Spark

Julia and Her Pots via Interior Design Magazine

While having a relaxing “mom movie” night watching Julie & Julia, I discovered not only the joy of cooking but the joy of the pegboard (don’t laugh). Towards the end of the movie, Julia Child is in her kitchen, hanging up her pots and pans. Her husband was outlining each piece so it would be easy and quick to re-hang in the correct place. EUREKA!

Why is that I have only seen pegboard in my fathers garage? After a bit of research, I realized I’m behind the times. Pegboard is offered in many different colors and mediums at hardware stores like  Home Depot. There are multiple applications for pegboard organization from the laundry room to the craft studio.

Here are a few ideas from Real Simple.

In your home office for scissors, pens, a clock, etc, go to this guys and you can get all you need with an stylish design

In your laundry room for all those random necessities,

In your closet to hols jewelry, handbags, belts, ties, etc

You can also keep your laundry room organized with custom laundry room shelving and cabinets for a change.

Pegboard can also be used as a decorative industrial looking wall treatment by painting it a contrasting color, but remember I recommended you read this before painting your walls.  If you are one to move your artwork often (as I am prone to do), this will save your walls from all those pesky nail holes. Now you a free to arrange and rearrange as your heart desires! You can even hang children’s artwork, chalkboards, mirrors or small plants in wall pockets.

When installing pegboard, be sure to attach the pegboard in all four corners to small blocks of wood (approx 1″ x 2″) as this will ensure you have enough room for the hooks and shelves between the pegboard and wall. I love these these stylish options from Ikea. If a large pegboard is not your thing, try strips of pegboard  in a mud room or foyer with hooks to hold purses, keys and coats.

I hope you love this ingenious, inexpensive organizational tip as much as I do!

In honor of Halloween, today we are sharing some haunting home decor images. Most of these images are pulled from actual (shiver) real estate photos via Hooked on Houses. This is what happens when your worst nightmares come true and well intended “creative” decorating takes an evil turn. If you are living in the horror [...]

Being green is easier than ever, with more and more stores catering to an eco-conscious clientele. The new kid on the block is Treehouse ,  a hardware store plus more. This amazing store is located in the Westgate Shopping Center next to Central Market South. They specialize in carrying products that are easy on our earth, [...]

Shopping around at antique shops and markets, I started noticing vintage train cases. I think I’m drawn to them for their travel weary appearance and nostalgic nod to cross country train rides (as seen in old movies with very well dressed, sauve passengers). The ones I had found were being kept in climate controlled storage [...]

For those who have small dining and kitchen areas, I often suggest built-in banquette seating to maximize the space. A banquette allows you to carve out little dining nooks in oddly shaped rooms or to double the width of free space in rectangular rooms. The long bench seat is perfect for piling up the kids [...]

Bored with your not-so-new or hand-me-down chairs? Give them a fresh makeover with a can of paint and some fun new fabric! I inherited a pair of  iron bar stools from a relative years ago. When they fell into my hand hands, the stools were white and gold with almond colored “pleather” seats (yikes!) Click [...]

Most people have heard of Round Top, either for the famed pie or the endless antique fairs. If you have never experienced a trip to the Round Top area antique markets, then I highly recommend it for all treasure seekers. It’s really almost impossible to explain the mass of roadside tents and giant barns brimming [...]

Remember that unmistakable smell of new crayons? And the tiny thrill of sharpening a brand new pencil and watching that yellow curl of wood slowly unravel? Even if you can’t go back to first grade, you can capture the nostalgia of your early school days through a few “learned” pieces of furniture, lighting and decorative [...]