When Buying or Selling a Home: Why Closet Organization is so Important!!!

It may seem like a small mundane thing when you are getting your house ready to sell or when you are looking to purchase a new home, but organization is key!  Especially when you want people to envision themselves living in the home.  What better way to get organized than tackling one of the major things that's important to buyers: SPACE!  Maximizing the space you have and organizing even the smallest of areas, leaves a lasting impression!   That is why it is really important to take a little time to declutter and update all the closets in your home.  For me, labels and baskets are a quick fix and add a big impact when you are organizing!

Here are a few photos of our linen closet after I cleaned everything out and put back the necessities...

I figured each of us should have a basket for a spare set of sheets.  So out went all the random mismatch ones that didn't make a set.  In the other large basket I added guest room sheets and a few spare pillow cases for the pillows up top.  The middle shelf was for all the towels.  I went with two large linen tubs for the bottom to store all of our beach towels and extra bits. 

Allowing space between the shelves gives the look of a larger closet and gives the potential buyer the feel that there is room to expand.  

All of the baskets were purchased at Target in the storage section along with the chalk board tags from the office section.  I notice after getting organized how much it brings down my stress level and how things stay organized a lot longer when it is not overcrowded and there is a designated place for your items.  Even the smallest closets can be turned into a pretty space.  For selling a home, this a perfect way to allow your home to leave a lasting impression for potential buyers!  

You can see my Kitchen Pantry Makeover I did a few years ago HERE.

Here are a few links that share helpful tips and talk more about the impact closet organization has on selling and buying a home...

http://www.insidenashvillehomes.com/can-a-closet-really-help-sell-my-home/

http://chicagolandhomestaging.com/home-staging-in-chicago-closet-organization/

http://www.homestagingindianapolis.com/blog/2013/06/15/the-importance-well-organized-closet-when-selling-your-home/

Thanks for stopping by!

Behind the scenes: Creating the Fabric Covered Headboard and Shiplap Accent Wall!

There are many ways to make an impact when decorating a room.  One of the best ways to do that is with the headboard and an accent wall. We knew we wanted to switch out the headboard, but we had to keep cost in mind.  We wanted a specific height so we knew building our own was the way to go.

THE HEADBOARD

To get the project finished in time for the big reveal, my dad came over and built the headboard!  Dustin did overtime at the Fire Station until around 4 pm that day and the reveal needed to happen that night since our schedules where full for the next several days.  My dad definitely saved the day! 

Above is a picture of the headboard upside down and assembled to make sure everything fits together.

Here is the link to create your very own headboard: Sarah M. Dorsey Designs.

Above is a shot of the back before we took off the sides so that I could cover it.

I went with this glue spray that I purchased at Walmart.  I sprayed the entire front of the board below and covered it with two rolls of Project foam.

I recommend getting the foam rolls at Walmart.  They were the cheapest I found.  I was nervous at first of adding two pieces of foam since I thought you might see the line in the center once the fabric once I covered it.  I think since I made sure that both pieces were pushed tight together and stuck down with the glue spray that they were fine.  I even added a little glue spray where the foam met up in the middle, just in case.  You can see below how I laid them on the board after spraying the glue.  I cut the foam with a sharp knife to cut to exact size.

I somehow missed taking a photo of laying the batting down on the ground and laying the foam board face down on the batting.  You can see that step in the link above.  Once I positioned it, I just got my nail gun and nailed all the way around.  I finished with trimming the batting as you can see on the top and left side.

I covered the headboard in a gray fabric the same way that I put the batting on.  Above is our buddy Dozer working with me on our last project together before he passed. :( We miss him every day and miss his curiosity in finding a way to be part of every project.  After he checked it out and made sure everything looked good, I was able to put the side panels on.

We covered the panels just like the headboard and followed the directions to assemble it back together.

Here is another look at the BEFORE...

Above you can see the previous headboard with scalloped edges.  I love the look of the clean lines headboard below.  With the shape of the new head board taking up more wall space on either side, it feels like it is so much taller, but it is only about a 6 inch difference.  

And AFTER...

Finishing off the headboard with some of the outdoor lighting softened everything up!

To ground the whole room we went with a Shiplap Accent Wall.

THE SHIPLAP ACCENT WALL

A shot of the wall before Dustin began the process.

Dustin got to work measuring and mapping out the accent wall to keep everything level as he went along.  

Below is the look before the Shiplap wall.

You can see how much of an impact the accent wall with the Shiplap makes compared to the before photo.  By adding three more baskets to the unit, it gives it a cleaner and more grounded look to the space.

I really think it makes a difference by changing out the headboard and adding woodwork to an accent wall.

What do you think of the changes, I'd love to hear your feedback below!

Thanks for stopping by!

Before and After Lavender Dresser Makeover for a Teen's Bedroom!

Today, I wanted to share some of the photos on the dresser project from Lacey's teen bedroom makeover.    We had a budget for the space and we knew we had to reuse some items, DIY as much as we could, and find some things second hand.  The dresser was a big savings at $50.  My mum and sister eyed it at a local flea market.  Once they sent me the picture, I knew it was the one I wanted for her room.  My favorite part of it was the shape of the front!  It reminded me of waves or ripples in water.  You can see the before and after HERE.

The Dresser

The before was a green and brown sort of funky piece and I liked that they opted for ribbons as the drawer pulls.  I wanted to take it a different route and bring out the details with a soft lavender and new hardware.

Here's what we did...

First we flipped over the unit and cut off the very short legs or lack there of.  We wanted to keep the detail on the legs, but weren't able to match it up with the new legs we were adding.

See the detail on the dresser above?  Since we couldn't find legs locally that was the same width as the base, we went with straight legs.  We had to move the legs further in underneath the unit since the base plate we used would have been noticeable on the outside. 

You can see above on the back left corner that we cut the four corners flush with the dresser.  You can see the metal base plates in the pic below that we used to screw in the wood legs.  I picked these up at Lowes.

The dresser was extremely low to the ground before we added the legs.  Just by adding the legs we lifted it up another 4 or 5 inches.  Huge difference!

After that, I sanded all the drawers and the dresser and wiped it all down to get rid of any dust or debris.  Then I proceeded to paint, which meant after approximately 60 seconds Dustin couldn't handle my painting technique, so Dustin took over painting...

The picture above was after the first coat.  Dustin then headed back upstairs to work on the headboard wall, so I went back outside and put a second coat on and we let it dry outside for the rest of the day.

Once the drawers were dry, I added these drawer handles that I found at Homegoods.  They were from the Tommy Bahama line.  I thought the white jute rope would tie in nicely with the sea grass baskets and some other somewhat nautical pieces.

P.S. Don't put the hardware on when your husband says it needs to dry another day.  Wait for him to go to work and quietly do it without him noticing ;)  

So we let everything dry at least another 24 hours before we put the drawers back in the dresser.  Or maybe I tried the drawers in the dresser to see how lovely it looked once or twice and then took them back out to dry, so no one could tell me off! ;)

And viola, we had a finished dresser for the room...

Hope you liked the makeover!

Have a great day and thanks for stoppin by!!

Teen Gray, Turquoise, and Lavender Bedroom Makeover!!

It's been a very, very, very long time since I have been blogging, but I thought now was just as good of time as any.  Especially since I have some time and a fun project that we recently finished that I wanted to share...

My daughter came to me in the early part of the summer to tell me that she had grown up sooo much that she didn't want her little girl room anymore.  She said she COULD NOT STAND THE COLOR PINK!! She didn't want to wear pink or see pink.  Mom, "I decided that I am just not a pink girl.  I like soft colors and simple patterns and I don't want a theme of any kind."   All this coming from an 11 year old!  Does this happen to any of you who have girls that decide they are women over night?
So, we sat down and discussed what this very old mature 11 year old would like in her new room. She said she wanted to be able to be in the room in her 20's and still love it.  Umm... 20's you say! How long does one plan on living at home with mom and dad?  Apparently a while!

After talking everything over, we decided to cut costs where we could by picking up thrift furniture and repainting it, building furniture, and using some things we already had.  And by WE in the furniture building part, I mean my dad and husband.  I come up with the plan and then become a really good assistant to those that can actually build.  You do not want to sit on anything I put together with a hammer and nails!!

I have to say, I LOVED finding out what my daughter really liked for her space!  She wanted to be surprised by all of it, but I wanted to make sure I was on the right track.  I gave her options of fabrics and got her approval on them.  I took her shopping with me to pick out some of the accessories.  I put together a design board so she could give her opinion on whether or not she felt like it was what she envisioned.  After that we hid her away from the whole project!  We kept everything covered and hidden in the garage while we worked on the furniture items.   When we finally had everything ready to go, we moved her out of her room and into the spare room for a few days.  Her hope was for us to give her a room reveal like we do for clients, so that is what we were able to finally do.

She loved how everything turned out!

My favorite part of the room, might be the feature wall of ship lap! 

The headboard and side units were built by my dad!  He's amazing!!  Dustin finished the units by painting them in Decorator's White and I covered the headboard in a soft gray linen.

The walls were just the builder beige before.  I chose to bring in Sherwin Williams Repose Gray for the other walls.  It is my favorite gray by far and we have it in other areas of our house so I wanted to continue the flow into here.

Here is the Befores and Afters of the Room...

BEFORE

                          

Here is the pink bedding that she didn't want anymore.  Before she had a scroll detail headboard in black with the pink bedding.  A little console table with her fish tank on it and her swing.

AFTER

We picked up the white duvet bedding from Pottery Barn Teen.  The purple pillows where from World Market.  We got the patterned turquoise material at Joann Fabrics and had my mom make two pillows and a pelmet.  

I gave my dad an idea to go off of and he created two of these units, one for each side of the bed.  I just used the Ikea baskets as a guide to how big we wanted the openings.  Dustin painted them white and I purchased extra baskets to fill it up.  A simple little detail was to add lavender card stock inside the squares of these Ikea baskets.  It brings a touch of the lavender to this side of the room and it keeps the look clean so you don't see the stuff inside the basket.  I used a little hot glue to adhere them in case we don't like lavender in 5 years ;)

We found these framed pieces at Homegoods and TJMaxx and brought them together in a wall collage.  She now has tons of Polaroid pics hanging in the frame with the jute and pegs.  One of my favorite pieces in the room was the Good Vibes Only artwork.  A really nice thought to remind her to stay positive!

We found these turquoise shell hangers on Save on Crafts a couple years back.  They sat in a closet until I thought about turning them into lights.  We had an electrician put them in and I picked up the light kit and bulb at Lowes to create the light fixture.  Dustin framed out the doors and windows with a flat wood trim and did the larger 8 in base trim around the room.

Lacey spotted this cute jewelry storage hanger at Target to hang some of her necklaces.

We put the large pelmet above the window to match the throw pillows.  Creating a larger pelmet and taking it to the ceiling helps with making the window look much bigger.

 Since we lost our little bulldog around the same time we started working on this space, Lacey wanted to bring a little something in to remind her of him, so we found this bulldog with a little bling collar at TJMaxx.

We reused the metal L in this space.  It was a previous find from Homegoods.

The dresser was a find that my sister and mom came across at a yard sale.  It was lime green and brown and in need of some care, so we put new legs on it, sanded and painted it lavender and I found new hardware to finish it off.

The lamp was from her room previously, so we brought that back in. We picked up a cute tray and bought a few bath items to fill it.  To give it a little extra girly touch, we added some flowers.

The really pretty wood artwork is from Pier 1.

We had the swing originally, but added a new seat cushion from Pier 1 and two throw pillows.

Now she can sleep well way in to her 20's in this space! ;)