Tag Archives | Organization

Creative Ideas: How To Hide Wires and Cords

The biggest problem areas when it comes to wires are in the living room with the TV, tech items like the router, and any wires along the floor. Here are some creative ideas, from the simple to the heavy duty, on how to hide wires in your home.

Starting With The Simple Ideas

Why are all wires black, when most walls are white? The simplest way to get rid of that ugly wire look is to spray paint them so that they blend in with their surroundings. Or replace the wire with another one that has the right color.

How To Hide The Ugly Things In Your Home

Get decorative with wall trim and hide wires behind it. Check out the simple wall trim by Julie in picture (1). Or go ahead and create a pattern on the wall – the bottom left and right wall trim in picture (2) have wires hidden behind them.

Hide cables behind other objects – just like the tall books that are covering up the TV wires in picture (3) of the mood board.

For any wires that run along a wall, you can hide them away by using decorative trunking / raceway that lines up with your baseboard or floor trim – just like in the picture below (A)

Heavy Duty Ideas

Build a false wall just like Dana, seen in picture (4). Not only can these walls hide cords, but they can have your TV, speakers or other appliances built into them – creating a more modern and sleeker look in the room.

Depending on the wall you have, you can cut holes to feed your wall mounted TV wires through. This might sound difficult, but just check out House of Hepworths tutorial on how they hid their cables behind the TV – using a simple hand saw to cut holes in the wall. You can go a step further than what they did, and fit wall sockets into your new holes to add a finishing touch.

Don’t Hide Wires, Embrace Them

You could go the other way, and see how you can make the wires a decor feature in the room:

Check out the copper tubing hiding the wires around the living room in picture (5)
Rope can be wrapped around the wires to add a little rustic charm – the rope lights in picture (6) were a DIY project by A Merry Mishap. Twine can also be used (7)
Wooden balls can also be added to wires (8)
Replace standard wires with cloth and or colored wires. Let the wires add to the color scheme of the room, or use a striking neon color just like in picture (9) by Weekday Carnival
More funky wire decor ideas include using the wires to create a design on the wall. Go with a vintage (10) or tech (11) design

Extra

If you need an idea on how to hide your wifi router, a popular idea is to use a hollowed out vintage book (B)

image credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11 A/B

Creative Living Room Storage Ideas

I like to keep my living room free of clutter. It is a place to relax, and when there are a ton of things lying around that is hard to do. Here are some creative living room storage ideas to help keep your space well organised.

The Art of Shelving

Getting Creative: Some creative ideas include using ladders to hang up blankets and magazines just like in picture (1) (Creative Magazine Storage Ideas: From Leather Rack Holders to Using Old Shutters). Or spread them apart and put planks of wood in-between the steps to create some funky shelves. Crates also make for chic shelving – and they can be stacked on top of each other (2). Look at my post here for more living room shelving ideas – like using leather straps to create wall storage.

Built in shelve units would be a good idea if you have limited space or want to create a well designed space. Because they are custom built to your room they make efficient use of the space (3). You can make use of the space above the door ways, the space in the corners, or high up (floor to ceiling shelves). Have display lights fitted in the storage cabinets to create a soft glow in the living room at night and to highlight special decor pieces.

Design Tips: Small Living Room Ideas

Hide It Away

If you have shelves with a lot of items on them that make the living room feel less relaxing, one way of closing them off is to add some curtains (or doors). If you want to divide up your living room into different spaces (like having a space for a home office, or gym) then hanging up a curtain would be a good way of dividing up the space and hiding the area when it is not in use. You can see more ideas for creating room dividers in my post here.

Hidden Storage Ideas: James Bond and Home Decor

Elegant Storage Solutions

Wicker baskets make for good looking storage. They can be used for throwing blankets in (4), as magazine holders, kids toy storage, fire place log storage, even as a coffee table. You can also find nesting ones that can be stacked up. IKEA has a lot of wicker basket containers that look good here.

Another elegant storage item is a trunk just like the one in picture (5). You can get these in all types of styles from vintage and rustic, to formal travel styles – or there are wicker trunks. These can be used as coffee tables, and end tables. You could even stack 2-3 of them to create a side table.

On The Side

A narrow side table console not only adds tabletop space for items but it helps frame and group together storage baskets that you can put underneath. Get a side table with a base – this means one with shelving or at least has bottom platform just like the one in picture (6). A side table with just legs and no bottom platform kind of makes putting baskets and containers underneath a bit messy.

Look to get matching storage baskets or containers to put underneath the side table – this creates a clean look (7). Also, a table lamp above will add nice ambiance lighting to the living room (Relaxing and Cozy Living Room Lighting Ideas).

For smaller side tables, take a look at nesting tables. They take up a small amount of floor space but are handy when you need more tables in the room.

In the Middle

Coffee tables also make for good storage. We mentioned above about using trunks and wicker baskets. You’ve also got coffee tables with shelves. Use baskets and trays to group together items on top and below the living room table for a more clutter free look. If you want to keep everything minimalist looking in the living room and have everything hidden away, then look for a coffee table that has draws underneath.

Have a look at my post here for more design ideas, DIY ideas, and styles for coffee tables. Or check out my post here to see coffee table decor ideas.

You can also find ottomans that have a flip up top for storage space inside. image credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7

Crafty DIY ideas

Some crafty DIY ideas for creating your own living room storage furniture include:

Creating a corner shelf with an old door just like in picture (a) – by Linda.
Using a spool to create a side table with book storage (b) – Scrap Hacker
An old window upcycled into a chic coffee table (c) – by Oh Glory Vintage
Pallets can be used to create seating and benches with space underneath for storage (d) by In My House, or a coffee table with shelves (e). Check out my post here for more ideas on using pallets: Home Decor Ideas: Using Pallets.

January 10, 2014 in Living Room, Storage

Vintage Storage and Organization Ideas

When it comes to storage ideas with a vintage style, some things to look for are pieces made out of metal (galvanized or with a porcelain enamel), wicker, or glass.

The Elegance of Glass Pieces

Storing anything in glass jars really recreates that vintage look and feel as seen in picture (2) – this is because we all use inexpensive plastic containers these days. In our vintage kitchen storage post we talked about how you can put your own vintage labels on these glass jars and containers to keep everything organized. Perfume bottles, mason jars, and milks bottles are some other glass storage containers that will look great up on a shelf.

The Porcelain Enamel Look

Metal containers with a porcelain enamel are good looking storage pieces to have too – just like the kitchen containers in picture (3). Galvanized buckets and tins as seen in picture (4) can be used to house plants, as trash cans, or just to group items.

Storing in Wicker Baskets and Trunks

Wicker and wire baskets (5) are great to have. Having a number of them side by side creates a decorative feature in the room. These baskets can be lined with a vintage patterned fabric or with a fabric that has a laced edge. Other unique vintage storage ideas include hat boxes as seen in picture (6).

In our vintage bedroom decor post we showed a picture of a birdcage being used to store books. These cages can also be used in the bathroom to house toilet paper rolls, in the living to house small plants, or again in the bedroom as a hanger for jewelry (7).

Wicker hampers and trunks are ideal for storing larger items like toys, pillows, laundry, or towels (9) (10). A good thing about them is that they are lightweight. In picture (11) a weathered painted trunk is being used as a side table. Trunks and crates can also be used as side tables, coffee tables, even shelving (12), or storage containers (13). Another storage idea for keeping large items like jackets in the foyer, shoes, or gardening equipment is a locker.

1. Suitcases: $83.30 Wayfair | 2. Pail: $72.33 Wayfair | 3. Wire Basket: $64.51 Wayfair

4. Set of 3 Crates: $26 Amazon | 5. Set of 4 Trunks: $248 Wayfair

6. Set of 3 Wire Baskets: $216 Wayfair | 7. Wicker Basket: $35.99 Amazon

8. Set of 3 Planters: $120 Wayfair | 9. Keepsake: $75 Wayfair | 10. Set of 3 Buckets: $62 Wayfair

11. Bowl: $40 Wayfair | 12. Enamel: $9.99 Amazon | 13. Jar: $16.50 Amazon

14. Bottle: $4.25 Amazon

Hubsch is a great Danish shop where you can buy vintage looking wicker baskets, wire baskets, bird cages, watering cans, and glass jars. The picture of the shelved wicker baskets above is from their Home Interior and Design catalogue.

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May 16, 2013 in Storage

Ideas for Setting up a Family Command Center in the Kitchen

A command center is a space that keeps track of all of the family’s daily tasks. The kitchen is definitely the best spot in the home to set one of these up. A few ways to create one include having a dedicated desk in the kitchen (or side table), or having a specific spot on a countertop and wall where everything is organized.

It is best to keep the countertop and desk space clear and have as much of the command center as possible fitted to the wall to keep things well organized and clutter free (just like in the pictures above).

Chalkboards! Not only are they great for keeping track of things but they add to the decor of the kitchen. Hang one up or have a wall painted in chalkboard paint. Kids can draw on it and you can create to do lists. An alternative would be to use a whiteboard.

Other things to include in the kitchen command center: a place for a telephone, a gorgeous wall clock, a calendar, hanging paper organizers and pen holder, key hooks, and a bulletin board. And don’t forget to include some decor accessories like framed photos of family and friends, a map, vintage kitchen items, or a decorative wall letter. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7