That Nook

       *** The response to our planked wall was encouraging, so Thank You! Back to our previously scheduled program...

       This house is full of poorly used space. Wasting space drives me bananas. Most of us can't afford the square footage we dream about, so we have to ensure we're using all of our precious space as best we can. We have to make our homes work for us. Sure, it takes some energy, planning, and thought, but there's lots we can do to make things function just a bit better for our needs. Nice interiors with expensive furnishings would be nothing if it weren't for good storage. So as we save up our big bucks (and energy) for a few key pieces of furniture and hardwood installation, we're working on some smaller storage solutions that will make our home much more successful.

Enter: That Nook.

It sits just to the right of our entry door 

(which will be upgraded to a single pane french door -after the hardwoods). 
You can see it from any vantage point in our living area.

It is such a waste of space!

It is only 17" deep, so not deep enough to actually hang human size coats.

This nook is complete with a cheap faux wood shelf, 

and a cheap wood dowel hardware contraption.

Imagine us digging through that puny basket for the other glove,

the missing shoe, or a hat for Quincy.  It's not good. 

The other night, I finally realized what we could do to make that area work better for us,

so it's full steam ahead on some organization.

Compared to our plank wall, this should actually be a pretty quick fix type of plan,

and should take us less then two months to complete. Fingers crossed. 

I saw these striped canvas baskets over on pinterest several months ago, 

and I've been trying to figure out a place to use them ever since.

Amber Interiors

Many designers have used them and in every image I've come across, 

I love them.

Lonny Magazine

       More amazing about these bins, is that they are so obtainable. They are available over at the Container Store, and they start at $10.00 a pop. I watched Containerstore.com for a sale /free shipping for months (our nearest store is about two hours away), but just in case you're wondering, they don't offer much in the way of sales online. So, at 10 bucks a pop, I decided to get a little crazy, and pay full price (gasp!). They are on their way here, at this very moment. Consider it a little New Years, Let's Get This Damn House Organized, gift to myself. We're getting five, one for each of us, including Blue (to wrangle his dang leash, collar, tennis balls, bones, etc.).

       But I know you're dying to know what these beauties will now be perched on. Easy. In walked some thick wood shelves.

Southern Hospitality

Source Unkown

       We'll be keeping this project totally affordable by building ours from wood that we already have on hand, and picking up just a bit of what we need. I'll be using some stain to darken it to our taste. In my head these shelves will look very intentional, built in, and cleaned lined with no brackets showing (Jon loves it when I give him a little challenge). Now I'm on the hunt for the perfect letters, so that each bin can also be labeled for each of us. Hopefully, I'll have an "after" soon which will include a more final view of our planked wall! Until then...