Toy Storage, Part Two...

I blogged about laundry cart bins awhile ago, and they have been creeping back into my mind lately....perhaps good toy storage?

RH Version...

Cheaper version...they have elevated versions, too!

Balcony with a view...

So, in Mexico, this is the view that my brother and sister-in-law have from their balcony...are you as jealous as I am?

They have a cool, modern condo that couldn't get any closer to the ocean.  They were trying to figure out how they are going to set up the balcony.  Their requirements were that the space has to be good for relaxing, entertaining and maybe growing some plants/herbs. They didn't want too much or too bulky of furniture, and if the pieces could be stackable for easy storage, even better.

view from inside...

the balcony is not a rectangle, but more of a trapezoid?!  Ry - is that the right term?

I put together some initial thoughts for them, and they found some pieces that they liked, but due to a time crunch with the move and slow shipping times from stores, they are going to furnish this once they get settled in. They have agreed to do an 'after' post for us...can't wait!

1.  Maybe a fun side table? ( I found one of these in Newburyport, and I am kicking myself for not buying it...it was only $65.  I am sure one of these could be found cheaper.)
Amazon - Elephant Side Table Ceramic
$179
2.  Ikea
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20147713
$49.99
3.  Modern Funiture - $995
4.  My personal favorite - CB2 - Igloo Chair - $149
5.  I think an outdoor rug would be a great way to bring in some color/design interest.  If you wanted something contemporary, I liked the black/ivory one.
Home Infatuation - $89.99
6.  A small side table may be nice depending on the configuration of the balcony
Urban Outfitters - *on sale - $19.99
7.  Good deal...
Target - $94
8.  CB2 - Eddy Round Outdoor table - $179
9.  CB2 - Rex Grey armchair (goes well with Eddy table from CB2) - $69.95
10.  CB2 - metropolitan chair - $139
11.  Outdoor Rug (I think this one would hide a lot of dirt/sins) - 42'' x 66'' $124.95
12. Outdoor Rug (learned about this from Sommer's blog - and it's a great deal!)
Frontgate - 3'9" x 5'5" - $60


My favorite pick is the igloo chair from CB2.  I would like a couple of these for our backyard.  Add to the growing wish list...WAIT...they are not available anymore...that is sad.  And, they don't get very good reviews...

My favorite plant idea is one that I saw on Oh Happy Day a few weeks ago...I still can't get enough of succulents! 

But, they wanted some herbs, so Ryan was looking into building some sort of frame to hang pots on...I am sure it will be genius, whatever he comes up with.

Stay tuned....

Keys

We get keys to our new house on Monday afternoon at 4pm.  That is 1 day and 29 minutes and....just kidding.  But that IS how antsy I am about it.  This will be the 18th time we have moved around since we left our house in Boston.  As Mark put it, we have pretty much been without a home for a quarter of a year.  That's a long time for a girl who loves 'home'.

We feel so blessed to have had such a fun summer, staying with family and friends, traveling, and realizing that we don't need all that much stuff (although, we are to the point now where we can't wait to see some of our 'stuff'!). 

Thank you to all of our dear friends and family who have put up with us and all that we bring along.  Please know that you all have an open invitation at our house, anytime.  We can't thank you enough.

So...now, let the race begin...just how quickly can I get settled and decorate?

 This isn't our house, but looks just like it.  We will be in an end unit...

Toy Storage

How do you stow away toys?  I haven't had to broach too much of this topic yet because when we left our house back in May, Paddy was still totally entertained by a few toys and his exersaucer.  However, those days seem to be over.  So, I have been hoping to find some lockers that I could paint a fun color to help corral toys. 

There are lots on craigslist; however, I just haven't decided the final style/shape that I want yet.

An inspiration pic from the nursery - can't remember where I found this one...

If I really let myself dream, I would want a bank of old swim lockers.  While we were in Boston, there was a guy I was corresponding with about free lockers who said that they also had tons of swim lockers.  As you can imagine, I am just kicking myself for not picking some up and figuring out how to store them. (I am sure Sean would disagree with this statement :))

Mine aren't nearly as cute as Jenny's...

So, I attempted Jenny's roman shades made from mini blinds with some of the $1 panels I recently acquired and some miniblinds from WalMart ($7.50 each).  I bought 4 matching gray panels, but we have three windows in the master bedroom, so I figured this would be a good way to use the panels and still cover all the windows.  Needless to say, mine aren't nearly as adorable as hers were :)

plain jane shade from Walmart!

snipping all the blind supports...

these are the only slats left on that whole blind!

The Fabritac that still looks wet, even though it is dry! UGH.

my unfinished top...

my unfinished bottom...

First of all, this was my first time using Fabric glue...so, I guess I used too much maybe because the glue came through the fabric.  I thought when it dried, you might not be able to notice, but it still has that 'wet glue' look.  BOO.

In typical Meghan DIY fashion, I want to be a perfectionist, but I can't really figure out every last little step to make it look polished and perfect, like Jenny's.  Because of my lack of patience,  I need to still finish off the tops as well as the bottoms.  I may resort to using safety pins to finish up the bottoms....yikes.  I was a bit unclear on that part of the directions...

I contemplated buying trim, but then I would probably quickly defeat this inexpensive DIY (3 windows for under $30). 

So, these will probably just need to be less than perfect roman shades!  I will post a better picture once I get them up in the room...

It's about that time...

When home decor thoughts aren't consuming my time, I have been trying to think about some fun moving announcements...

I had a lot of fun working on the Boston ones, and it honestly seems like just yesterday that I was sending them out.  My, how time flies.

Repurposing

I will probably be repurposing a lot of furniture into different rooms than we have used the pieces before.  I had been thinking I was going to use a buffet from our dining room as the entertainment center; however, after seeing what appears to be a twin of our Brimfield cart in the new PB catalog, I realized that I should copy this idea and use the cart as an entertainment center!

However, now what would I use for a changing table?  Hmmmm...let the repurposing continue...