She works hard for her money!

So hard for it, Honey!

Since I work so hard... I think I deserve a nice space to work, dagnabbit!  And let's be real- I am kind of over my office desk right about now.

I've had this desk since the beginning of time.  Okay, well, at least since the time I started using a desk for homework. {Kindergarten?}   It's done me well and withstood a couple smaller makeovers, and despite my best efforts to make it work, it just doesn't tickle my fancy anymore.

It's gotta go.

DIY Filing Cabinet Makeover

Heya Nesters!  Well I finally had a chance to put the finishing touches on a project I've been working on for a couple months.  I alluded to it in this post but I don't think anyone really picked up on it. It really was only a few days work, but with nice long gaps in between.  I guess it was somewhere between laziness and being busy.  I had about hit my wits end when it came to file organization...

If I Had a Million Dollars: Working

Heya Nesters! Happy Friday! Todays' If I had a Million Dollars focuses on the space where you put your nose to the grindstone. The spot where you channel all your creative or analytical thoughts, jot them down and put them to use. That's right: your office. 

You guys remember mine right?

If I Had a Million Dollars: Making and Eating

Eating. Everything in my life revolves around eating. {It doesn't help that I love to cook too.} When Matt and I go on dates: we love to chat and laugh over a good plate of food. When I spend time with my girlfriends: We make sure to find a new spot to try a new drink or a new stack of nachos. When I'm spending time with my family: we cook for hours on end and scarf it down in a matter of minutes.

Back to School II

Heya Nesters!  I am back with you on this bright Monday Morning with an albeit late follow up post to Thursdays Back to School post.  We discussed consigning, donating and throwing away some of your clothes to make room for that oh-so-cute new Autumn attire.  Or just to clean things up and declutter. So now what are you supposed to do with all those things you are keeping?

DIY Project: Jewelry Hoop

 

Heya Nesters!  I've been working on fixing up my bedroom for the last couple of weeks. I've desperately been looking for a new system in which to keep my jewelry.  After some brainstorming, I came up with going a little "crafty" and made my way to my local craft store to pick up a needlepoint hoop and fabric.

Hiding that Bling

Hey Nesters! A hearty TGIF to you all! Do you ever find yourself in need of a jewelry box that isn't one single level? I mean really, how are you going to throw in all your necklaces with all your earrings, if its just one little box without everything getting insanely tangled? Impossible! And I can only speak for myself when I say that I don't like clutter, particularly on my dresser. It was a bright and shiny day when I realized I didn't need all that JUNK sitting out. Well if you're anything like me... this one's for you.

Hang Your Hat...

Heya Nesters!  Now that I've cleared out those two Ikea bookshelves and replaced them with this one. I've found the space around the TV stand unbearably empty. 

I want it not to feel empty anymore, but I also don't want to feel cluttered.  I've already started contemplating the space under the clock which I'll highlight in another post. But the other side next to the door deserves a warm, welcoming addition since its the first thing you see as you open the door. 

Click READ MORE to see some off the hook ideas....

Where Silver Things Are...

Hiya Nesters! After yesterday's post, I got a lot of inquiries about where I put the silver dresser.  I'm so happy you all are so observant!  And today, I've got your answer! 

Click READ MORE to see details....

A Fight with a Bookcase.

Hey Nesters! I have a new addition to my home.  But it was a fight...

I got the Target Room Essentials bookshelf yesterday evening after work and put it together all by my lonesome!  Though it was too heavy to lift on my own, I managed to slide it from the shelf to the cart, and the cart to the car.  Then I had to call that strong man-o-mine to help me get it into the house, and the mayhem ensued...

Click READ MORE to get the details...

DVD Dilemma

On a recent jaunt to The Christmas Tree Shops to pick up some hand lotion, I walked out with 2 baskets at ten dollars a pop! Oops!  Prior to this purchase, my small DVD collection was wrangled on one shelf of the bookcase next to the TV.  It was a temporary solution and I wanted to resolve it. That's where these baskets come in. 

Click READ MORE to see more! ...

Deskessories

Sunday morning after a little R and R, I decided to pick up my behind off the couch and head over to Walmart with one of my girlfriends.  I made the trek for other reasons that shall remain a mystery to you guys for now.  {Insert evil cackle here}  But I was lucky enough to stumble across some other goodies while I was there!

Click READ MORE to see more about this find!...

NO WIRE HANGERS!

But wire baskets??? Heck YES! There is something about this airy, farm house wire basket from Pottery Barn that makes my heart leap!

There are unimaginable possibilities of what you could do with this simple storage receptacle.

Crystal Clear

Howdy Nesters! I opened one of my least used cabinet the other day and found a glass oil bottle that I had forgotten that I had picked up at IKEA last time Matt and I hiked out there. 

It was still intact with price tag and all. It felt like finding money in your jacket pocket: What a nice surprise!   

DIY Project: Cedar Chest

Hey Nesters! I'm back with you today as a proud gal! Do you remember way-back-when Matt and I went to an estate sale and picked up this cedar chest?

It was in pretty rough shape but luckily, with a little elbow grease and fortitude, it has been revived!

Every Book Needs a Home....

Heya Nesters!  I'm sure you've seen my lovely Ikea Lerberg shelves lurking in the corners of my pictures.

{Yikes! Remember the move!?}

I got them for my last apartment thinking that they would give the same appeal as the Crate and Barrel Sloan Grey Leaning Bookcase since the shelves tapered and gave the illusion of a lean.

Yeah. Not so much.  They were also $20 each and when you're already at Ikea, how can you say no to that?

I Heart NY

Hey there Nesters! So, remember alllll the way back at the beginning of May you read this post about my brother, Joe, and my sister-in-law, Molly, making the leap over the river to live in the heart of Manhattan!  Well, they moved the exact same day I did back in Mid-May.  When I visited them this past weekend they let me take a few snapshots of their new nest and some of their new additions to their eclectic railroad apartment.

First things first: Molly and I had a conversation a while back about what to do for a kitchen table. And our thought process was chronicled in this post.  While they are still waiting to find the perfect legs for this table, these sawhorses and Ikea chairs really work with the soft, creamy yellow shabby chic door turned tabletop.

This Ikea island has already been put to good use.  Its loaded down with cookbooks and pots and pans. Did I mention Molly is a self taught chef?

The tight squeeze of a living room is made into a modern ethereal restful spot with branches flocking the TV and the ever famous birch tree wall mural.

And here is the view of the kitchen from the living room. {Who are those debonair men sitting at that kitchen table?} I love the cardboard rhino.  I'm very seriously considering getting one for myself.

And onto my brothers-in home office, where all of his illustration magic happens.  He loves the gallery wall look and I must admit ...his blows mine out of the water.

The bedroom has this combination antique and greenhouse feel.  Since this is the room that gets the most light at the front of the building, they keep most of their plants in here and it gives it a very lived-in, fresh feeling.

Molly mentioned that once settled in further, she would like to put a reading chair in this corner but I am loving this vintage sewing machine hunkering down right here.

Well there you have it! For having only been in the apartment for a few short weeks, they really have done a phenomenal job.  Don't you think? And I look forward to reporting on their progress and new exciting projects that they will share with us.  Do you have any new pics of your new apartment that you'd like to share with the fellow Nesters? Leave us all a comment or email me at temporarynest@gmial.com.

Being Shelfish

On Thursday we talked about closing the doors on all your toiletries and hiding them from the public. {Or at least the public that will be making their way into your bathroom.} But I know lots of people don't mind it a bit! If you can utilize some cute storage methods, why not show it off?  I mentioned in this post that I'd like to get this soap dispenser from Target.

I would hardly want to hide this looker away from any one's sight.  And so I've compiled a handsome little "slide show" of some awe inspiring bathrooms with some meticulously maintained open shelving... Enjoy!

  Built-ins' are always a phenomenal use of space.  And how about that wicker ottoman? I'll take two!

 If this breathtaking claw-foot tub leaves you wanting more, maybe the tiered shelving stacked with plush towels will make you want to go for a dip in the tub.

I love that this bathroom has double duty open shelves. The wicker baskets are a brilliant solution for allowing the appearance of open shelving and uniformity without restricting your toiletry purchasing to one container color.  {Not to mention that vintage mirror is swoon-worthy!}

I wonder if you could find an apothecary/dentistry cabinet like this on Craigslist or eBay on the cheap... because I might need one.

This jam-packed gorgeous armior of goodies is perfectly arranged and color coded.  I wish my house could look like that all the time... but let's be real here, Nesters... this was super well staged.  But that won't stop me from having dreams about it tonight!

A slightly more modern take on the open shelving concept. I love the combo of rolled and folded towels.

Ah yes, back to the shabby chic that I tend towards to often... Can't you imagine that soap dispenser on this simple glass shelf?

And now, heaven for a golden hearted girl like myself....  It's cottage-y.... It's beachy... It's luxurious ...And its yellow. This mantel-esque storage is the perfect home for your bath salts and bubbles, just in perfect arms' reach from the tub.  The mirrored element makes its less obtrusively white in the all-mustard-all-the-time commode. Brilliant!

Well I hope you enjoyed our little trip down Open-Shelving Lane today Nesters! We'll just have to wait and see what I end up going with... Seeing all these beaut's has made me second guess the closed-door subject!

As always, stay tuned for more!

Bathroom Bonanza

When you step into my bathroom, its like a time warp to the 1970s.

Ok ok, this isn't actually my bathroom... but its pretty groovy, right?

This is my bathroom.

It's really tiny but enough for just me.  This picture is making it look pretty darn good actually. But if you look a little closer, you'll see the bathtub is beige but the toilet is white, the vanity is somewhere in between {physically and color-wise} with a faux marble top. The tile on the walls are white with beige freckles and don't forget about that lovely beige border. But wait! There's more! The tile on the floor is beige 1/2"x 1/2" tiles {much like the currently popular mosaic tile} with the occasional brown tile thrown in.  Neato!

What's more problematic than the bland color scheme, is the storage. That medicine cabinet holds a good portion of nail polishes and vitamins and all the other first aide gear and cleaning supplies and things that aren't used daily are housed under the sink. But I have a slew of hair goo and lotions and all that good stuff that gets all of us girlie girls gussied every day... that is the only box that I still have not unpacked yet. So I've been thinking about how to utilize the space in my tiny little commode and get a space where once and for all, my doodads can find a home.

I really like the openness these two but I am a girl that likes things out of sight.  Having things that aren't meant to be seen, being seen is one of my pet peeves. No one needs to know how many leave-in conditioners I have in order to keep my locks luxurious! That means as much as I want glass doors on this cabinet it doesn't exactly lend itself to hiding things.  Let's take a look at a few styles that are little more demure.

 If my bathroom weren't so small and drowning in the color brown, I would probably have a dark wood cabinet.  Being that that is not the case, I will stick with white.  The simplicity of the last "space saver" with the small X elements at the top really is the the best combination that I've come across.  Another nice attribute of this one is that there are 4 legs with space between them. This removes the weighty feel of the solid sided pieces, which again is important when your bathroom is a wee one! {ha ha, "wee"}  Luckily, this one is a steal from Overstock! 

What do you guys think? Do you like open shelving? Or are you like me and want to hide all your goodies?