A Designer At Home

Designing Beautiful Spaces. Inspiring Authentic Living. Spreading Good Vibes.

Blog

I bought more thrift store design books

by

Hello, hello! It’s another lovely Thursday which means we have an excellent excuse to thrift and chat thrifting. My recent purchase is more books. More design books.

I tried a different thrift store than I normally go to and found 4 fabulous new books for my collection.

My favorite is “decorating with plants and flowers.” Make sure you pop over to Instagram today so you can catch the gloriousness of this book! @adesignerathome

Oh, and I know I just shared the bar cart a few weeks ago but musical furniture is in full force over here and voila! Changes…

There’s always so much to oggle over in the TST feed! Here are 2 of my favorites:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKOJH6egrUz/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKHV-bTAWtd/

 

Wanna Play? Here’s The Rules!

  • We want you to participate! Hit up your local thrift stores, craigslist, yard sales, estate sales, side of the road, anything! Thrifty doesn’t necessarily mean from a thrift store. We want to see your good deals, wacky finds and treasures.
  • Don’t feel like you need to save those finds for Thursdays! Yes, features are shared on our blogs and Instagram on Thursdays, but we’re all checking in on (and using!) the hashtag all week long. So, when you see/find it, feel free to share it!
  • Want to get featured? Add the #thriftscorethursdsay hashtag, Follow the hosts (@the_gathered_home, @primitiveandproper, @adesignerathome and @maggieoverbystudios) and tag a friend to play along, too!
  • Each week, Cassie from Primitive and Proper, Brynne from The Gathered Home, Maggie fromMaggie Overby Studios and Myself (A Designer At Home) will pick a favorite thrift score or two to feature! So please note that by linking up with #thriftscorethursday, you are giving us permission to share your finds via social media or on our blogs.

The best part? There are 4 regular posts to check out every Thursday! Yup, you’ve got more thrift scores to look at. I know you’re not disappointed. Ha. Click on my beautiful cohost’s faces below to check out what they’ve scored and featured.

Thrift Score Thursday Brynne color

thrift-score-thursday-cassie

Thrift Score Thursday Maggie

Utility Closet Organization Ideas

by

Creating pretty spaces through decorating is a lot of fun and rewarding. But its oftentimes the spaces we dont hang out in, or the spaces guests dont see that get neglected. But its so important to give these spaces attention because they affect how we live in our home. The utility closet is no different. If you use this space to store anything, using some simple organization will make the space less frustrating and easier to use.

I just recently took on giving my own utility closet a bit of a facelift. I had a few different priorities for the space.

  • Function better
  • Fit in vacuum and carpet cleaner
  • Purge Cleaners
  • Utilize Wall Space

Here are a few solutions I came up with:

Processed with VSCO

Take Advantage Of Vertical Space

I went through my leftover lumber pile and cut down enough pieces to fill in space for a good deep shelf. This way I could still sort and store all the smaller things this space holds while still having the ease of simply rolling the vacuum and carpet cleaner in and out of the small closet.

Processed with VSCO

Space Maximizing Shelf Organizers

I went a tad higher with the shelf than I really needed to because I didn’t want things to feel tight in here and because I wanted to be able to use various shelf organizers to maximize space. One of the main things we pop into this closet for are batteries, so now they can be front and center. This minimizes disruptions for the other storage bins and helps keep things orderly.

Processed with VSCO

 

Processed with VSCO

Hooks On Walls For Slim Items

Now that I had better access to the walls, I used hooks and pushpins to hang various items along the walls. The dustpan, power drill battery charger, and screwdriver holders all went on the walls. Fewer things on the shelves = fewer things to pile up.

Processed with VSCO

Utilize Inexpensive Plastic Bins

My bins are from the dollar store. You can go as simple or as complex as what you know will make best sense for your space. For mine? I needed a bin or cords/powerstrips/cable line, light bulbs, tools, loose screws/nails/etc and packs of command hooks/screws/hanging hardware. I grab the bin I need from the stack and just place it back in the stack when I’m finished going through it.

Easy, Inexpensive and a system that’s totally working for me. I’m glad I took the time to give this space a bit of attention because the less stress I experience actually living in my home, the more I can enjoy it. Which is why I’d totally encourage you to take a bit of time to purge and organize a closet sooner than later!

Gypsy Maximalist $1000 Living Room E-Design

by

The third sofa I’m tackling for my 6 favorite sofas under $500 is the Solstice Sofa. Originally on sale for $424, at the time I’m compiling this mood board and posting this post, the price is $383 so that’s what I’ve allocated within the $1000 budget for this room design. This space is maxed out with colors, patterns and textures. Yes, even under a grand, you can get a space that’s rich in gypsy bohemian style. I chose to pair the orange sofa with purples, pinks and greens. But luckily, if you aren’t that bold, the sofa also comes in other colors. I do quite like this one a lot though.

1000-gypsy-maximalist-living-room-e-design

SHOP THIS E-DESIGN:

tree starlantern

 

mirr1 mirr2
81avpeeizil-_sl1500_ pouf
34876037_089_d ruggypsy
sofa6 124169445

Dog Best Friend Essentials

by

My dog and I spend a lot of time together. He’s my baby and I’m his best friend. And so I’ve been very careful about what I buy for him. Finding great products for the pup in your life can be a lot of trial and error. Here are tried and true products I’ve found that are serving us quite well for our favorite pup.

Since you guys seem so much of my furry baby on Instagram, it only felt fitting to dedicate a bit of space here on the blog for him. Petco is sponsoring this post, which is great because it’s where I already shop for all my dog’s products.

 

First things, first: DIET.

What you feed your dog is going to be a super person decision and you’ll have loads of factors to take into account with your specific dog. My dog has very sensitive skin. After trying grain free and special diet formulas for a few years, I decided to try and bring my dog onto my diet. I’m a vegan, and I’ve read a lot from fellow vegans on how their dogs are vegans too. Other diets weren’t helping his condition and his vet wasn’t able to help us outside of diet change suggestions. For a few months I’ve been using the Natural Balance Vegetarian Formula Dog Food and his skin has completely cleared up to my joy.

 

Our Favorite Treats.

whimzees  treat food1

Post Treat Clean Up.

I’m referencing poop pick up bags, of course. I like using the BioBag because it’s made in the USA and it’s environmentally friendlier than others. It’s hard to find pet supply related products that are made in the USA. And it’s important for me to support as many made in USA or fair trade companies as possible because that’s an easy way to ensure products were made by workers who were paid decent wages.

 

biobag

My Dog’s Favorite Toys:

Bayer does not enjoy toys that have a smooth rubber or plastic outside. Stuffed animals with squeakers are his sole joy. That and food, of course. I find the dragon to be especially cute. I wouldn’t mind finding that one about the house.

toy2 toy1

I’d love to know what your favorite dog supplies are, and why! Leave a comment below

$1000 Bohemian Living Room Design

by

As promised, I’m sharing a mood board for one of the 6 favorite sofas under $500 I shared last week. I’m going to start with one that Isn’t challenging color-wise, but rather the style itself may not be an obvious one to decorate boho with. Tufting and two toned piping and cushion fabric  lends itself more to a shabby chic or modern space. Let’s virtually decorate a space shall we?

$1000 Bohemian Living Room Design Airy Cali Style

Sofa $488 | Rug $99 | Wall Decal $79 | Palm $20 | Faux Fur Pillow $19 | Coffee Table $149 | Hanging Planter $10 | Side Table $70 | Lantern $70 |

 

sofa3 rug2 palmtree
pill1 wall coffeetable1
61OqLCiFtrL._SL1399_ sandhaug-tray-table-white__0364199_PE547762_S4 lantern2

Have you checked out my bohemian pillow shopping guide? It’s color coordinated!

Where To Buy: Bohemian Pillows

Tons Of Storage In A Small Bathroom

by

When you’ve only got one bathroom in your house and closet space is slim to none, you’ve got to think creatively and maximize what you do with the space in that bathroom. I don’t have the smallest or biggest of bathrooms, but I have jam packed a ton of storage into the space. Today I want to share all of those bathroom storage solutions because even if you can’t make them all work, there’s ideas here that will work for any space.

  1. Build A Recessed Shelf
    • I don’t find organizers that hang over the showerhead or use tension to hang in the corner of the rub to be very effective. They’re normally not stable enough nor are they ever big enough to hold everything.
    • If you can invest to DIY or have someone come in and put a recessed shelf into your shower area, you’ll love it. Our is especially huge but even a small one (or a series of small ones will go a long way in making the space function better.
  2. Double Shower Curtain Rod
    • Don’t waste wall space on towels. A simple and relatively cheap space saver is to change out your shower curtain rod for a double shower curtain rod. Instant double duty. And then while you’re at it, treat yo self to some cute towels.
  3.  Install A Cabinet Over The Toilet
    • If your linen closet is better suited to storing things you normally keep in there. Like first aid kits, medicines (that aren’t susceptible to moisture), towels, personal care products and anything else you need to store in there.
    • Also allows you to stock up on things like toilet paper because you’ve got a place to put the extras.
  4. Add A Freestanding Cabinet
    • If you’re really struggling with space, you likely don’t have room for this tip, but I love this! I can basically become a hoarder now that I’ve put this cabinet in my bathroom. Even rarely used bathroom cleaning products and their back ups get stored in here because I have room for everything else.
  5. Choose A Sink With Storage
    • When choosing between sinks for a bathroom remodel, don’t torture yourself with a pedestal sink (I guess unless you’re about to implement the other 7 ideas here). Bathroom vanities have come a long was from the free standing kitchen cabinet look and there are plenty attractive ones that take up minimal floor space.
  6. Shelf Over The Door
    • Steal a little square footage above the door. Extra toilet paper rolls, a basket of makeup, folded towels all display nicely in this space since it’s not a main space the eye rests in a bathroom.
  7. Utilize Wall Space
    • You can use wall space for shelves to display pretties and for all the daily essential.
  8. Baskets & Containers
    • Hang a basket from the ceiling a la macrame planter style for boho storage that takes up little space.
    • Put a basket on the floor for toilet paper/towels/laundry.
    • For storing small items (makeup, travel sized items, toothbrushes, deoderant)
    • Use a basket on the wall for a textural shelf