Dark vs Light

I'm caught in struggle between the dark side vs light side. No, I'm not talking about Star Wars. I'm talking home decor. As I walk through my current home and contemplate ideas for decorating, I can't make a decision. Do I want dark walls or light walls? Do I want to keep the cream couch or get a dark one? I'm having a tug-o-war within my mind! 

The real issue is a sideboard (will post soon) that was gifted to me. I started sanding the top and thought, "Am I going to paint you a creamy white or maybe black?" The idea of going light is appealing to me, it truly is. But I don't know if I can commit because I know I love the dark side. Decisions, decisions, decisions!

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Week 3 - Recipe Binder

This week Toni has challenged us to create a Recipe Binder. Good challenge for those that like to cook. Personally, I love to experiment in the kitchen. For instance today, while in the grocery shopping I looked for a new recipe to try on my Droid... found one. How does Beef and Cheese Manicotti sound??? It looked like it would taste good. Got home and tried it out (I made Ground Turkey and Cheese Manicotti)...DELISH! Is there anything better than pasta, cheese and more cheese? Anywho... I digress... back to the issue at hand.

I have a lot of odd-ball recipes that I need to corral. Some that I have ripped out of magazines, some that I have printed from the internet and some that were given to me. Previously there were just sitting in a pile on top of my cookbooks, so whenever I moved my cookbooks they would fall all over the place. To rectify that problem this is what I did.

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Week 2 - The Launch/Landing Pad

This week the challenge is to create/update the family's launching pad. Well, for us it will be creating. Right now we walk right into the kitchen and everything lands on the island and then slooooooowly migrates elsewhere in the house. To begin, this is what we are working with.... 

Its a very blank slate. The potential is there, with a beadboard ceiling and lots of lights, the end result will be darling. The plan is to put up a high shelf, 4 hooks, antique mirror and add some baskets to catch stuff. Stay tuned for updates.

My only dilemma is, where to put a place to sit? A bench would block the pathway. Any suggestions? 

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Week 1 - Home Management Here I Come!

I have been wanting to create a Home Management Binder for... hmm... at least a year, but never had (made) the time. So when I saw this challenge I knew that I was going to participate. Also, this binder will come in handy for my husband if I'm not around, since I'm the self-proclaimed "COO" of the family. It took all week to get everything together, thats why I'm posting this on Saturday and its still a work in progress. But I'll get there. Anyway... on to the binder.

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Project: Home Office Organization

When working with clients on organization projects, we've ofter found that more is require than just a simple purge and file. It normally goes deeper than making it look pretty on the surface. You need to find out what's broken. And that can be anything from the layout of the room to something psychological. 

It maybe that, at one point you were an organized person, everything had a place and everything was in that place. But lately you've noticed things are starting to over-flow. What could be wrong? Nothing has changed as far you, so you think... Could it be a reversal of economic status that's clouding your mind? Have you stopped reading your mail because there's nothing but past dues bills? Or maybe you're feeling overwhelmed from the long hours your employer demands because you're the only one left in the department. Its common in this economic climate that more and more home offices are overflowing with paper, much like the office shown below. (This is an actual clients office.)

Because of the stresses related to making ends-meet, this office is overflowing with unopened mail from dating back to 2008. Its a perfect example of a system that once worked and is now broken. The client could not figure out why they could not get back to being the organized "neat-freak" they once were. But after a short conversation, we soon realized that nothing had changed except for the psychological weight the client is carrying. 

So tag along as devise a new system and dodge any bumps in the road along the way.