Organizing with Kitchen Vignettes
November 19, 2017
Organizing your kitchen is one thing. Making a personal statement with organization is another thing entirely.
A deluded prelude to kitchen vignettes
Austerity makes a kitchen counter simple to clean. For two years I kept my counter completely bare. It wasn’t because I embrace a minimalist aesthetic, because I don’t. I just found that relentless smatterings of crumbs were easier to clean without hindrances. But…
A kitchen vignette awakening
The austere look lacked humanity. And style. Plus the melamine counter top of my rental simply didn’t merit 100% of the attention. It simply could not do the style job on its own. It demanded a distraction from its underwhelm. An infusion of personality was the answer, in the form of kitchen vignettes.
Sparking a kitchen vignette
Combine any or all of these elements to spark your counter top vignette:
– cooking, eating, or seasoning implements corralled in some type of container, like a vase or tray
– objects in some type of natural material, like wood or marble
– something unexpected: a portrait, a table lamp, or anything you wouldn’t expect to find in a kitchen
– something living like plants or cut flowers, or convincing fakes
– something that reinforces, punches up, or disrupts your color scheme
– something that is uniquely you, and would never be found in a furniture/lifestyle catalog
– a textile that speaks to you, like linen napkins artfully folded and stacked in a basket, or kitschy vintage print tea towels
– something so tacky it makes you laugh
Kitchen vignette takeaway
Eschew austerity with style. There is no need to settle for mere practicality. Things can be both useful, beautiful, and imbued with the quintessential you.
Meaningful kitchen vignettes = utilitarian objects + materials with integrity + an unexpected element.
This guest post was contributed by the gifted Kelly Ellyn, a lifestyle blogger and singer-songwriter based in the Chicago area. Her mantra for making lifestyle decisions is, “How do you want to feel?” This guiding question steers us towards creating a home life that nurtures, soothes, and stimulates. It’s what humans need. Read more about Kelly’s lifestyle ideas at www.lilymoor.com.
Industrial Pipe Furniture the Easy Way
September 21, 2017
[acx_slideshow name=”Pipe Furniture”]
DIY Industrial Pipe Furniture – Without the DIY
Industrial pipe furniture is all the rage. From DIY shelves, to tables to toilet paper holders, home owners are doing it for themselves. Standard black or galvanized pipe can be cut, threaded and combined with joints and wood to create a dizzying combination of custom-sized furniture with a little elbow grease. But what if you could do it yourself without the cutting, threading, sanding and hassle? This clever line of faux-industrial pipe furniture is the anecdote: It’s do-it-yourself without the do-it-yourself. No cutting, measuring or removing that nasty coating. Just unbox it and assemble with a screwdriver.
Versatile and rustic, industrial pipe furniture lends itself to many different decors. Traditionally used in old rural areas, it can give your old home a rustic 40s feel, or add some rugged austerity to an industrial space such as an urban loft. Combine it with modern furniture for an eclectic vibe, integrate into your steampunk abode, or furbish your art studio or craft room for some no-nonsense, utilitarian, open storage. You’re only limited by your imagination.
The pieces in this collection are easy to assemble. You can mix and match based on your needs. And the shelves are composite with an easy-to-wipe, distressed finish for easy maintenance. Best part is there’s no sawing, painting, threading or mess. And did I mention they’re extremely affordable?
Industrial Pipe Furniture Coat Rack
Two shelves store boots, purses and backpacks for convenient storage when you first enter your space. A top shelf holds hats, attaché cases and other essentials, and sturdy locking casters make it easy to relocate, and so pleasing to you restless decorators.
Industrial Pipe Furniture Foyer Bench
Place this bench and rack in the foyer or anywhere it seems convenient. Three hooks store coats and over shirts, and a seat-atop the bottom shelf is perfect for changing your shoes–or use it for an extra shelf.
Industrial Pipe Furniture 4-Shelf Tower
Perfectly proportioned, this 4-shelf storage tower begs for vignettes–or go functional and use it to store books, craft supplies, and more. Each shelf is approximately 12 x 12 inches.
Industrial Pipe Furniture 3-Tier Wall Shelf
Books, media and decorative objects will find a home on these small, three-tiered shelf. It displays well in an entryway, hallway or as an end table.
Industrial Pipe Furniture Side Table
Compact and open ended, this small side table makes a great accent to a davenport and doubles as a bedside table, depending on your needs. Plants, lamps and photos display nicely on the 20 by 16-inch surface.
Stacks and Stacks Integrated Into Organize-It Site
September 15, 2017
Organize-It Incorporates STACKSANDSTACKS.COM into ORGANIZEIT.COM
Longtime Homeware and Organizing E-Commerce Site Folded into Organize-It
ROCHESTER HILLS, MI – Organize-It, the online storage and organization retailer, has folded the homeware site stacksandstacks.com into organizeit.com. The Stacks and Stacks site, purchased by Organize-It in 2014, enjoyed a long run online as one of the internet’s premiere organizing and home goods sites. The recent decision to incorporate Stacks into organizeit.com was based on a desire to provide a better shopping experience by consolidating all products into one website.
“Cutting out some online marketing, streamlining site maintenance, and centralizing the shopping experience is expected to both reduce costs and increase revenue for Organize-It,” remarked GM Chris Nylen. The transition should be seamless to Stacks and Stacks shoppers as they will be automatically transferred to a corresponding page on the Organize It site when they go to any Stacks URL. Most customers were already aware that Stacks had become an Organize-It property. “Since the asset acquisition, maintaining the additional site had become burdensome,” continued Nylen.
Nylen added, “The move will have no adverse impact on shoppers as products will be processed, packed, and shipped using the same personnel and services. The biggest benefit to consumers is that nearly 8000 additional products have been added to organizeit.com, meaning customers will have many more choices in one convenient location. This brings the product count for organizeit.com to nearly 25,000, making it a site worth visiting when shopping for storage, organization or homeware products.”
About Organize-It
An independent retailer established in 1997, Organize-It works with a growing number of vendors to provide the best in storage, organizing, and home products, including: closet organizers, kitchen gadgets, laundry organizers, garage cabinets, and office wares. Through their e-commerce websites, Organize-It offers a wide range of unique products. In addition to homewares and organizing products, they offer custom closet design and installation services. For more information about Organize-It, go to organizeit.com.