{f}ixing an office space

Turning spaces like these into organized, functional, and easy to access spaces can be quite daunting for some people. We are here to tell you that you shouldn't be so intimidated by such a project! With a few spare hours you can organize this space with a few baskets & bins.

The wicker baskets were found at Target for a great price and they are the perfect depth for the bookshelf. This space was intended as a storage space for art supplies and craft projects. Each of the wicker baskets has different craft supplies that can easily be removed from the shelf and returned when the project is finished. The large white bins on the top shelf are from T. J. Maxx and are the "finished" and "almost finished" bins to keep projects off of the table and stored safely. 

We then added some picture frames and mason jars to add a more personal touch to this functional space.

Other places we visited to complete this project were HomeGoods, Target, Staples, and the Container Store. The entire project {from beginning to end with shopping time} probably took 4 to 5 hours and in that time the room was quite a mess! If you commit yourself to a project like this for an afternoon {or a day!} you are guaranteed to find great results! 

As always, please send us any pictures of projects you do like this!

xo

bookshelves, organization, and jewelry... oh my!

I knew coming up to college that I would need a bookshelf for organizational purposes. Once we got up here, hwoever, I didn't think there would be room for it. I was super disapointed when we were putting my room together that it wouldn't fit. I was happy to find that this little space between my window and my closet really needed something. After moving my room around 100 times we realized that this would fit perfectly here and it looks so clean and organized {two of my favorite things!} 

Here it is! All finished! My super functional book shelf, with organization, and hanging and resting jewelry space. Check out the inspiration for this project here!

I absolutely love these hooks {from Target} they are super perfect for both belts and large necklaces! Not only are the hooks super functional for large necklaces, I think they look adorable too. I needed a little something to even out the height on the other side of the window {pictures coming soon} so I added the two girls talking. It represents all the people I have in my life who I love. 

Below the hanging jewelry I have two desk organizers {$2.99 marshalls find} for watches, bangles, rings, and all kinds of other things. 

Bookshelf Do-over

Bookshelves can easily look messy or sloppy when not organized to perfection. I was inspired by a blogger I absolutely love when she redid her office space, her son's office space, and her laundry room. Her name is Jen and she is so organized it's unbelievable. She has a mild obsession with bins, boxes, and cute printables; but when it is all put together it looks very minimalistic and it is very user-friendly. Check her out blog here. 

Because of how small my room is in my new apartment, my bookshelf needed to serve many functions. It needed to store books, hide some craft supplies and medicines, serve as a jewelry holder, and hold some documents that are yet to be filed away. 

Mum and I visited Marshalls, TJMaxx, and Homegoods to try to find some bins and boxes to serve all these functions. We were amazed with all the goodies we found! 

{drawer organizer for jewelry}

{magazine holder for loose papers}

{pretty boxes for craft supplies and medicines}

{final product}

The two pretty boxes were $5.99 each, the magazine holders were $9.99 each, the big wicker basket was $9.99, the drawer organizers were $3.99 each, the decorative flower was $11.99, and the books were previously owned. 

This bookshelf is now the perfect home to so many different necessities and it is very versatile. Can't wait till I move in and get to add this to my room!

searching for the perfect study space

Recently I have been searching for ways to make my study space in my new apartment custom. Throughout my search I have been attracted to anything that makes the space clean, geometric, and minimalistic. My mum {being the Pottery Barn addict that she is}, suggested I look at their new Daily Wall Systems. I was pleased to find that these were just the things I was looking for and they are so customizable. The only problem I was facing is that I need my TV to also be on that wall and my TV is much bigger than either of the largest pieces Pottery Barn offers. Thus, a DIY craft project was born...

{Pottery Barn Daily Wall System}

I knew I did not want a white board in my wall organizer because I think they always look messy. Plus, I write list after list on sticky notes so a white board really wasn't the thing for me. I did, however, LOVE the linen inboard {$54}. To make the Wall System look like a cohesive piece I needed to either make my TV smaller {ha!} or make my own linen pinboard that better matched the size of my TV.

So mum and I took a trip down to Joann's and {using our Joann's coupon app} found some great deals. We found that it would cost us about {$10.52} to make something very similar {and much more custom} to the Pottery Barn version.

What we needed:

~Ply Wood {Custom cut to the necessary size}

~Thin batting {to add some thickness}

~ 1/2 yard of linen or canvas fabric

~ 1 spool {about 18 feet} of white ribbon

~Staple Gun

~Scissors

Once we got home we had Dad cut the plywood into our custom size and rounded the edges just slightly-- to make it look more professionally made. 

 Then, we layed out the batting and cut it just larger than the piece of wood.

Then using the staple gun we carefully & tightly secured the batting all around the piece of wood. 

{We discovered that it was helpful to remove excess fabric so the staples could go through}

Once the batting was on, we ironed the fabric so that there we no creases. 

After ironing, we followed the same folding method that we did with the batting. We had to make sure we were extra careful with the corners so that no bumps could be seen when it was hanging.

Once the fabric was stapled to the wood, we laid out ribbon & measured how far apart each should be. After some careful measurements we tightly secured the ribbon onto the board with the staple gun.

The finished project.

When it was all said and done, this project was $46.72 cheaper and it is the exact size I will need to create this Wall System in my apartment.