closet – Making it Lovely

Pretty Things for Pretty Closet Shelves

My closet shelves got a little sprucing up! I rearranged things to better sort my jewelry (the earrings were piling up in a bowl, getting tangled and dusty) and the newly blank space between the shelves looked painfully bare. I had brought home the beetle, dragonfly, and bee from Target a while back at $10/pop, not knowing where I’d use them, and I’m so glad I did! Clearly my house didn’t already have enough bugs as decor.

There were a lot of questions about where things were from when I shared this space on Instagram Stories yesterday, so I’ve put together ALL the sources you might need in today’s post. Shall we?

Glass Jewelry Boxes

I’d been wanting a glass jewelry box to keep my earrings dust-free. The long, low version I bought this weekend is out of stock online, though stores may still have them (Oakbrook did) and there are plenty of other options below if you’re looking for something similar. Add a little ribbon to the clasp like I did if you’re feeling extra.

Shelf Brackets

You can find awesome brackets everywhere. House of Antique Hardware for historical reproductions. Rejuvenation for well-made styles both old and new. You want cute with detail like mine, you look to Anthropologie.

Clutches

People always ask why I have a Dictionary in my closet when it shows up in photos; it’s a Kate Spade book clutch! I got it years ago so it’s long discontinued, but they’re still available on eBay pretty regularly. The striped pouch behind it is new and I’ve included it below, along with more adorable clutches I would happily sport. (I’m picking up one of the super cute paint tube pouches for Eleanor’s birthday!)

Bag Charms

I added pom poms to my striped clutch, and I switch them around to different bags all the time. Mine was from Tory Burch last year — I saw it on one of the bags that I thought was just OK, but the embellishment was the best part by far. I was jazzed when I realized you could buy them separately! A wrist loop and tassel would complement any of the clutches above, and here are a bunch of other fun options.

Statement Earrings

A simple outfit’s secret weapon! I wear glasses everyday, and then I usually pick either a bold lip or bold earrings, and I can personally attest to the awesomeness of numbers 2 and 3 below.

April 17, 2018

Organizing the Linen Closet

Why do little closets take so long to work on!? I spent hours cleaning, purging, and organizing our linen closet yesterday.

And it looks better! Not amazing, but far better. And I’m definitely enjoying not walking around two full laundry baskets of bedding and towels that had become semi-permanent fixtures in the hallway.

Before I started, I looked at the space and thought ‘clearly, I need to take a trip to The Container Store for beautiful bins and baskets.’ Because of course that’s how my mind works. I already had wire baskets leftover from our old IKEA Expedits though, so I added those to the closet.

I went to find them on the site to link, and the newer versions (for Kallax, which replaced the Expedit) are far more stylish! Not helping curb the desire to buy new organizational stuff — even if they do serve the exact same function.

Meh.

This linen closet makeover by Megan Pflug for One Kings Lane is one of my all-time favorites.

Way to make my closet look like crap in comparison, Megan. (I kid. She’s the best.)

But it begs the question: I have to wallpaper another closet in our house now, don’t I? Or break a paint brush out at the very least. Add this one to the 2018 project list.

January 16, 2018

The Closet is Finished!

Maybe I should start calling it a dressing room? Sounds way fancier.

I reached out to Ballard Designs and they provided several pieces from their Sarah storage collection. The 14″ depth works well for our closet, I love the details along the top and bottom, and the three units I chose fit perfectly along the wall. Tops go on the top, bottoms go along the bottom. Pretty straight-forward, though I did have to get new hangers so that my skirts wouldn’t hang too low.

We started here, remember. Wall-to-wall carpet concealing some major floor damage and subfloor structural issues.

This is a long post. Brace yourselves, let’s keep going!
(more…)

February 17, 2016

Talking Rugs and Lighting (Aren’t I Always?)

The closet is looking good, and it’s so close to being done.

The couple of sneak peeks above are on Instagram, and if you follow me on Snapchat, you might have seen the design plan for the closet. I was thinking of using a pink rug and bench. Either something all pink like Pottery Barn’s Leila tufted rug, or in a pattern that features the color prominently like Caitlin Wilson’s Kismet rug. We had an antique/vintage (no details on how old it is) Tibetan meditation rug in the hallway though that’s mostly red with a little pink, and it looks great in the closet. Our hallway is a bit more naked now, but that hallway is in serious need of repair right now anyway after all of the rewiring work on the second floor (another story for another day).

I ordered a small tufted ottoman from Target in pink that hasn’t arrived yet. Then I saw the same ottoman in the store in a pretty grayish blue color that hadn’t been listed online. I brought it home yesterday and the other is due to arrive tomorrow, so I’ll keep whichever is better with the rug.

Which means there are only three more things to do, and then the closet is done!

Sew a sink skirt.
Easy enough, I was just waiting on the rug so I can choose fabric. Moving ahead with that one.
Hem the curtains.
Easy peasy.
Find a new light.
Not so easy, but it needs to happen.

Yeah, so the light. I put up one of the fixtures from downstairs because why not? I’ll tell you why not: it’s way to low and I bump into it constantly. I knew that the scale was wrong, but I figured it would be fine and buy some time until I found something else. It wasn’t a visual assault on my eyes or anything, it just looked silly, being to big. I failed to take into account how annoying and potentially dangerous it would be — I’m worried I might break the glass.

I came across this image that I posted here in 2011, before I had ever set foot in our Victorian.

Beautiful, right? And I’ve been so drawn to that simple style of lighting lately. I want to replace our foyer pendant and was considering something similar, but now I’m also considering it in a smaller, semi-flush mount version for the closet. I’m still not 100%, but I think it could work.

January 28, 2016

Getting the Closet Back in Order

Here’s the work that has been done in the closet since I last shared my ‘to do’ list.

~~Rewire (sconce, ceiling fixture, two switches, two outlets)~~
~~Patch holes and damage from rewiring~~
~~Paint prep (mostly cleaning all of the plaster dust everywhere)~~
~~Prime (walls and ceiling)~~
~~Paint (walls and ceiling)~~
~~Rewire antique lights or choose replacements~~
~~Rehang lights~~
~~New mirror above the sink~~
~~Install new closet fittings~~

And what’s left?

Add storage near the sink
Put everything away (paring down in the process)
Zhush it all up a little

I also need to hang shelves; I forgot to include that in my original list. I’ve ordered a cabinet organizer that will hopefully work for the “storage near the sink” and I’ve started putting things away and zhushing, though I still have more to do.

I replaced the sconce above the sink with a similar fixture. I wanted something that felt appropriate for the house — nothing to modern, though I do love a lot of modern sconces. It’s polished, unlacquered brass with a milk glass half-dome shade and all of the wires in the fixture and the wall are from this century. Exciting!

I also hung one of the lights from downstairs. The scale of it is all wrong and it makes the closet glow pink, but it will buy me some time until I find the perfect replacement. I hadn’t planned on ordering a new light, but when I had to go with a medallion to cover an access plate from the electricians’ rewiring, the antique flushmount I had planned on reusing no longer fit. (You can see the new and old sconces below too. Very similar.)

Once I have a new light, I’ll secure the ceiling medallion a little better. The fixture now is hanging from an antique cross bar that I repurposed from elsewhere in the house, and it’s slightly off center. I didn’t want to sink the screws, caulk, and paint the medallion now, only to have a replacement fixture end up looking askew after hanging it with different hardware. Everything I like though seems to have long lead times (6 weeks, on average), so this will do for a while.

I ordered hooks two weeks ago, but they haven’t shipped yet. My shelf brackets haven’t come yet either. I did install the closet system though (c/o Ballard Designs), anchoring it to the wall and getting the front nice and even. It involved removing the closet’s base shoe molding with a pry bar, a lot of pushing and pulling to align the units, finding studs and drilling and what-not, and the artful use of shims. Lots and lots of shims.

In related news, I need perhaps something besides a giant contractor grade drill? Why did I choose this thing? It’s powerful, but overkill for most projects.

I also anchored my garment rack to the wall. This is the one I already had — the one that broke. I was able to fix it but the pipe is bent and wobbly, so what I lose in mobility by anchoring it, I gain in safety. I can’t chance it falling over on one of the kids.

I used parts from a mirror hanging kit and screwed one of its D-rings to a wall stud. I started out by going perpendicular from the rack, but it was visible and kind of ugly, so I redid it, going at an angle that would be hidden by the hangers. I trimmed the wire, of course.

I’m waiting on the hooks and brackets to arrive, and a few other finishing pieces. Almost there! Eleanor was watching me load the closet up. She asked what I was doing, and I told her I was getting the closet back in order so I can get the bedroom back together too. “I like making it look nice,” I told her. Her response: “You mean you like making it LOVELY.”

January 19, 2016

A Few Quirks

I’ve repaired the corners in nook above the closet sink! I’m chuffed about this, though I don’t look it.

I’ve only primed the walls, so the (dusty) mirror is going to come back down when I paint.

I used mesh tape (Fibatape brand), Sheetrock joint compound 45 (you mix it with water and the number refers to the working time — you can get stuff that sets up more quickly or takes longer), two putty knives (1.5″ and 6″), a corner trowel, and a plastic mud pan. To sand, I used a corner mouse electric sander for the first rough pass, then moved on to sanding blocks working my way down from 100 grit to a one that was just marked “fine” for drywall.

No tutorial on the corner repair because I was winging my way through, but I’ll tell you how it went. The process: Put mesh tape on the nonexistent corners in a rough approximation of what a wall should be like. Glob on a bunch of joint compound with the corner trowel and 1.5″ putty knife. Let dry. Slightly panic about how awful it looks, take a picture and post it anyway. Sand smooth, feel relief that it’s really not so bad. Apply another coat of joint compound, this time doing one side of each corner at a time with the 6″ putty knife. Let dry, sand smooth. Touch up any problem areas with a final coat, let dry, sand smooth, pat self on back. Well done, me!

The nook had a sheet mirror up before and I’m glad I took it out (it was streaked and had black splotches, making it not so useful for getting ready in the morning), but it did disguise the fact that the sink is not centered. I’m guessing the house’s previous owners found the antique marble sink top and had it cut down to fit, but they only cut along the right side. Not a big deal, but it’s definitely more noticeable with a mirror centered above instead of spanning wall to wall.

We’ll go ahead and call that an old house quirk. Here’s another!

I wanted the closet ceiling fixture centered in the space. The junction box only had to be moved over 8″ but of course there was a ceiling beam blocking the way, plus wires that had no extra slack. Apparently the only way to move it and patch the old hole would be to gain access from above? This is according to the electricians, so I’m taking their word for it. Without doing that, we would have to have a cover where the old box was, which: ugly. Ceiling medallion to the rescue! This was the electricians’ suggestion and I’m going with it.

The medallion is supposed to arrive on Friday, so my plan is to put it up this weekend, paint the walls and ceiling, and bask in empty space before bringing everything back in. I need to figure out what light is going to go up in the closet now, too. The old one was an antique flush mount that won’t work with a medallion (and it isn’t large enough to cover the ceiling damage). I figure I should aim for something that won’t cast weird shadows, but beyond that I’m not sure because I hadn’t planned on replacing the light. Pendant? Lantern? Maybe one of these? (Just kidding. Crystal pirate ship all the way.)

January 12, 2016

Tag: closet