Entryway Organization

A few months ago, we completed and hung our awesome Double Dutch Barn Doors.  With a little building experience under my belt, and the wonderful help of the Laird, I decided my next big project would be to build an Entry organization system.  I wanted a bench with shoe cubbies below and a cubby tower on the side, for bags, hats, keys and other catch all items.  I drew up my design with dimensions, and investigated some methods online through other blogs. Then I put the idea away for a later date, since I had lots of smaller projects to work on at the time.  I had a great vision, but wasn't quite sure how I would execute it.  In the meantime, we acquired an old table saw from my family- which was going to help this project.  The Laird was a little skeptical, and concerned that it was going to cost more to build than what we could find brand new.  I wasn't sold on his logic, as I had done the research and found that these benches alone can be quite pricey.  I had also designed my ideal entry system and now wanted it to be exactly what I wanted.  I hadn't yet seen my design out there for purchase- which is what made it so cool.


















And then there was Craiglist.  I love Craigslist, and have found some pretty great deals out there.  I am all about second hand everything- clothes, furniture... the only thing I don't buy second hand are shoes.  I am kind of picky about my shoes.  We found a totally great Pottery Barn glider and ottoman for $75- it has a few bleached stains on the arm and cushion, but they are hard to notice.  A great find, and so comfortable.  I got 2 of those cube bookshelves for $45.  One is perfect for organizing and storing all of lady genevieve's toys and books in our Great Room, and the other is in our storage closet.  A BOB running stroller, pack and play, stroller/ infant seat combo, another glider/ottoman, child bike trailer, a 2 dresser set, outdoor baby swing, child's comfy chair (pottery barn style)... etc.  I search things we need, or would like to have on a regular basis.  We're still looking for a pantry and kitchen island.  I've also had a mostly good experience with the few things I have sold on Craigslist.

About a month ago, I found an Ikea cubby tower that can be turned on it's side to be used as a bench.  It was huge, but just fit our space.  We have been using it as a bench and shoe storage area.  It looks great and has been so wonderful for keeping shoes up and out of the way.  Even the Laird has gotten the hang of putting his shoes away.  Then today, I found a Pottery Barn cubby Bench with baskets included.  I scooped it up! Together the Ikea bench/ tower and the Pottery Barn cubby bench make a good pair, and accomplish the task of organizing our entryway.  Though they are not exactly the same tone (white and cream), I may be able to throw some paint on the tower and make them match, if it bothers me too much.   I now have pretty much what I had designed to build (though the cubby sizes are different).  I am so excited, and one less project to work on.  Craigslist accomplished this task in less time and money than it would have cost me to build.  Though a hand built entry system would have been totally amazing, I am so satisfied to simply have my new bench & cubby tower.  Entering my home is becoming more peacefully organized each and every day. Even lady genevieve knows which basket is for her shoes.  One stop for all our coming and going needs- a place for shoes, bags, hats, jackets, gloves, keys, wallets....  Now we have to see if the Laird can be trained to utilize it.  Though it's not the exact design I had in mind, it is very close, and accomplishes the task of entryway organization.

Thank you Craigslist, and all those who sell their stuff.

We have to move our coat hooks over, as the cubby tower a slightly wider than we had anticipated.  I didn't want to wait to post, so this is our "almost" completed entry system.

So long, we won't miss you!

On this 20th day of October, we will forever remember how grateful we are that we parted ways with you- ole' propane tank.  We have a new friend, who will hopefully be more kind to us and our wallets- welcome to Redwoodshire Mr. Natural Gas.

One downfall of this property- the heating system.  Or shall I say, "systems".   We have some rooms with propane, others with electric and then there are 2 wood stoves.  It almost feels like each room has a different flavor.  Thankfully, when we raised the ceilings in the master bedroom the contractor got ride of the electric and opened up a duct for forced heat.  Back to the heating systems.  Propane.  Let's just say, we had no idea how expensive it is.  Last winter, it was a cold one.  The entire month of January was in the single digits, and sometimes below zero.  We'll just say that was the coldest winter this area has had in a long time.  With that said, we tried to save money by heating with wood.  We ran out of our first load of wood (1 full cord) in mid-January.  Then ran out of our 2nd full cord by April.  We kept our thermostat at 55 most of the time, as we were trying to heat with wood and save the propane.  And our propane bills were still $200 a month!  We couldn't believe it.  And a good portion of this time, we didn't even have out kitchen range hooked up.  We don't understand it, but that was our reality last winter.  Bottom line- propane is extremely expensive.

We live on a rural road, in a suburban town.  Though we only have a few neighbors, with lots of space between each house; there is a housing development within a half mile.  We dreamed and longed for gas to be brought to our house.  Then one day we noticed workers tearing up our road, not far from our house.  We thought, maybe they were bringing gas to our road.  But then the Laird began to doubt, as he assumed the yellow conduit was for cable lines.  The Laird works for a construction company about 5 minutes from Redwoodshire.  The company has a housing project located on our road.  He saw that same yellow conduit, and inquired about it's purpose.  GAS!  We were thrilled.

Though it cost more money- as they had to dig up our driveway and bring the gas lines from the main road to the house, and then convert everything from propane to gas, the long term savings will be huge.  Mid-summer the contractors dug up our driveway and got the gas to the house.  Soon after we hired heating and cooling to convert some connections and install a new water heater (ours was ancient).  We've been officially on gas for about a month- can't wait to get that bill (seriously).  And today was the final step- Suburban Propane came to pick up their huge tank!  That eyesore magically disappeared!  First thing you see coming down the driveway- and directly outside our dining room window.  So long propane tank- we won't miss you.

DIY Smocked Linen Curtains

While I was deciding what kind of window treatments for our Great Room windows, I came across a few options that I really liked.  Pottery Barn sells these cute smocked curtains.  I'd never seen anything like it before and loved that about them.  Drawback, curtains are pricey, even when they don't come from Pottery Barn.  I decided to go with Roman Shades for our Great Room windows simply because they work well with furniture and don't hang in the way.  Check out my post about how to make Roman Shades.  I recently completed and hung the 3 Great Room Roman Shades and will have to update that soon.  It was a big project but they are finished and I am pleased to have dressed windows for the Great Room.  I made a total of 5 roman shades- 3 for the great room, 1 for hall window and one for lady genevieve's room.  They all turned out pretty good.  It was a cool process to learn, and I now understand why Roman Shades are a bit more expensive than other window treatments.  They have a lot of parts and are more labor intensive than other hanging drapes.
Once that project was completed, the Laird was questioning why I didn't make curtains for our bedroom instead of the Great Room.  His logic was that we really needed something to block light where we sleep, and the Great Room curtains will likely never be closed, so they were more for looks than function.  His logic was quite right.  So I decided I would start making curtains for our bedroom.  I searched DIY smocked curtains and found a number of blogs of people who have made their own smocked curtains.  My favorite blog for DIY smocked curtains included a link of a detailed tutorial on honeycomb smocking.  If you're interested in making your own smocked curtains, definitely check these blogs out.  The smocking is actually quite simple, and something done by hand.  Easy enough to work on while watching a movie or relaxing.  The labor intense part was hand sewing the edges and top, as I did not want a seam.  I did machine hem the bottom, which was very quick.

TIPS-
1)  Make each panel slightly larger than the width of the whole window.  The smocking causes the width to shrink and be about half as wide as the material you start with.  Initially I figured I would cut each panel the width of the window, figuring that would be enough.  And unfortunately it wasn't.  My panels were not wide enough to cover the window and block out the light.  If the panels are simply a decorative feature for your windows, and you have another treatment behind the curtains like blinds, then this isn't as crucial.  Thankfully, I was able to use this first set of curtains to cover a smaller window in our bedroom.

2)  Figure out how you want to hang your curtains.  Ring clips, a bar....  Then plan for enough material on top end to meet your needs.  I decided to enclose the top for a curtain rod- which gives the top a scrunched appearance.

In the beginning...  You can see the pencil "dot grid" and start of smocking

First attempt at curtain smocking.  This is an upside down view of the curtain panel.

I just finished hand sewing & hemming all 4 curtain panels.  They turned out quite nice, though not perfect.  But for a first attempt at honeycomb smocking, I cannot complain.  I still have to make or buy some curtain rods.  I really like the DIY Plumbing Curtain Rod look, though the Laird isn't sold.  He thinks it will look to modern & industrial.  I just love the solid & unique look of them, easy and inexpensive to make.  All yet to be determined- in due time.  We've been without curtains this long (10 months), a little longer won't hurt.

These curtains involved a lot of hand sewing- which means they took a lot longer than a typical machine sewed curtain.  But the detail of the smocking is so beautiful.  Simple yet elegant.  The appearance of the smocking varies depending on the thickness and type of fabric.  These curtains look quite different from the Pottery Barn one's I first discovered, because the Linen I used is thicker material than the Pottery Barn Version.  I love the linen look, and the sharp lines that the smocking creates.  Many people have used Burlap and utility Drop Cloths (from the Home improvement store).  If long enough, you could even use a bed sheet- which would already have finished edges and save a lot of time!  I imagine you could even smock your existing curtain panels if you had some you wanted to experiment on...  I can't wait to get these hung and see what the look like in our bedroom.