The stairs to the basement are looking cute. Finally.
The stairway is right next to the back door in the kitchen, which is the entrance we use most often. We used to have hooks and a shelf there for our coats and shoes, but we took them down when we remodeled the basement. Then the contractor mistook them for trash (an easy mistake to make), and thus we had nothing up for a while. Outerwear began to migrate throughout the first floor and shoes abounded.
I bought what I thought was an Eames Hang-it-All from a discount shopping site, but it turned out to be a fake. It’s fine, I just didn’t realize that when I bought it. But it’s here and it’s cute, and it’s great for the basement stairwell.
An Eames Hang-it-All
The stairs made installation difficult. I did make sure to locate the wall studs though, and I put together a quick how-to in case you ever need to do the same.
Bye bye, IKEA shelves that were mistaken for trash. Hello, accidental knockoff Hang-it-All. If my house were a reality show, this area would be the bad girl, stirring up drama. And it would be the lamest reality show ever.
This is a pretty simple before and after. We painted the walls pink (Wild Aster, Benjamin Moore) and the door and trim white (Antique White, Benjamin Moore). We no longer needed a shelf because we added a shoe organizer (from the Orla Kiely collection that Target had a couple of years ago), which makes the shoes much easier to reach. Then we hung our new hooks.
We also added children to our family, for the sole purpose of having a reason to keep cute hats and coats around for ‘after’ photos.
It’s working out well!
p.s. I wrote about August’s cute lion hat here.
Joy_UK
October 24, 2011 at 11:51 amIt looks really cute!
And how adorable do you look in that dress?! You look REALLY nice! Where did you get that dress?
Making it Lovely
October 24, 2011 at 11:54 amThanks! That’s the dress from my October style post.
Amanda
October 24, 2011 at 7:27 pmHow is the sizing on this dress? There aren’t enough reviews for me to gauge it.
Naomi
October 24, 2011 at 8:33 pm2ould you mind describing the yellow color? online it looks super bright.
Naomi
October 24, 2011 at 8:34 pmahhh … *would not 2ould
Making it Lovely
October 24, 2011 at 9:50 pmAmanda, I have a hard time gauging sizing because my size has changed so much over the last few months. I think it runs big? I’m wearing a medium, and I’m 5’5″ and 160 pounds right now.
Naomi, it’s more of a mustard than a pure yellow, but it’s kind of in between the two.
Naomi
October 26, 2011 at 9:04 pmthanks for the info nicole!! you are looking so svelte, by the way!
Tammy
October 24, 2011 at 11:58 amNicole, How tall are you dear? It looks like you are hanging the coat rack sooooo high????
Making it Lovely
October 24, 2011 at 12:27 pmI was two steps down! I added a photo of the stairs to the post, so hopefully the space makes more sense. The hooks are hung at a good height from the doorway.
jbhat
October 24, 2011 at 5:51 pmHa ha, I was thinking that you were like 5 feet tall too.
jbhat
Danielle
October 24, 2011 at 12:51 pmWhat a great idea to hang a show organizer near the stairs! It’s such a simple idea that I wish I would have thought of eariler for our coat closet!
Ann
October 24, 2011 at 1:40 pmWhy did you feel the need to post not once but twice that your new hook isn’t an Eames hook? If it’s so important to you that it’s not an “actual Eames” then just go buy the real one. You’re coming off very snobby.
Meredith
October 24, 2011 at 1:50 pmI think she’s just coming off as honest… and I dig it. Nicole, thanks for not pretending to have a name brand if you dont, and thanks for portraying that it doesn’t really matter either way!
michelle
October 24, 2011 at 3:09 pmnicole you = not snobby!!!
if you read her blog ANN, you will see she often recommends things from big box stores, with very low price points. but maybe you need to go elsewhere if you have a problem!
Christina
October 27, 2011 at 3:41 amAnn, I think she’s coming across as disappointed because she thought she was getting one thing but got another, yet the price tag was unjustified…?
Nicole, the colours look great against the pink walls. I think it was labeled as a George Nelson because it has the round balls on spindles: http://bit.ly/v6lQKX
It would be super cute to add to basement, if only colours matched :O(
Making it Lovely
October 27, 2011 at 9:37 amI could have just called it an Eames Hang-it-All, and nobody would have been the wiser. In not trying to pass it off as something it’s not, perhaps I called too much attention to the fact?
I thought it was the licensed version when I bought it, which would have made it a great deal, but for a knockoff I only saved about 15%. Not a bad deal, but not what I thought I was getting. I don’t buy licensed versions for the cachet of the name, I do it to support the company and designer behind the item.
Susan/Project Balancing Act
October 24, 2011 at 4:52 pmI have that shoe holder- it is on the back of my laundry room door to hold cleaning supplies. :)
Making it Lovely
October 27, 2011 at 9:44 amGood idea.
Miss B.
October 24, 2011 at 5:24 pmYou look so slim and beautiful in that pick. I like that you had the kids for the ‘after’ shot, always thinking;)
Making it Lovely
October 27, 2011 at 9:45 amThe years invested, waiting for them to get big enough to have cute fall/winter gear… it’s finally paying off! ;)
Darcy
October 24, 2011 at 9:46 pmI thought the dress was cute in your style post but it looks so much better on you! Love the color and the hooks look great too!
Andrea @ Strawberry-Chic
October 25, 2011 at 10:48 amLove the new hooks and shoe rack! We have just a few hooks on the wall beside our front door, but It’s never enough storage for us! This would be a much better solution!
jawsie
October 25, 2011 at 11:48 amnicole you are looking so petite and sweet for a mother with an eight month old baby! i love the fun colors of your new hook, and thanks for the stud-finder tutorial!
x, jawsie
designfan
October 26, 2011 at 6:09 amNicole,
great blog! I was wondering if you would share what kind of photo editing software (filters) you use. Your pics have such a nice color to them.
Thanks so much in advance!
Making it Lovely
October 27, 2011 at 9:46 amThanks. I used Photoshop and filters/actions from Totally Rad.
Tina
October 26, 2011 at 9:33 pmLooks great. And, love the dress.