Simple Solutions

As a real estate agent there is one suggestion I always provide to my clients who are listing their homes: Keep toiletries in the bathroom out of sight. Specifically, removing items off the countertops and minimizizing the items in the shower/tub area. My opinion is buyers don’t really want to know your morning routine. And, funny enough once I point this out to sellers they notice it in homes when they are ready to buy a home. The idea, to minimize or hide toiletries is simple, inexpensive and really changes the bathroom decor. This is a suggestion for any bathroom, whether it’s on the market or not. Here is our guest bathroom in the basement shortly after we purchased our home. It just says, “this is the bathroom.” When selling a home I always suggest sellers hide or minimize the contents in the shower/tub.

When selling a home I always suggest sellers hide or minimize the contents in the shower/tub.

Here is the “after” photo. A simple fabric (not vinyl) shower curtain adds privacy to the contents of the shower and more importantly adds warmth to the bathroom. This look says “this is an extension of our home.”

What do you think of this Before and After? With our tiled counter top and bathroom floor the fabric adds new texture and much needed color.

Here is the Before and After side by side. What do you think?

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CHIC ON SHOESTRING DECORATING

THE CHARM OF HOME

OR SO SHE SAYS

FROM DREAM TO REALITY

Pallets make great storage for scrap wood

What is so crazy about this idea is the solution has been in front of me for MONTHS! I snagged a few pallets last summer with visions of creative genius. I’m still waiting. I had a ton of scrap wood and lumber that were precariously placed against the garage walls and in storage tubs. Not the brightest idea. Coincidentally, I also had to replace two tires because 2 nails and a screw in each. I am convinced the nails came from the scraps of wood that were within 2 feet of my tires. That was an expensive lesson. I had to get the wood off the floor. So I decided to use the pallets to store my wood scraps. I placed the pallets behind the garbage cans and got to sorting the wood. I loved it within 30 seconds of starting because I could see the various lengths, the amounts and the pallet was using vertical space instead of valuable horizontal space (ie: the garage floor). The pallets are not the coolest {or prettiest} storage ideas, but they totally work. And, it is in my thrifty budget for 2013! Now I just need to snag some more pallets and wait for my creative genius side to kick into gear.