Brazil Baroque

Baroque is such a fabulous word. It literally means irregular in shape and refers to the style of architecture and art that was very popular in Europe in the 17th and 18th century. Brazil Baroque is based in Santa Barbara, CA, but their furniture is handmade in Brazil using rare antique Brazilian hardwoods that have been reclaimed from abandoned 18th & 19th century estates. Everything is handpainted and crafted using the 18th century style, emphasizing dramatic, often strained effect and typified by bold, curving forms, elaborate ornamentation, and overall balance of disparate parts. These are amazing!

A small space can be a great place

I was watching a new local Home Show on TPT, I can’t remember what it was called now, but it was about a couple from the Twin Cities who wanted to build an environmentally friendly home. They spent a lot of time talking to architects and experts on sustainability, and over and over again, advice from experts emphasized that one of the best ways to build an energy-efficient, earth-friendly home is to build a smaller home. The couple decided to build a large home anyways, using sustainable building materials, but I think that is a great point. The smaller a space is the less energy it will need. My husband and I live in a modest size townhouse: 1000 sq ft. Loft-style, vaulted ceiling, two bedrooms, one bathroom, laundry room, two-car garage, and a four-season porch. Sometimes I long for another bathroom, another bedroom that I can turn into an office, a bigger kitchen, an actual dining room, and a walk-in closet. Sometimes I love it, because it means only one bathroom to clean, and I am less tempted to buy things because I do not have the space for it. My best secrets (and not so secret) for keeping everything under control are floor to ceiling bookcases, lots of shelving, and lots and lots of containers and baskets to hold everything.

Dwell magazine did a spread in their May issue about a California couple and their 426 sq ft San Diego downtown loft. They created unique storage solutions and maximized as much space as possible.

This is their kitchen - smaller appliances, shelves galore - and unique storage for extra chairs.

Here is a close-up of all their kitchen goodies neatly organized and stacked on shelves maximizing as much space as possible.

I love this idea - a floor to ceiling shelving unit which they use as storage & a closet!Can you imagine???

Here are some great pics & organizational tips from Dominomag.com & Marthastewart.com:

Hang pots and pans in a small kitchen.

This is a garage that has been turned into a home office! Doesn't it look great?

Use shorter walls as a divider to create different rooms.

Not a fan of the pinkness here, but having a desk in a closet is a great space saver. When not using it, you can close the door and keep it out of sight.

A super-organized medicine cabinet. Use shelving to maximize the space in this small area, and containers to keep things organized.

Bookshelves can be a lifesaver. I love how no space is wasted. 

I like for my storage containers to be attractive and functional. I love to shop for all things organization from Ikeaand the Container Store. Read my post about my shoe organization project using shoe organizers from Ikea. Here are some of my favorite storage containers:

Baroque fabric boxes from the Container Store 

Canvas boxes from the Container Store 

Portofino storage boxes from the Container Store 

Hamper from Pier1

Metal tins from the Container Store

Shabby Chic Life

I love the Shabby Chic look from Rachel Ashwell. Actually, I think I picked up my very first book from her when I was 15 because I love thrift store and flea markets finds so much! Now she has a whole collection of furniture and home decor to make it look like you bought them from the flea market! I probably wouldn't decorate my whole house to look like this - its a little too much and my husband probably couldn't stand it (he likes the modern look - so we compromise), but I would love to have a dedicated room to looke delicate, feminine and pretty with some of these furnishings...

**all pictures are from shabbychic.com

Dovetail

These are some really cool ceramic ware – very simple, yet very cool. They are called Dovetail – they have an Etsy shop and are available at their own website and also select retail locations. Everything is designed, constructed, fired and screen-printed at home at Dovetail Studio. Love them.

Custom Headboards

This company is really cool for those of you who love unique things for your home (like me!). It’s a company based out of Vancouver, they make custom headboards and get their designs from international artists. They are also willing to help you look for a design if you do not want anything they currently have in stock and are willing to custom size for you! The owner of the company started it because she couldn’t find a signature piece of art to fill a wall that was also inspirational. The art pieces are really beautiful and can definitely brighten up a room. I love it and want one. $599 for an unframed piece and $895 for a frame piece. Check them out at One+Only Custom Headboard.

My Now Very Organized Shoe Closet

I was inspired by this month's Real Simple magazine to organize my shoes. I keep most of my shoes in their original boxes so that they keep their shape and are not smashed by other shoes, and then I stack all the boxes together on shelves. It looks really neat at first, but the downfall is that not all shoe boxes are the same size or the same colors, so I end up with a mish-mash of shapes and colors. The other thing is that since I have to remove the lids to get to the shoes, if a pair of shoes that I want has two other boxes stacked on top, I have to remove those boxes or do a really quick move on the bottom box and pray that everything doesn't topple over. I know its just as simple as putting the shoe in the box and then putting the lid back on, but its such a pain. So by the end of the week, my neat stack of shoe boxes are empty, and my shoes are on a pile on the floor waiting to be put back. argggh. Totally defeats the purpose. Well, Real Simple's great idea is this shoe storage box that holds one pair of shoes and has a clear front so that you can see what's inside (ingenious! why didn't i think of that?) and opens in the front so that you don't have to unstack anything! Its great looking too, made of tweed fabric. But for the whopping retail of $17, even if I just bought one for the 10 pairs of shoes that I wear most often, that's already $170! So I started looking around for inexpensive versions of the same thing - and the closest thing I found was from IKEA. OK, so it doesn't look as pretty, but it basically functions the same way, is sturdy and easy to clean, and best of all - comes in a pack of 4 for $10. Not bad.

What I wanted: Tweed drop front shoe box from the Container Store. $17 each.

What I bought: Komplement shoe box from IKEA. $10 for 4.

Final results = a very organized shoe closet that makes for easy access to each pair of shoes. And also a pile of empty shoe boxes in my hallway. Yay! Mission accomplished. It made me really happy!

My shoes in the Koplement shoe boxes.

A close-up. I stacked a couple of flats, and then positioned the shoes with one facing the front and one facing the back, so that I could see how high the heels are. Let's see how long that lasts.

One thing to note - tall boots do not fit. That blob on the lower right is a pair of boots that I have laying on its side. I still have other boots sitting in their boxes until I find a good boot organizer...

Wants

I'm just drooling over these coats - I love long not too-suity and ladylike coats. And there is something so cool about a white coat (even though I always seem to spill when I wear white).

Burberry wool coat

Burberry poplin trench coat

Drop belt asymmetric coat from Topshop

J Crew wool cashmere coat

Juicy wool jacket - sooo cute!

Some things I'm craving for my home:

linen and velvet pillow - Jasonhomeandgarden.com

patterned pillow - roomandboard.com

I love patterns if you can't tell....

branch table lamp - westelm.com

brocade necklace stand - Urban Outfitters