plush chair in your closet adds an element of comfort that you'd expect from your favorite boutique. Take a seat to survey your choices when deciding on an outfit or trying on shoes. Display The beauty of a well-designed walk-in closet is that you see so much of your wardrobe without it looking cluttered or disorganized. You can arrange dresses, hats, shoes and jewelry just like your favorite chic shop. Feel free to display scarves, jewelry and accessories - they add a touch of color and sparkle without looking messy. Island There's a difference between feeling like you can "grab and go" from your closet and feeling like it's your own private dressing room. When you add an island to your walk-in closet, that personal feeling is pronounced. You have room to work and play - whether it's setting your briefcase down while you get changed, using the space to fold your sweaters, or arranging different outfits. And don't forget to add color! You probably noticed in the above examples that touches of color, like pale pink, amethyst, and lavender, make a walk-in feel more like a room and less like a closet. So, what do you think? Could you use some of these essential design elements to make your walk-in closet feel like a boutique? Tell me in the comments! And if you've found this article helpful or inspiring, please share it with your family and friends. *** Ginny Snook Scott is the chief design officer at California Closets. She has over 25 years experience with California Closets and has helped over 1,000 clients create custom closets and organize their home. Connect with Ginny on Google+.
3 Ideas: How to Create Storage with Stairs & Angles
If you've ever struggled with odd spaces, angled ceilings or the feeling that you're running out of room for any more storage, we feel your pain. That's why we want to share three examples of how you can design custom storage even in unique or troublesome spaces. Attics Let's start with one of the biggest challenges: an attic ceiling. Finished attics can be homes to cozy, charming bedrooms, but there's usually no closet and the sharply angled ceilings seem like a huge obstacle. This is when a custom closet comes in handy. 1. Here's an example of how a wall-mounted "reach-in" closet can be designed to slope where the ceiling slopes. At the tallest parts, double hanging rods, shelving, drawers and baskets fill the space. As the ceiling slopes down, open shelving and one low hanging rod provide additional storage. This could be the perfect design for a bedroom or guest room in a finished attic. Stairs But there's another place that angles can prevent you from recognizing prime storage or work space: the stairway. 2. For example, if you want a home office, but can't spare an extra room, consider taking advantage of the space under your stairway. This is often wasted space, which is a shame since it is perfect for small office systems or extra storage. 3. How about storage? Get creative with the space along your stairs and you might discover storage space you didn't realize you had! This California Closets entryway design keeps backpacks, shoes and other gear neat and organized. Inspired to create extra storage under those sloped ceilings or stairways? Tell us about it in the comments and please share this blog post with your family and friends!
The 7 Secrets to Smart Organizing
I've been designing custom storage systems at California Closets for over twenty years and in that time I've figured out some of the best ways to get and stay organized. These simple steps go a long way! Here are my 7 secrets to smart organizing: 1. Motivating Music: Cleaning and organizing always seems more fun if you’re energized by your favorite songs on your iPod. (Or check out our Spring Cleaning Playlist!) 2. Rotate Décor: This is the best way to change the look and feel of a room without spending a dime. By rotating your décor, you’re able to de-clutter and enjoy seeing "new" things every few months. 3. Deep Clean Your Cabinets: The kitchen is the heart of most homes and tends to collect clutter in cabinets and drawers. Take a weekend day and empty each cabinet, hold yourself to the two year rule and whatever you haven’t used, donate. 4. Purge the Personal Stuff: Your style has changed quite a bit since you were in college so purge your wardrobe of the things that you no longer love or wear, and make room for something that expresses the current you. 5. Divide and Conquer: Since we all have those kitchen, desk and bathroom drawers that drive you crazy with clutter, take an afternoon to insert drawer dividers into each troubled drawer. 6. A (Little) Arms Distance: In kid’s rooms, make sure shelving is no more than 10 inches tall to prevent stacks of clothing that are too high and can topple over when little arms are trying to pull something out. 7. Organize Visually: You always want to think about what you are trying to accomplish in your design scheme visually. If it’s a tea cup collection, for example, you could design the tea cups by color scheme, by size, or maybe create depth by alternating with small and large cups. You also want to categorize in some way. What's your secret to smart organizing? Tell me in the comments! Know someone who would benefit from these tips? Share this article with your friends and family! Ginny Snook Scott is the chief design officer at California Closets. She has over 25 years experience with California Closets and has helped over 1,000 clients create custom closets and organize their home.
Home Organization: 5 Tips for 5 Rooms
Do you ever wonder where to start when it comes to home organization? Sometimes tackling your whole house at one time is way too much to handle. So I've put together five simple tips - one for each main room of your house. These simple measures have a big impact, and once they're completed you can move on to the next round of organizing! 1. Bedroom Closet Take shoes off the ground and put them on shelves. This will make the closet seem less cluttered and will create a home for shoes so they are always returned there at the end of the day. Ginny Snook Scott is the chief design officer at California Closets. She has over 25 years experience with California Closets and has helped over 1,000 clients create custom closets and organize their home.
There are common misconceptions about custom storage solutions. Many of us are accustomed to thinking that customization entails having adjustable shelves and not much more.
What do you do when you need to house something in your office that’s a little more unique than pens, staplers, and copy paper? What if you’ve got a gigantic aquarium that needs a home?
True customization can solve the problem.
This month, we’re featuring a weekly series of interviews with influential design experts to find out what good design means to them and how they get inspired.
For our last interview, meet Kim Lewis, former production designer for ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and founder of Kim Lewis Designs.
Lewis has been published in People and InStyle magazines for her architectural and interior design work on the ranch of singer/songwriter, Jewel, and rodeo cowboy, Ty Murray, in Texas. (We worked with Kim on the celebrity couple’s closets!)
For a lot of people, their image of wall beds is woefully outdated. Wall beds are not comedy fodder like they were in the days of silent movies.
Clean lines, bold colors, modern styling. These are the hallmarks of wall beds today.
Custom closets are an investment that can last a lifetime.
When it comes to kids’ closets it’s especially important to design a system that can transform over time. The needs of a toddler, a kid and a teen are different.
Ginny Snook Scott is our chief design officer but she’s also a mother of three, so she knows the secret to keeping kids organized. Here are her tips on how to design your kids’ closets to grow with them.
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Sep
Lois and her husband have their hands full with a 2-year-old son, busy careers and a frequent need to work from home.
As the national marketing director of California Closets, Lois knows a thing or two about organization and design – and she knew that their home office design was not working.
They were thrilled to finally turn their non-functional multi-purpose room into a productive and comfortable home office and guest room.
We owe it to ourselves to plan and renovate our homes in a manner that fits our lifestyles to perfection.
People who love movies should build the most spectacular media center they can afford. Folks who spend their days tinkering with cars or working on gardening projects need to build out and organize their garages to optimize their time doing the activities they love.
Your walk-in closet should be perfect for you.
This month, we’re featuring a weekly series of interviews with influential design experts to find out what good design means to them and how they get inspired.
Today, meet Angela Elias, editor of the inspiring home design website CasaSugar.com.
She still can’t believe that tackling DIY projects, trolling flea markets, and meeting some of the industry’s top talent is part of her job. When she isn’t indulging in design whims, Angela enjoys testing out new recipes and being outdoors.
With the advent of flat-screen technology and the ability to stream music and video from a wide variety of devices, well-designed media centers have evolved into necessities for 21st century homes.
A modern media or entertainment center should be the visual centerpiece of a room while performing the basic function of de-cluttering.
Design with those two principles in mind and you’ll have a gorgeous media center that you’ll love to use!
What difference does a season make when it comes to your home organization? A lot.
Fall and winter means different weather – which means different activities, clothing and gear. And that can lead to clutter if you’re not careful.
Luckily, Ginny’s here to help.
My clients were working parents with young children. They craved an elegant, chaos-free space where they could talk while getting ready together each morning.
I worked with their interior designer to create a spacious, modern and organized walk-in closet.
