Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Spring Cleaning guest post

 
I know the arrival of warmer weather can bring out the spring cleaners in a lot of us, so we have Eva Stephen with us today talking about just that! Yay!
 

Spring Clean Your Way to Organized Perfection

Spring cleaning is looming ever closer, and for most of us there is the need to strengthen our stamina and gird our loins for the challenge ahead; even those of us who enjoy the satisfaction of a good scrub and clean-out. But spring cleaning is an excellent time to become the organized domestic goddess that you have always longed to be. To this end use spring cleaning to get the whole household completely organized and decluttered. It is also an excellent time to finally do all those small jobs that have accumulated throughout the year, the ones that are small and fiddly and tend to be put on the back burner. Keep an on-going list to remind you of these items, and at spring cleaning time, when you are turning out drawers and shifting all the furniture to clean underneath, take the time to do those tasks as you work through each room.

 


Plan, plot, list and organise

Do not simply begin one day when you can no longer put it off, rather plan ahead, setting aside at least a week to get everything done. The planning can be done beforehand, at the weekend or during an evening, but do make sure to put aside enough time to go through the entire house, noting down anything out of the ordinary that will need specialized tools or cleaning products, the services of a tradesman or extra time. Encourage children and partners to declutter their own personal belongings as much as possible, and ask them to bag up old clothes, unwanted toys and any other items that may simply be taking up valuable space.






Once you have noted everything that needs doing you can begin to sketch out a plan of action and arrange for handymen where necessary. Rough out a schedule, leaving rooms to be worked in by outside workmen to last – there is nothing worse than muddy footprints, drips, smears and little heaps of dust and sawdust left in a freshly cleaned or painted room! Make sure everyone in the family knows when their personal space will be invaded by the unstoppable behemoth of spring cleaning, and make sure they will all be available to help out – everyone lives in the family home and everyone has a responsibility to help look after it!

Replace the old, repair the broken and add signature pieces

Try to effect any repairs that need to be done before the major cleaning work begins, this gives you the chance to see if broken furniture can be repaired, or if it is better to get new and interesting pieces of furniture from online furniture retailer shop4furniture.net.  

 


This also is where organization systems can be implemented, giving you the opportunity to change the entire layout of rooms to make systems more organized, streamlined and intuitive for those using it.

Scrub, clean, wipe, sweep, mop and hoover!

Begin on one side of the house, and on the top floor, moving methodically right to left, or vice versa, ensuring that no cupboards or nooks and crannies are overlooked. Be sure to look up as you work, spider webs creep insidiously across ceilings and often escape notice until they are immense! Check out some tips to clean spider webs. Door frames, the tops of window sills and skirting boards all trap a surprising amount of dirt, but are easily sorted with a feather duster or soft cloth. Do not neglect your windows either, hire a window cleaner or do it yourself, but make sure your windows sparkle cleanly in the spring sunshine – it will make the whole room brighter and more welcoming. If the children are helping out, make sure you check on them periodically as it can be tempting for a child to skimp on a job, leaving a nasty surprise for you the next time you are giving the room what should be a quick once over!





Final touches, attractive features and refreshed ornamentation

Purchase or pick bunches of fresh flowers, treat the living room to brand new colourful cushion covers and arrange ornaments and photos in pleasing and eye catching arrangements. These touches help to enhance the ambiance of the room, as well as drawing the eye to the freshly cleaned and organized drawers and storage units.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Color Moods: The Color of Happiness

Are you feeling it? Spring is slowly moving in and I am so ready for it!
In my old age (yeah it's true), my palette has become more natural and muted. I love the crispness of gray and white in a room..it's so refreshing. When we first bought our home three years ago, I went crazy with color...orange dining room, yellow hallway, blue guest bedroom, I was all over the bold color map. While I'm moving away from using these colors within my home I still truely appreciate the jolt of happiness these vibrant colors create. There's something about the approach of spring and summer that gets me really excited about bringing in more color to my life!
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
I love the white backdrop in these two rooms and then the injection of bold accents.

 
These two colors would be a great pair in a nursery or mud room!
 
 

A shot taken while on vacation from the blog, I Suwanee.
 

 

 
 
 
A few great color pairings for 2013 are emerald green, citron, and a misty blue. These are inspired by Pantone.
 


 
Now you've recieved your daily dose of color!
 


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Large Wall Solutions



Bare with me as I try to jump back on the blogging band wagon. It is a challenge to be on top of things with a newborn. What was my excuse before I had the baby? I have no idea.
I recently asked my facebook people if they had any questions about spaces in their homes.
My sweet friend Lindsey asked about two large walls she has in her master bedroom and a sitting room.  I'm going in blind on this because I'm not familiar with her home, but here are a few budget friendly suggestions. Let's look at some visuals first....
 
 
 

 
 
Notice that the pictures are hung on the entire upper and lower wall space, if you're not putting a table or chairs under the frames then I believe that you're not limited to just the upper portion of the wall. I have a small gallery wall in my hallway and the pictures are hung anywhere from waist level all the way up to close to the ceiling.

 
 
Walls aren't just for pictures. You can add interest to a gallery space by mixing in mirrors, canvases, letters (found at most local craft stores), kid's art, plates...anything goes really. You can also add impact by painting stripes. I would suggest using the original wall color paired with a darker or lighter stripe in the same wall color tone or family. Here's a demonstration on how to paint stripes on a wall.

 
 
 
Some spaces call for a small table coupled with a chair or two. If you don't have a table available and you're on a tight budget (like me!), craiglist can be you're best friend. I would even look in the "free"section, you never know what you might find!! Give the table a fun coat of paint and pair it up with two chairs. The wall space above it will be used for your wall gallery.
 
 

 
 
Spray paint botanical finds in fun colors! Use these inexpensive Ikea frames.
 

 
 

 
This is a super fun idea using free paint samples.
 
 
Hope this helps! If you have any other large wall solutions I would love to hear about them!