Paper store

 

Oh my goodness, IKEA's new assortment of paper products is adorable, and the prices fantastic, of course. In particular I am loving these basic styles...like the simple stripey notepad, above.

And I am always looking for classic card sets useful for any occasion. These ones have stripes and pin dots.

Then there are those times you just want to write your lists down, on paper. At least for list-lovers like me. Crossing things off is much more satisfying.

This one is sized nicely for your bag or car and comes complete with a stretchy band to keep things tidy. Any of these would make a thoughtful gift when paired with my favorite pens from Poppin.

I can't help but include one of the more playful designs. These are great to have on hand for kids' birthday parties. Like I said: adorable.

All go on the list for the next IKEA trip.

A few things...

I seem to have a thing for blankets these days. Here's another great one from CB2. I really like the color combination of grey and rust.

Also they now sell these oversized house numbers which are not too bad, considering I am all about holding out for the perfect house numbers :)

And this tape dispenser. I just really like it. I've (strangely) loved office supplies since I was a kid, and this is just plain cool. I honestly don't remember the last time I used masking tape, but I suddenly want to. Like, for everything.

Wall Hooks

Especially now that it's nearly winter time (and this week so far has been SO chilly) I am really, really wanting to get a built in bench with hooks and cubbies crafted for our mudroom.... would be so much easier to walk in and hang coats, hats (and stow shoes) all in one tidy place so they are all ready for the next outing. Searching all over the house for everything works too, just makes getting on our way at a decent pace a bit of a challenge when a two year old is involved (hat? mittens? coat? shoes? socks?). Anyway, as I dream of this little project (among many, many others we have yet to complete) inevitably my mind drifts to the hardware involved. Naturally, I am talking about the hooks. I searched all the usual suspects and came up uninspired. I even searched many other less common purveyors and nothing felt quite right. I still plan to visit the local feed and garden store for something fabulously raw and industrial (like when I found this great little L bracket to use as a hose hook), but if that doesn't pan out, I do think I would be quite delighted with these hooks I recently happened upon from Room and Board. The raw steel would be perfect. 

A faster, simpler solution -- or at least a fix for the time being -- could be something like this from Restoration Hardware. Looks nicely functional as well, and those little shoes and mittens could go up top :)

A small fixation

I think by now it is quite evident I get excited about a truly functional (and stylish) laundry hamper. While I do love the ones we splurged on a while back (and you may recall my post about this other one at Container Store as a nice option), I think I've found something even more perfect. It's from Crate and Barrel's fantastic new Clean Slate line (Oh, how I love this stuff!). It's got a lot going for it:

1. Pleasingly simple, utilitarian design

2. Wheels!

3. Folds up (be still, my heart)

4. Canvas bag snaps on/off for easy laundering

5. Bag is raised off ground (no more hanging over the top of the basket grasping at those last two socks).

 You can check it out here.

Space saver

I love simple solutions like this for tight spaces. Genius! It may not be as cute as this, but it does provides both storage and a dispenser. A very simple, modern design. From Urban Outfitters.

Funny

I love this little notepad. From someone creative in Germany, available on Etsy. It cracks me up. This is my motto these days... my short term memory is a bit shot since baby arrived. But, my wise friend (and mom of two) promises it will return soon after baby turns one ... which is right around the corner! Let's hope she's right. In the meantime, I will write down all the things.

Happy workspace

We decided recently to freshen up our office. It had become a bit cluttered and messy, and just wasn't a place we looked forward to using. So I did a super edit! Anything that wasn't serving a purpose or that simply felt busy/distracting/clutter-y, I found a new home for. I also plan to have a long shelf added in the closet for easy access to papers and such that require immediate attention, and this way they won't stack up on my desk! And I got the husband one of these cool boxes from Container Store for his desk, so that when he's done working for the day, he can stow any papers and notes inside and have an instantly cleared off desk. And he uses it! Bonus. I mentioned wanting to create a little collection above my desk here, and this is how it turned out. We rigged the two-photo hinged frame to hang vertically and think it's really fun this way. A couple of similar but not matchy frames keep it fresh. And the mossy piece of 'art' was a little project we completed a few years ago (husband couldn't believe I'd never used a hot glue gun :) Unusual? Sure... but you know us, we're all about green (you may recall seeing it here at our old house). Now we love working in here and instantly feel more sane organized. Got to take advantage of that organizational energy when inspiration strikes! Hope your workspace is happy, too :)

Treasure hunting

We finally made it out to our favorite antiques gallery with baby...and it only took nine months! Nonetheless, we made it- that's what counts, right? We had some specific items in mind for an upcoming project, but it's always fun to browse, too. Here are some of the things that caught our eye (brace yourselves for a lot of galvi! :)

First up (above) is this vintage nesting box displayed as functional wall storage. Love for a  mudroom or entry. Totally unique piece.

Also this great old olive bucket. Love the shape of the holes and as well as the handles which provide a little contrast.

Rustic pendant lights. Lots of possibilities...

This made us smile: A lamp made from an old water tank. The price tag made us smile, too: $878!!

Set of four cool white retro chairs. Love these as dining chairs or even just one as a casual desk chair. Great for outside, too.

I was instantly drawn to this tote of vintage bulbs. The display felt beautiful and scupltural to me. And interesting!

Giant 3x5 galvi panel. We'd use it like a piece of art. Though it weighs about 60 pounds!

Rad old windmill tail. Really wanted to grab this but just don't have a place for it.  Probably gone by now, but at least I have this picture...

After lots of perusing, our little guy fell asleep on Dad, while the gallery staff oohed and ahhed over the darling sleeping baby (he is pretty darling, sleeping or awake :) Afterwards we stopped by the waterfront near the Space Needle to soak up some sun and enjoy the fountain. It was a fun day - and definitely a milestone for us as parents since it wasn't so many months ago in our newborn fog that we were entirely convinced we'd never make it back to this place again.

It's the little things...

It's not the most glamorous topic, but it is functional - so might as well make it Modern Cottage, too :)  That's right: toilet paper storage. Keeping a few extra rolls near the toilet not only saves time when it's time to reload the holder (versus digging under the vanity cabinet or other storage location for the next roll) but also feels a bit luxurious - there's something about having the basics fully-stocked. I typically don't like anything sitting on the floor unless absolutely necessary (living with a golden retriever for 10 years will do this - dog hair clings to everything) so I pictured a basket that could be wall-mounted. I wasn't feeling woven - more utilitarian/sturdy/minimalistic. I decided I would hunt down a vintage-y wire basket. I started on Etsy and found our winner on the second page of my search - it was almost exactly what I was envisioning, and after verifying dimensions, I determined it would be a seriously perfect fit. How often does that happen? Silver Bee Vintage was great and the piece arrived promptly from Texas. A couple of nails later and voila! Cutest TP storage ever, don't you think?

(Ball jar photography available here.)

Garage pretties

Though it is certainly not at the top of the priority list, I love to daydream about prettying up our garage. It's on our list to get it cleaned out and organized... We even have some garage cabinets and drawers units still in their boxes ready to be assembled and installed - although at the moment they too are simply taking up space in there (ah, the irony). I'd love to take it a step further though by adding some soft color and fun storage accessories and hardware. Are you with me on this? These inspiration photos keep me thinking about it...

 

(Images from House and  Home, Country Living, and Martha Stewart)

Brook Farm General Store

This is the most darling website... everything is so simple and fresh. Lots of good stuff for a Modern Cottage. I am currently coveting these cool linen trays.

I've also been after some simple twine for gift packaging and what have you. This will do the trick, plus it's nice to look at just as it is.

And this organically shaped basket would be perfect on a bedside table to catch smaller miscellaneous items (lip balm, hair elastics, baby nail files ... oh, wait .. not everyone has those on their nightstands? :)

Nursery art

After several different visions of a photo wall in the nursery, this is where we landed. We think it's just right! We love the rustic element the horse print adds (and the subject matter is fun for kids- who doesn't love horsies? :) The white on white metal frames we had purchased on sale at Pottery Barn ages ago for practically nothing. We filled them with old photos of our little guy's grandparents when they were kids. It's a great way to honor them while keeping the room playful and kid-friendly.

We knew we wanted something different for the changing table... and really liked the idea of somehow bringing in metal. We found what we were after in the form of this vintage industrial cart with a tray-style top at our favorite antiques gallery - which happened to just fit a smaller sized changing pad (major score). We added the middle shelf (after tracking down some old-style rounded-head screws to match the rest of the piece), some storage baskets, and voila! We love incorporating metals into our design and the baskets warm things up and tie in with the horse print beautifully.

Pretty storage

I get really excited about all things organization. Especially when they're beautiful. Like these new items from Pottery Barn. Sure you can get a shoe rack at IKEA for les than fifteen dollars, but just look at this gorgeous one! In our case, it makes no sense to splurge, since it'd be concealed in our hallway closet. But still. It would make me so much happier knowing it's lovely and pretty behind that door. Is this wierd? I think I have a thing about quality. I like the idea of investing in something that's timeless and well-made, taking care of it, and having it around for the long term. Highly functional things like this make the concept even more appealing. The open shelf and wall-mount bins are lovely, too. Great for a mudroom, which we happen to have... :)

Now, about the wooden storage case on casters... When I first saw this, my jaw dropped open. More than a month ago I was trying to envision the perfect small-scale book case for a little corner of the nursery  and decided something in a weathered wood would be perfect - both to add a little texture and softness and to tie in with the wooden-framed mirror we have above the armoire. I scoured the internet and Etsy thinking surely someone would have a little reclaimed wood shop with a simple two-shelf bookcase made of old fence boards or wooden crates - but nothing quite matched what I was picturing (or really came close for that matter). So, I tabled my search. Then low and behold a few days ago I come across this guy. Exactly what I had cooked up in my head, minus the casters and the mesh back, but I like those just the same.

I want to scoop all of them up!

Laundry, revisited

So you may recall my laundry hamper angst awhile back. I did eventually give in and buy the Pottery Barn ones and have been SO happy with them (they promptly sold out). However, I allowed myself into Container Store the other day (with a specific list in hand ... baby came along for the trip so no time to just peruse...) and saw this hamper. They call it the Industrial Mesh Hamper. I think it's really fantastic and definitely would have considered this had it been in the mix at the time. I do love a fully-vented hamper though the trade off of course is that you have to look at the mess of dirty laundry within. I think they'd be better with an optional liner bag. In any event, for those of you who missed out on the PB ones, these are pretty great, too (and larger than I expected in person).

Happy zoo year

As you know, I normally love Snow & Graham's desktop calendar designs... However I am just not that enticed by their 2012 version since several of the monthly designs don't seem to have that fresh, modern feel of years past. Hence, I set out to find a great Modern Cottage alternative. These mod white paper animals are so much fun - playful but a little edgy at the same time. Each month is free-standing as you can see.

(Made by good morning inc. and available at Paper Source stores. You can also find them here).

Welcome to the garden, little blue hose

Yes, that is the Water Right hose I lost my mind over featured a while back... I couldn't resist the specially-created Martha Stewart color. I ordered it quickly but we have been holding out for the right hose hook to hang it from since most of the ones sold for this specific purpose are generally a bit, well.. tacky. I think this one from Gempler's is great, but we needed to mount to a post which wasn't wide enough. And this one tracked down by Remodelista is nice but a bit spendy for what it is, and it didn't get me crazy excited. So, the other day we were at a local feed and garden store to get more Hendrikus lawn care products and some organic weed spray, and low and behold I found myself in an aisle filled with all kinds of steel brackets, braces, bolts and other crazy-looking things. I immediately grabbed for one of these:

Super thick and heavy, great finish, and looked like it would just about work for the Martha hose which is quite dainty actually (very narrow and lightweight which I love). At under $20 we decided to go for it. I still have no idea what is supposed to be used for ... I didn't ask. But as you can see it went up quickly and now our sweet blue hose has a permanent home in the garden with the peonies. It may seem strange, but to me it's a little piece of beauty for the garden (and so much better then the giant construction style hoses the husband was using..!). It's so pretty in fact, that if it gets left out, haphazardly strewn across the walkway, I don't even mind :)

Hose love

My heart pitter-pattered over a hose in the April issue of Martha Stewart Living. Yes, you read right. A hose. As in garden hose. The color is called Sunken Pool and was created especially for Martha Stewart's April issue (a collaboration between the magazine's garden editors and the hose manufacturer, Water Right Inc.). And get this: the fittings have even been plated in chrome! Ah, thing of beauty... Safe for humans and pets to drink from and no unsightly brass. How will the team at MSL win us over next? The hoses will be available on the Water Right website through the month of April and come in 25', 50', 75', and 100' lengths.

Oh, and check this out - the perfect galvanized steel hose rack for your new designer-colored garden hose (you can see it in action here).

Now you're all set for spring! (Whenever it may arrive.....)