Storage Solutions: Jewelry Organizing for a Small Space

I love collecting bowls, especially from thrift, consignment stores and my favorite home specialty stores. I'm probably drawn to them because of their design quality having both form and function. The bowls I like mostly include woven bowls, ceramic bowls and even wooden bowls. Bowls not only come in handy for pasta, soups and salads, they can also hold travel treasures or seasonal details for a vignette, and they are excellent as a functional solution for organizing jewelry in drawers. Since my jewelry amoire is actually downstairs, I keep a portion of my seasonal jewelry a drawer in the bedroom. When I first did this, I set the seasonal jewelry in wooden bowls in the top drawer of my bedside table. However, this Spring and Summer, I've been wearing more jewelry, and found I needed more space. I'd love to have the amoire upstairs with me, but it would be another bulky piece added in our small bedroom. With a little condensing of a larger drawer from the silver chest, I was able to swap my jewelry from the bedside table drawer to the top drawer of the silver chest, organizing it with simple bowls in ceramic, wood, and woven bowls I've collected over time from my favorite home stores and thrift...

 

The wooden square bowls I thrifted in Florida. The two ceramic bowls I picked up last year at Goodwill. The two small woven bowls I found this year, also at Goodwill. Several of the wooden plus black and white bangles I've also found through thrifting and consignment shops. I wear these bangles more now stacked and wear the cuffs a little less.

 

For the square bowls, one has all rings, one is gold earrings, one is for three gold cuffs, and one is for the turquoise I'll wear most.  The wood platter is holding some of my summer necklaces, but the majority of my wooden beads are downstairs on a dress form next to the amoire - which I actually pass on my way out (through the laundry room to get to the garage) so I can still easily grab one on the way out.

 

This silver chest now gives twice as much storage space as the bed-side table did, plus it's easier to see everything at a glance. With the exception of the wooden beads downstairs, plus a small pedestal bowl on this chest, I don't have any jewelry "on display" or hanging outside of the drawers. If I did, our cat Sephora would ave a field-day playing with them! :)

 

 I love this petite white bowl - it's just the right size to hold another category of jewelry: Lucite & Gold. It was only $2 at TurnStyle Consignment. I like the way it works to complete the trio composition on the rattan platter I'm using as a tray. To layer pattern in the bedroom I've picked up a few new blue & white finds at HomeGoods - a vase for flowers and the jar, with its top is great to stash hair ties.

 

Above is my Summer jewelry organized in the bed-side table last year...

 

Above was how it started out - which is what happens over time living in a new space - You start to learn what does and doesn't work for your lifestyle. Sometimes the concept may be right, but needs a tweak - which a simple shift and shopping thrift can help resolve and help improve home organization functionality, which is very important in a small space.

 

This is what the chest looked like when we were first settling into this house (Nov. 2011) 

The black lacquer box + frame + candle tray (holding cuffs) are from HomeGoods.

 

While the second and third drawers remained relatively the same, the top drawer is what got a serious downsizing, and now fits into the bedside table - so it's all still conveniently located adjacent to each other when getting dressed.

 

A dress form is great for layering wood beads - although it's probably three less today.

 

Don't get offended - it's just for the idea - but a garden statue or bust can also work en lieu of a dress form to display beaded necklaces...

 If you prefer you necklaces hanging, maybe inside your closet if you have the space, I think this idea of repurposing shower-hooks and a towel bar is clever.

 

Ideally though, having a chest of drawer trays, inside your closet is the best solution of jewelry organization. The covered storage will help protect your pieces from dust, or worse yet, getting caught on something and breaking. Drawers also make it easier to colorize... which if you have a small space, and you need to use what you have, small bowls are an optional solution.

If you're not going away for a Summer vacay during the July 4th long weekend, closet organizing may be a task to tackle. Usually, the specialty and department stores will have their end of the season clearance deals (to stock up on more jewelry!!), as they start to get their sales floor cleared for Back To School goods... and... Fall. 

What are some ways you organize your jewelry?

For additional organizing tips, see my prior post: 

Closet Organizing For the Gals

Closet Organizing for Him 

Closet Planning & Organization

Thanks for stopping by!

RENTAL ReSTYLE: LIVING ROOM SUMMER REMIX + STYLE TIPS

Keeping a home fresh and updated can help give your family's lifestyle a positive source of energy and a safe haven to relax & rejuvenate in. However, at times it can be challenging to do this living in a rental house - especially if you enjoy change and doing projects to help keep the home up-to-date. For example, you may want to paint a room a new color, but in a rental, most times painting is not allowed. We've lived in our rental house now for two and a half years, and thankfully, having been allowed to paint the rooms in neutral shades of grey when we moved in, I've been able to create seasonal restyles with textiles and accessories I already had - but even that can get a little tiresome. Doing a little home decor purge can help. Back in March, I did a pretty major Spring Cleaning purge, taking most of my home decor (& wardrobe) purge items to consign plus donation, which gave funds to pick up some new items to refresh our style in this house, without the hassle of having a garage sale.

  Summer Rental ReStyle 2014

  Spring Rental ReStyle 2014

B&W with a hint of mint, blossoms and coffee table change.

Spring Rental ReStyle 2013

Bold & graphic B&W, with directors chairs and faux gold bamboo FL thrifted coffee table.

 

I did this purge because our lifestyle has changed - not just because of moving from Florida to Arizona, but even the space we live in and how we use it has changed. For example, I'm not sitting "in the home office" anymore to blog or do social networking - I've spent the last year at the dining table, situated between the kitchen and the living room. Since we're renting and I can't paint but I wanted to look at refreshing watery blues, so this summer I layered in a strong dose of blue with the porcelain pieces plus even a few new blue frames. I clustered the blue frames on opposite sides of the room, on the tv unit and the buffet, which helped bring a sense of balance to the space. The frames will hold beach photos we took on a recent mini vacay to Newport and Carlsbad, but rather than print them in B&W as I usually do, I want to use the natural colors of the blue skies and ocean to again layer in color into the rental - without paint. The new layers work with some already existing decor, such as the blue and the white linen pillow covers, blue bound book stacks, and furniture arrangement. The exception to the furniture arrangement was switching the directors chairs to armless slipper chairs (more comfortable & functional) plus bringing back the more sturdy coffee table.

 

White shells in glass cylinder I collected all from Sanibel Island, FL. I keep a small paper inside the shells so I know where each batch came from.

 The round mirror I painted gold at holiday, I actually had painted blue last year! These framed fabrics (I did back in Florida - you can read at: Make a Framed Fabric Focal Point) I'll switch to a blue and white print. The grapewood branches I got at HomeGoods back in Florida (I think in 2010). The white pedestal bowl is alabaster (heavy!!) I scored at Goodwill here in AZ - and it's filled with Coral I collected in Key Largo.

 

Yes - I like symmetry - especially around the TV. To us, any other way would be a distraction. Symmetry adds a sense of calmness to the room (plus it's also good Feng Shui to have things in pairs). But not everything is symmetrical - Just look at the coffee table and the gallery wall of mirrors...

 

I applied both symmetry and eclectic composition to the space which both allow your eyes to float around the room, but also have stopping points to rest...

 

The green stone I got at Quartzite AZ on our road trip last year to LA for the Design Bloggers Conference... 

 

The blue box are seaside photo notecards I got in San Diego last year. The Barclay Butera book was  signed by Barclay at this years Winter LVMKT and the New Seaside Interiors book I just picked up in Barclay's showroom in Newport. Storage Style, Ansel Adams, the rattan tray and blue bowl are all from thrift.

 

The fresh flowers I've been picking up at the local market (only $6 and they actually last the week!)

 

The shells are from the Gulf Coast of FL and Calsbad, CA. The globes: one is from thrift and one is from HomeGoods (2 years ago). The black stone is also from Quartzite, AZ. The aqua plates and B&W dish is from thrift and that silver tray was actually a clearance deal Jeff bought at his store (marked-down to $4).

  

The glass hurricanes were only $4 (for both) along with the blue, white, green porcelain vase (I think it was $8) were all from a 50% off Saturday Sale at Goodwill. The mirrors and books were mostly  thrifted - minus this Barclay book (Amazon used books and it's new!). The books act as a riser behind the sofa - the vase would be too low without them. The white-washed wood pillars are from HomeGoods, Florida.

 

The driftwood piece, small branch and stone I just brought back from a walk on Carlsbad Beach. The two small aqua vases and bowl are from Goodwill thrift. The lamps I got at HomeGoods back in Florida, but the braided trim shades I picked up here at Garden Ridge (which is now called At Home.)

 

The rope covered cylinder is from Frontgate. The blue & white sea fan wall art and blue frames are from HomeGoods. The tiny shell clusters are napkin rings I found while thrifting, and since I have my table linens (placemats + runners + napkins) in this buffet, it works as a decor detail for a coastal vignette. The picture is one of the notecards from the coffee table.

 

Just need the right photo for this frame!

Consigning saved the hassle of holding a garage sale plus the funds have gone to get some of the newer items. Along with using gift cards I've won from design challenges + sweepstakes winnings and a few thrift finds, I was able to refresh our rented house here in AZ with the coastal comfort of home - without it getting "too themed". It's not necessarily a 100% done - I'd still like to tweak a few details - but a welcome change nonetheless, especially with all the brown often seen here in AZ. The change in the living room is coming from the addition of layering more blues paired with a pale grey-green, known as hemlock green, I had started mix in with my black & white this Spring (shown in the beginning of the post). I first started to collect the porcelain for the Spring refresh I did for our bedroom and bathroom (posting next!) but that wonderful piece I found while thrifting one Saturday enabled the pattern to also work in the living room, which now creates harmony in the home, because the blues are used in five rooms from the upstairs loft area, to the bedroom, bathroom, garden room (downstairs) and now the living room... (I should probably post a home tour).

ReSTYLE RECAP

- Since it's challenging to find palm fronds here in AZ (low enough for me to cut) I picked up two  palm trees at Home Depot - one for $9 and one I got for only $2 so I could cut the fronds to add to large white vases. The $2 palm only had 4 fronds left on it, which they would have tossed - so I made him an offer he couldn't refuse :)

- Travel treasures such as shells from FL & CA and stones plus cow skull from AZ help tell our story. Not shown in the living room, but still up year round in the stairway, also telling our home story: Photos from Italy and New York.

- Blue & White print lumbar pillow on sofa - Turnstyle Consignment (March 2014)

- Blue & White Stripe Pillows: Dash & Albert - Lalyla Grayce Gift card (September 2013)

- Rope Cylinder Vase - Frontgate Gift Card (won in 2010 - just used this month!)

- Pair of Stripe Slipper chairs - Shipped slightly damaged when ordered for an AZ client makeover in 2013: Wayfair.com had me KEEP them and they sent a new pair for client. I did some repair - now we them use everyday.

- Blue & White vases + blue frames + 2 hemlock green linen pillows + 1 large orchid + 1 one linen pillow with rope trim + scented candles - Some pieces I've gotten from gift cards from my HomeGoods partnership, pinning to the Happy By Design board. (2014)

- Blue & White bowls + 1 large vase (w/ green) + 2 glass hurricanes (behind sofa) + white alabaster bowl (above TV) + wood bowls + rattan and brass tray: Thrift finds

- 2 Large White Urns (above TV with palms) - Clearance at Target: $10 each - orig. $35 ea.

 

TO DO:

- Cover books on TV unit with blue & white print paper (from HomeGoods)

- Print and frame personal photos into new blue frames.

- Change large frames to framed blue fabric prints and coastal images.

 

 

PAST SUMMER ReSTYLES

 

Summer ReStyle - AZ 2012

 

Summer ReStyle - AZ 2012 - Coffee Table

Summer ReStyle - AZ 2013

 

Summer ReStyle - AZ 2014 

... and a little more tropical summer plus more saturated colors for Florida...

 

 Summer ReMix - FL 2011

(more India Hicks vibe)

 

Summer ReMix - Fl 2011

 

Summer ReMix - FL 2011

 

I believe it's only natural to not necessarily stay with a style today that you loved ten or even five years ago. Even if you still admire a style, for example I love coastal, but the way I put it together has changed. In Florida, I was heavily influenced by more vibrant Caribbean colors and tropical flavors, whereas here in AZ the colors pale in comparison - to the point where our first summer here I only used black and white - no color. Also in the past, I would only put out my coastal treasures from our beach trips during the summer, and then pack them up until the following summer. Living here in AZ, the coastal keepsakes (from Florida and now also California) have become a part of our home story and a way to stay connected to home back east, since I've evolved to keeping most (but not all) of them out year round. 

Simple summer style touches can be layered into almost any style home. 

Here are five core summer decorating tips:

1. Edit out the use of black by replacing with more whites for an airy feel.

2. Use touches of a water based scheme, whether it's lakeside or coastal. 

3. Using trays, bowls and cylinders are great to display a collection of shells, starfish or coral - especially on a coffee table, sofa table or buffet.

4. For a tropical touch, add palms.

5. Finish off a summer space with a seaside scented candle (especially if you're land-locked!)

See also:

 8 Tips to Create A Summer ReStyle.

Summer ReStyle Details

Decorating With Faux & Fresh Palm Fronds

Do you decorate any different for Summer?

What are some ways you like to display your Summer style?

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Summer!

LOCAL LOVE: SNEAK PEEK of SUMMER LUVIN' at SWEET SALVAGE!

It's that time of the month - for Sweet Salvage's Vintage Market monthly pop-up shop! I haven't been there in a while, but I am SO looking forward to seeing this months themed installation: Summer Luvin' - all things coastal, lakeside and beachy! Doors open Thursday at 10am here in Phoenix, and I'm sure this set will be a crowd pleaser to all the land-locked desert dwellers! Sweet Salvage was kind enough to have local photographer Heather Gill come into the shop to shoot some of the vignettes - a great way to share an preview the goods they've collected for Summer Luvin'. I'm heading there Friday, but here's a peek at what you'll find...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's such a welcome sight to see for these sore eyes longing for the beach at Summertime... And what a wonderful way to kick off the Summer Solstice this Saturday  by visiting the Sweet gang here in Phoenix!

Summer Luvin' is also a great time to not only get decor inspiration, but also pick up coastal treasures, plus some Americana details to layer into your home for July 4th! Hope you can make it - The pop-up shop event lasts from Thursday thru Sunday - June 19 - 22.

SWEET SALVAGE

4648 NW 7th Avenue

Phoenix, AZ 

If you have any questions about items you see here, give them a call at:

602.279.2996

After seeing all of these great coastal finds, it kind of makes me wish there was a shop here in Phoenix that specialized in coastal decor year 'round!! Love the look!

Thanks for stopping by and if you're in town, I hope to see you at Sweet Salvage!

#ShopLocal!