Not Coming Out of the Closet

Lets look in some closets.  I would love to stand in some of these closets and just privately admire all the beautiful things, and let’s face it – the space and built-ins.

 

(Ralph Lauren)

Organizing a closet really depends on the size of the closet.

Mariah Carey clearly does not have space restrictions!  She does however need a staff to keep this space looking so awesome (so sure she has it).  I think this goes down as the most over the top insane closet I’ve ever seen.

But what if you do have a small closet??? –BUMMER!

Ok seriously sometimes you just need to move and fast!

Other times you obviously need to have only the current seasons clothes.  Ideally you would have all your stuff in one place so you can see it all.  I feel I can dress better and more creatively if I can really see everything.  If I can’t see it then i forget that I own it- out of sight out of mind.  For me I have always loved having a big closet, I hate the idea of being forced to discard clothing due to lack of space.  This being important to me, I have always chosen houses that have this in spades.

I love the notion that a closet could be a room for just you, with no need to coordinate with any one else for colors or design scheme.  A private oasis for you to lounge and do what ever the hell you want.  What about the ability to take a bath in your closet (now we’re talking!!!)

A well organized closet goes with out saying, I organize by article of clothing (shirts, sweaters, pants, dresses ect…).  Within article of clothing I further separate by season and then by color.

Books Books Books

Organizing books can be very personal.  Really the person who’s books they are needs to be part of the organizing.  Now some of you may be saying to yourself- “yeah, of course who else would do it?”.  Well as an Interior Designer, I am asked very frequently to reorganize peoples built-ins to look really Fab.  This is tough if the person is really into books.  Which have they read, which are in cue to be read, does this person need them by subject or author?  This is very important to most people, and is very different to how the book shelves will look best.  They look best if arranged by color:

When they are arranged by color there is a visual calm that's achieved.  Otherwise they seem chaotic and visually cluttered:

If you need your books to be by topic, author, or been read or not, then making smaller collections of those categories and separating them with some interesting objects is a great way to visually organize them:

or spread the arranging to other areas of the room as well, like the mantle:

 

Or the coffee table or console/hall table:

When people visit your home they are unconsciously looking for personality cues on the people who live there.  Who are they, what are they passionate about, where have they traveled?  By giving them those cues (books,accessories,art) your home instantly has more character, depth and warmth, not to mention instant conversation topics.  Without these things your home resembles a furniture showroom void of all human touches.

I am also (very often) asked to shop for all accessories, picture frames, art and books for a home owner that currently does not own anything.  This can be interesting, I am essentially creating the personality of the client, which people will see and adopt as the client’s identity.  Usually by this point in a project, I have a very detailed idea of who these people are so I’m not pulling personality out of thin air. 

There is the rare client who makes me wish there were more books on garden variety sociopaths – that way I could help them portray their true personalities to their visitors.

Piles of crap!

Ok, so after my last posts I've been asked what it takes to organize a house effectively.  My thoughts are that you must build upon a few foundations:
1) Everything must have a place.  If you have piles of ‘stuff’, sort them until it all has a ‘place’, then continue through the whole house.  Set goals: “I will attack two piles a day until my house is pile free.”
2) The ‘place’ needs to be located right where you will partake in the activity that requires that ‘stuff’.  If you trim your fingernails in the bathroom when you exit the shower, then don’t keep the clippers in the junk drawer in the kitchen- this makes more work for you.
3) It needs to be easy to put in away (or you’ll put off putting it away).  If the phone book goes under the cookbook, that goes under the newspaper recycling, then IT’S NOT EASY!  If it’s not easy, you will not do it, or at best you’ll just throw it in the cabinet somewhere.
Think about the processes of living your life- the little things you do everyday.  How are they done, where are they done, do you have the necessary components to complete the chore?  Are you searching for stuff- losing stuff, are people misplacing stuff?
For instance if you tend to think about what earrings you would wear while looking in the mirror to apply makeup, then locate earrings and makeup close to each other.

If you make your kid’s lunch for school everyday, then locate the sandwich bags, grab snacks, Tupperware, thermos’s and lunch boxes under a counter that you can assemble on.















If your Husband trims his fingernails after the shower in the bathroom, but you do more of a manicure process in front of the TV in the family room – then buy more than one clipper (think of the arguments saved, all for under $10.00!) and keep one in each place.
Do you and your daughter share the same hair brush (you know, the really good one…not the other sucky one)?  If so, I’m guessing it’s usually misplaced for at least one of you daily.  BUY A SECOND ONE!!!  Does she brush her hair by the front door under a thunder of threats by you before going to school? 

Well then, keep a second brush in a drawer in the front hall table.  Why send her back to her room to dilly-dally for twelve hours to brush her hair?
This train of thought is the basis for kitchen organization- activity centered storage areas and work spaces (and my husband insists I mention, the basis for Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing and Balanced Scorecard).  All baking supplies together, kids lunch stuff together, sink and dishwasher near the cabinet where the plates and cups are stored etc..

The more you break down all the tiny processes of your family's day and provide what is needed, where and when it is needed, life will be less stressful.  Even more important (???), your house will look better.  This is no easy task and takes a ton of time to complete, but is totally worth it.  Professional Organizer Dana Arkinzadeh cites a Newsweek magazine article that claims Americans spend an average of 55 minutes a day looking for something they know they own.  So keep in mind, organizing a house is more than just purging what’s no longer needed, being able to see everything and making all your drawers and cabinets look beautiful.  It’s about aligning your things so they match the life needs of your house’s occupants.
One last thought.  Once you go through this Herculean task, pull the family together and tell all of them where the ‘place’ is for all the ‘stuff’ in the house.  If you don’t do this and insist that everyone be responsible for keeping the ‘stuff’ in its ‘place’, the whole project will be undone in about 2 weeks.
Stay tuned for a future post on what really well designed organization looks and feels like.

I’ve Been Swamped!

I have not posted for a week or so - OK, so two weeks - we have been flooded.  We got water (a lot) in our basement -for the first time - during the huge rain storm a week ago.  The fire department came to pump us out and realized that there was nothing they could do until it stopped raining.  Instead they shut off the gas to the house (furnace floating was kind of bad), so we had no heat, no hot water, no way to cook.  The house was yucky and freezing.

(below, see my tres chic turquoise leather golf bag- FLOATING!!!)

As luck would have it, my dear friends Carol and Jerry were on vacation and their house was empty.  When they heard about our problem they offered their house.  Now that’s a good friend.  So my husband, two kids, two dogs and I moved into one of the most spectacular houses I have ever laid my eyes on (did I mention good friends!).  During the day we would go work non-stop on saving the basement at our house (so stressful and un-fabulous)  and by night we would enter this amazing house and the stress would just fall away- it was what saved us from losing our minds.

(Meg Braff)

It was so interesting to live at a friend’s house for a week.  You think you know someone- but when you live at their house you see details of them and how they live their lives that most are not privy to.  I will report that my friends are surprisingly normal!  What did hit me about how they live is the amount of organization in their house.  Built-ins everywhere, not just your average built-ins but the most well thought out, detailed and space saving built-ins I have ever seen.  I have always felt that instead of the bigger house, bigger rooms, bigger garage, bigger basement, etc., houses can be small, as long as things have been planned properly.  That upfront thinking means that everything has a place (and doors to close!) so you don’t look at the storage (clutter).  It can be so much more effective. 

Carol and Jerry had thought out their storage so beautifully they had quick access to everything they owned.  For example, if we want to go ice skating I have to unearth the ice skates in the basement, find warm sock in the bowels of someone’s dresser - god knows who's - and a bag to transport all this stuff from somewhere else.  Ultimately when we think to go ice skating- the process of finding the right stuff is so arduous that we nix the idea.

 

At Carol and Jerry’s house they want to go ice skating, they go to the cabinet, open the door and choose the bag from the shelf that contains each person’s ice skates, socks, ice skate guards, then below, they pick the hat, mittens and gloves need and they are off!  Wow, that is so awesome!  Think of the activities we could all effortlessly do on the fly if it were all that easy.

This weekend I am reorganizing for sure!