#1 WAIT ON IT!
Having lived on a tight budget for years now, I have learned through some stupid mistakes how to say no to myself (and my kids...and my husband). Everything always goes on sale. And if it doesn't, well, I have learned to get over it. Living in Italy, sales happen twice a year, once after Christmas and the other in the summer. A hat that my daughter has been begging for from the Disney Store (for at least four months), I was able to purchase for four Euro just tonight, instead of 20 Euro. The great lesson: Delayed Gratification.
#2 CUT IT UP!
Sure, it sucks being poor. But if you have chosen to live in an urban setting, chances are the benefits of that lifesyle outweigh the alternatives in your mind, so the first thing you should do is to look around and remind yourself how cool it is to have the opportunity to live the urban life. Second thing, remind yourself (and I seriously practice this daily) that there are millions of people dying around the world this very moment because they have no food. That ALWAYS PUTS EVERYTHING in perspective! Third thing, take out your credit card...that emergency one...that one that talks to you in sweet little whispers every time you go shopping and don't have the cash in the bank for those new jeans that make your butt look great and that are on sale and that give you that urban vibe that makes you have a little swing in your step while walking down the street. "Surely you will pay these off next paycheck," says the evil little plastic demon.
Remember: There are people dying all around the world! They don't think about new jeans. They think about survival. Reminding yourself of this, I promise that you will survive this moment...and the next. And for the love, give yourself some grace. It took me three tries and lots of stupid choices to get this one right! The good news is that when you don't have the option of a credit card, it's a LOT easier to say no! (See Dave Ramsey's tips on saving for emergencies so that you won't need a credit card).
#3 USE THE THINGS YOU BUY!
The Western World is completely driven by consumerism. They (the evil empire and the like) tell you that you NEED it....that "it" will make your life easier and better and more fun and lalala. However, there are only 24 hours in a day. The average person works eight of those hours and sleeps another eight. That leaves only eight hours of personal time in your day. So before you buy another gadget or another surfboard even though you live in the midwest or another kitchen appliance even though you eat out most of the time, ask yourself if this thing is really going to enhance your life or if perhaps it is going to add one more thing to the garage sale in two years. And if the answer to the question is still "Yes, it will enhance my life," then for the love of my aunt, USE IT!
#4 DO YOU REALLY NEED TWO CARS?
So the world has been around for thousands (and most say billions) of years. ONLY IN THE LAST 100 YEARS has the car been in existence. Does this astound anyone else? There was a time when even wealthy families were lucky to have one car. Now, in our American mindset, it is assumed that every family would have at least two cars. I understand that circumstances prevail at times, but I also think that having one car, especially in an urban setting, is completely do-able. We lived in Chicago for three years with one car. Sure, it meant that my husband had to take the train or that sometimes I was without a car. Again, when we lived in Indianapolis it was the same scenario. I learned to enjoy my neighborhood when my husband had the car. The great thing about living in the city is that you can walk to a cafe or a store or a park. It's a great challenge, even if you can afford two cars. And it has its obvious perks, like helping the environment, saving on gas, and preventing you from going on all those compulsive shopping trips to Target (eh hem...talking to myself here).
#5 TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL YOUR CITY HAS TO OFFER!
When we lived in Chicago, we were what America would call "poor." At one point, our family of five lived in 400 square feet together. However, I never felt poor because I took advantage of everything my city had to offer people in our socio-economic situation. For example, I found out about scholarships offered by the parks district for gymnastics for my kids and also scholarships offered by a great music school in the area. At one point, we paid $5.00 for Elias to take a music class that otherwise would have been $250. These programs exist for a reason and most of the time they go untapped, even though people have donated money for this very reason. Also, I discovered a program at the library where residents of Chicago could check out passes to different museums for FREE. Because of those passes, we were able to visit The Shedd Aquarium, The Museum of Science and Industry, as well as The Children's Museum for free!
#6 BUY THE GROCERIES YOU NEED...AND THEN USE THEM!
This may be a little more relevant to living in Europe. The cost of eating out is RIDICULOUS over here. The only places we ever "dine out" are Ikea, Burger King and McDonald's. However, this doesn't mean that we don't "mangia bene" (eat well) at home. Most of our costs over here go to food. We love having people into our home to share meals, especially in the summer, and we also love eating foods that are not loaded with preservatives. We buy most of our produce and meat fresh. This means that we shop almost daily for certain items. However, while it sounds like a pain, my theory is that when you put work into a meal and make it important, you are more likely to a) enjoy it and b) use everything you buy. When we lived in the States, countless food items would go bad in our refrigerator. Now we have a tiny refrigerator and freezer and even those are not stocked full. We use almost everything we buy because it's fresh and good quality and because we almost always "dine in." Food is an experience. When we only buy junk that is on sale, chances are we'll either get fat or let it go bad, meanwhile thinking "Did I have to buy ten just because it was 10 for $5?"
Another tip (if you have a family) is to pack a lunch when travelling to the zoo, the museum, the pool, or the park. I know that even The Children's Museum in Indianapolis has a place for people to sit with their sack lunches. We would always get a fountain drink from the museum but then eat our packed lunches. In some weird way, this satisfied our kids' cravings for "buying something" from the restaurant. Okay, and it satisfied my craving for a Diet Coke fresh from the fountain...with ice...and unlimited refills (Oh, America, I MISS YOU)!
#7 BUY YOUR PRODUCE IN SEASON
So you want good quality fruits and vegetables, but without the high price. Something I have learned to do while living overseas is that I buy most of my produce when it is "in season." This means that while I had to say no to my kids when they begged for watermelon a month ago, I can say yes now because it's in season and super cheap. I think it's fun because certain fruits like watermelon or strawberries or cherries become a treat for my kids and not something they get bored from.
11.24.2010
La Mia Cucina
Ah, the kitchen. SO much living happens in the kitchen. For this reason, it is essential (to me) to have my organizational needs met so that I don't feel like I'm always living in chaos, though I do admit, the kitchen is the most difficult room to keep clean. Children eat. And then they get hungry again. And then they eat again. And since restaurants are so expensive, we rarely go out to eat. A LOT of cooking goes on in our kitchen.
In Italy, you buy your kitchen when you rent. We found a great deal on our kitchen from a store called "Mobilandia" here in Italy. It was around 2000 Euro and that included all of the appliances (a tiny refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher, stove and oven). It's completely mobile so if we have to move, the kitchen will travel with us. While there are obvious downfalls to our kitchen (lack of cabinet space, small refrigerator and TINY freezer), I LOVE the fact that most of the appliances are hidden behind cabinet doors. I love the clean look.
Above the Stove: While it may seem a little cluttered, we have utilized this space as our "coffee bar" and keep all things coffee/tea related right there, within arm's reach (because I do drink coffee at all times of the day). We also put our spices on a shelf so that they are accessible while cooking. The magnetic strip from IKEA (9.99 Euro) is handy because we are always in need of sharp knives and don't have to go looking for them in a cluttered drawer.
Side of the Sink: Our kitchen did not fit all the way to one wall, so Thomas screwed hooks into the cabinet walls and we store several of our pots, pans and even pot holders over there, out of the way. We also brought some funky animal hooks from the States (Pier One - Clearance) and Thomas spray painted them orange. We keep dish towels and our strainer (since we make pasta DAILY) right there, also within arm's reach.
Above the Radiator: We bought these wooden drawers and file holder and of course, painted them. The drawers are nice because they are shallow and I can file away the kids' school papers and know that they won't be buried too far underneath anything. The file holder is great to store mail and important, pertinent documents.
Table/Bar Stools: We bought the four piece shelf (dark wood finish) from IKEA (29 Euro) and found a really cool counter top in the as-is section at IKEA (30 Euro. Thomas bought the legs to give it more height so that it could act as both a counter and a table. I like that it is small enough to give us room to move around in the kitchen and yet big enough to seat all five of us when we are having a quick meal. The (black) bins underneath (3.99 Euro - IKEA) the table serve as storage, something we are always in need of. One houses food items, another school supplies, and another paper/plastic products.
THE MAP: (IKEA- 75 EURO, although we found it on clearance marked down from 125 Euro) This map is BY FAR my favorite thing in this kitchen. Living oversees, we have several people into our home who have traveled the world. It is so fun to sit around the kitchen table, especially as we are preparing dinner, and point to all the places each person has been. AND with three small children, it's great to always have the context to speak about the world, at large (no pun intended!).
Welcome to our home.
We live in a 6th floor apartment right off of a main street in Torino, Italy. Our flat is roughly 1000 square feet, including balconies. With three children, a pretty small space and an outrageously priced economy (ie. we pay $1600/mo for our apartment), we have been forced to use some creativity with our usage of space, as well as our taste in design. Yes, we have traded in our dream of having Eames chairs for the reality of the fifteen Euro chairs in the as-is section at Ikea. But creating a warm, inviting space is still always at the forefront of our "as-is" picks. Perhaps you live or are wanting to live in a small space in an urban environment. I hope you can get some tips on small space living from these pictures and ideas! And remember, LESS IS ALWAYS MORE!!!
Boys Room: With two energetic boys, the biggest problem I have with the boys' room is CLUTTER. I try to maintain the clutter by assuring each toy has its own home, also known as a bin or container. While we couldn't afford a wardrobe to act as a closet, we tried to utilize under-the-bed storage as well as shelves.
Red Bookshelf: 39 Euro - IKEA
Red toy shelves (on wheels): 15 Euro each - Ikea (they are stacked and screwed together and Thomas added the wheels to make it a mobile piece)
TV: We did some price comparison and opted for this no-brand TV for the boys room. It has a built-in Universal DVD player and was a fraction of the cost. Hint: Ask an employee what he thinks of said brand. In this case, the only reason this brand cost less is because it isn't popular. Also, although the TV placement may look a little strange, we placed it behind the toy shelf so that it would not get run into. We also placed it at eye level for a child so that the boys could sit on their bed and watch it or play the Wii.
Wii: Thomas mounted the Wii so that it is permanent (in the case that our boys are a little too rowdy and run into it).
Bed: 199 - IKEA
Road Rug: 14 Euro - IKEA
Small black table: 5 Euro - IKEA We have two of these black tables and they travel all over our home for various pertinent needs. Right now, our three year-old is really into coloring, so it made its way into the boys room to act as a kids table. Other times it is outside as a play-doh table or a side table for food when we have parties.
Green stools: 5.99 Euro - IKEA
Star Wars X-Wing Fighter Kite: $20 - Target (although I saw it on clearance for $6.99 right before we moved and wanted to scream! While they don't really have sales in Italy, in the States I always recommend waiting for things to go on sale. I had to re-learn this lesson with this kite!)
Desk: 35 Euro - IKEA We chose this one because, for the money, it had the most amount of "storage" both with the pull out keyboard area and underneath it.
Red Shelves: 4.99 Euro - IKEA
1-2-3 Bins: 2.99 Euro for a pack of three. I think the rule with 8 year-olds is to give them a space of their own. Our son isn't quite at an age that he can organize all of his "trinkets" on his own, so any help (like these bins) is always good. In this case, I had him help me place the items in each bin, so that he would know where to put things on his own. For example, one #2 bin is a "SPY GEAR" bin. Another bin holds memorable items, like pictures of family in the US and important gifts he has received.
Star Wars Pictures: $6 from the good ole American Post Office. They were on clearance and Thomas grabbed all the ones they had left. They are matted and ready to (one day) be framed and placed on the walls.
Dresser: 69 Euro - IKEA (Each of the boys has only two drawers for their clothes-One for shirts and the other for pants and pajamas-- This forces me to downsize, although I would like another dresser so that clothes aren't always spilling out!)
Black storage bins: 2 Euro in as-is section -IKEA
Behind the door coat rack/hooks: 6.99 Euro - IKEA (I love HOOKS and because of the many jackets we have floating around the house I almost always opt to put such coat racks behind doors, so that they are out of sight! And a hint: When buying a coat rack, go for hooks and NOT pegs. I made the mistake of putting pegs behind Keziah's door, and everything subsequently falls down because there is nothing to secure the item).
The 30 Euro Girls Room Makeover
Somewhere between five and six, our daughter decided that princesses were a thing of the past, associated only with "little girls," not big ones like herself. This would have been fine if we hadn't decorated her entire room around a princess theme the previous year. She decided polka dots would suffice when changing her room into a "teenage room" and thus I painted some dots, added some hot pink curtains, re-located our green run, and took down all things princess-y!
Curtains: 6.99 Euro/2 - IKEA
White Table: 5 Euro - IKEA
Acrylic paint for polka dots: 10 Euro
Overhead Paper Light: 6.99 Euro - IKEA
Living. Room.
It's called a living room for a reason. This is certainly where we do a majority of our living, and especially our entertaining. For me, this is the most important room in the house. I take great care that the ambiance is just right and that someone who walks into this room would feel at home. Unlike every other place we have lived, we went with a very light color on the walls this time. It's a pale blue and during the day it matches the sky. In this way, I feel like the outdoors are simply an extension of our living space. It in essence opens the room up and takes advantage of all the natural light that pours in all day long. I always think it's important to accentuate a room's strength, and this color does just that for me.
Couch: 399 Euro - IKEA This couch pulls out into a bed AND one side flips up so that you can store stuff underneath. By FAR, the best couch for the money...and here's the other thing, when working with small spaces, I highly recommend buying smaller furniture. This couch was much smaller than others like it and yet offered the same comfort and function. Because of its size, it doesn't overtake the room. The other furniture isn't disproportional.
Chair: 20 Euro - IKEA We found this on sale and liked its mid-century modern potential. We brought it home, bought a can of orange spray paint, and changed its entire look...and added a splash of color to our neutral living room.
Clock: 10 Euro - Little hardware store down the street. It's plastic, but you'd never know that.
TV stand: 65 Euro - IKEA Again, this piece is multi-functional. The bins underneath house whatever a standard family would throw in a closet or a drawer (ie. DVD's, remote controls, books, magazines, art supplies for kids, etc.)
Coffee Table: 19.95 Euro - IKEA I love this coffee table because it has a shelf underneath where I put magazines, books, and photo albums that we like to look at frequently.
Dining Table: 99 Euro - IKEA While once again, this wasn't the table I was in love with, for the money, it has been very good to us. We can get eight people around it if we are desperate, and it slides into a smaller table in the case that we ever wanted to use it for another space.
Dining Room Chairs: 15 Euro- IKEA They match. I'm not crazy about them. But they match. And they were affordable. :)
Pillows: We have several pillows on our couch and in the orange chair. I like the softness, brightness, and pattern that pillows bring to a room. Some of them are cotton and others (my favorites) are down. I don't think you can go too wrong with pillows. It's the one area where I might back down from my "less is more" mantra.
The Green Room (aka our bedroom)
For over a year, our bedroom took the brunt of clutter, as it was in essence a catch all when I wanted to do a fast cleaning before having guests over. It was neglected and barren. And the walls were an awful, depressing not-even-white non-color. I avoided our room, except to sleep, because the ugly walls and awful lighting made me feel like I was living in the Projects. What's sad is that our bedroom is full of natural light and is potentially the warmest room in the house, aesthetically speaking. Recently, I made an impulse purchase while at the store with a friend, helping her pick out paint for her new apartment. I stumbled upon the kind of green I wanted, or at least whatever a three inch square sample could sell me on, and I asked the man behind the counter to mix some 3760 for me.
The paint brought the warmth and relaxation that this room has been dying to offer for the past year. I love to light a candle and sit on my bed to read in the middle of the day. The walls offer a spa-like feel and the light is at its peak and I feel inspired.
Ironically, we do not have a desk in our bedroom...or anywhere in the house for that matter. It felt funny at first to not have an "office" space, and the reality is that the only place we could put it would be our bedroom. But the more I go without a desk, the more I realize how uninviting and full of clutter all of our office spaces in the past have been. I like going to bed without the endless amount of post-it to-do lists posted next to a desk. Besides, the couch and our bed are much easier on my back than is an office chair...at least one we could afford.
Bed: 129 Euro - IKEA We went with an inexpensive bed frame and mattress and invested more money into a memory foam mattress topper and down comforter.
Duvet Cover/Shams: $25 - Target (clearance, marked down from $100)
Side Tables: 22 Euro - IKEA (A little more than I wanted to spend, but my husband really liked them and I really think these add a touch of elegance to the room...and they serve a much-needed purpose, which is always a must in a small space. I love multi-functional, utilitarian furniture.
Chair: 5 Euro - IKEA (as-is)
Bookshelf: 35 Euro
Hanging Lamp: 10 Euro - IKEA (notice that little corner with the paintings? That is Thomas' art studio for now, hence the hanging light).
Plants: 1.99 Euro each - IKEA (Living green things make me happy. I just wish I didn't kill so many of them!)
Pots for plants: 3 Euro each - IKEA
We don't have a closet in our room, just one wardrobe and a dresser. We would like to get another wardrobe, but for now we are forced to utilize the space very carefully and to get rid of clothes that never get worn. Also, we have a coat rack/hooks behind our door, as well as a shoe stand. These are all hidden and out of the way when the door is open.
My husband saw something similar to this in a magazine and so we found the hooks at Ikea (they were a few Euro each) and he used his drill to screw them into the concrete. It's great, especially in the winter, to get the kids' bikes and scooters up off the ground and away from the brutal weather.
Boys Room: With two energetic boys, the biggest problem I have with the boys' room is CLUTTER. I try to maintain the clutter by assuring each toy has its own home, also known as a bin or container. While we couldn't afford a wardrobe to act as a closet, we tried to utilize under-the-bed storage as well as shelves.
Red Bookshelf: 39 Euro - IKEA
Red toy shelves (on wheels): 15 Euro each - Ikea (they are stacked and screwed together and Thomas added the wheels to make it a mobile piece)
TV: We did some price comparison and opted for this no-brand TV for the boys room. It has a built-in Universal DVD player and was a fraction of the cost. Hint: Ask an employee what he thinks of said brand. In this case, the only reason this brand cost less is because it isn't popular. Also, although the TV placement may look a little strange, we placed it behind the toy shelf so that it would not get run into. We also placed it at eye level for a child so that the boys could sit on their bed and watch it or play the Wii.
Wii: Thomas mounted the Wii so that it is permanent (in the case that our boys are a little too rowdy and run into it).
Bed: 199 - IKEA
Road Rug: 14 Euro - IKEA
Small black table: 5 Euro - IKEA We have two of these black tables and they travel all over our home for various pertinent needs. Right now, our three year-old is really into coloring, so it made its way into the boys room to act as a kids table. Other times it is outside as a play-doh table or a side table for food when we have parties.
Green stools: 5.99 Euro - IKEA
Star Wars X-Wing Fighter Kite: $20 - Target (although I saw it on clearance for $6.99 right before we moved and wanted to scream! While they don't really have sales in Italy, in the States I always recommend waiting for things to go on sale. I had to re-learn this lesson with this kite!)
Desk: 35 Euro - IKEA We chose this one because, for the money, it had the most amount of "storage" both with the pull out keyboard area and underneath it.
Red Shelves: 4.99 Euro - IKEA
1-2-3 Bins: 2.99 Euro for a pack of three. I think the rule with 8 year-olds is to give them a space of their own. Our son isn't quite at an age that he can organize all of his "trinkets" on his own, so any help (like these bins) is always good. In this case, I had him help me place the items in each bin, so that he would know where to put things on his own. For example, one #2 bin is a "SPY GEAR" bin. Another bin holds memorable items, like pictures of family in the US and important gifts he has received.
Star Wars Pictures: $6 from the good ole American Post Office. They were on clearance and Thomas grabbed all the ones they had left. They are matted and ready to (one day) be framed and placed on the walls.
Dresser: 69 Euro - IKEA (Each of the boys has only two drawers for their clothes-One for shirts and the other for pants and pajamas-- This forces me to downsize, although I would like another dresser so that clothes aren't always spilling out!)
Black storage bins: 2 Euro in as-is section -IKEA
Behind the door coat rack/hooks: 6.99 Euro - IKEA (I love HOOKS and because of the many jackets we have floating around the house I almost always opt to put such coat racks behind doors, so that they are out of sight! And a hint: When buying a coat rack, go for hooks and NOT pegs. I made the mistake of putting pegs behind Keziah's door, and everything subsequently falls down because there is nothing to secure the item).
The 30 Euro Girls Room Makeover
Somewhere between five and six, our daughter decided that princesses were a thing of the past, associated only with "little girls," not big ones like herself. This would have been fine if we hadn't decorated her entire room around a princess theme the previous year. She decided polka dots would suffice when changing her room into a "teenage room" and thus I painted some dots, added some hot pink curtains, re-located our green run, and took down all things princess-y!
Curtains: 6.99 Euro/2 - IKEA
White Table: 5 Euro - IKEA
Acrylic paint for polka dots: 10 Euro
Overhead Paper Light: 6.99 Euro - IKEA
Living. Room.
It's called a living room for a reason. This is certainly where we do a majority of our living, and especially our entertaining. For me, this is the most important room in the house. I take great care that the ambiance is just right and that someone who walks into this room would feel at home. Unlike every other place we have lived, we went with a very light color on the walls this time. It's a pale blue and during the day it matches the sky. In this way, I feel like the outdoors are simply an extension of our living space. It in essence opens the room up and takes advantage of all the natural light that pours in all day long. I always think it's important to accentuate a room's strength, and this color does just that for me.
Couch: 399 Euro - IKEA This couch pulls out into a bed AND one side flips up so that you can store stuff underneath. By FAR, the best couch for the money...and here's the other thing, when working with small spaces, I highly recommend buying smaller furniture. This couch was much smaller than others like it and yet offered the same comfort and function. Because of its size, it doesn't overtake the room. The other furniture isn't disproportional.
Chair: 20 Euro - IKEA We found this on sale and liked its mid-century modern potential. We brought it home, bought a can of orange spray paint, and changed its entire look...and added a splash of color to our neutral living room.
Clock: 10 Euro - Little hardware store down the street. It's plastic, but you'd never know that.
TV stand: 65 Euro - IKEA Again, this piece is multi-functional. The bins underneath house whatever a standard family would throw in a closet or a drawer (ie. DVD's, remote controls, books, magazines, art supplies for kids, etc.)
Coffee Table: 19.95 Euro - IKEA I love this coffee table because it has a shelf underneath where I put magazines, books, and photo albums that we like to look at frequently.
Dining Table: 99 Euro - IKEA While once again, this wasn't the table I was in love with, for the money, it has been very good to us. We can get eight people around it if we are desperate, and it slides into a smaller table in the case that we ever wanted to use it for another space.
Dining Room Chairs: 15 Euro- IKEA They match. I'm not crazy about them. But they match. And they were affordable. :)
Pillows: We have several pillows on our couch and in the orange chair. I like the softness, brightness, and pattern that pillows bring to a room. Some of them are cotton and others (my favorites) are down. I don't think you can go too wrong with pillows. It's the one area where I might back down from my "less is more" mantra.
The Green Room (aka our bedroom)
For over a year, our bedroom took the brunt of clutter, as it was in essence a catch all when I wanted to do a fast cleaning before having guests over. It was neglected and barren. And the walls were an awful, depressing not-even-white non-color. I avoided our room, except to sleep, because the ugly walls and awful lighting made me feel like I was living in the Projects. What's sad is that our bedroom is full of natural light and is potentially the warmest room in the house, aesthetically speaking. Recently, I made an impulse purchase while at the store with a friend, helping her pick out paint for her new apartment. I stumbled upon the kind of green I wanted, or at least whatever a three inch square sample could sell me on, and I asked the man behind the counter to mix some 3760 for me.
The paint brought the warmth and relaxation that this room has been dying to offer for the past year. I love to light a candle and sit on my bed to read in the middle of the day. The walls offer a spa-like feel and the light is at its peak and I feel inspired.
Ironically, we do not have a desk in our bedroom...or anywhere in the house for that matter. It felt funny at first to not have an "office" space, and the reality is that the only place we could put it would be our bedroom. But the more I go without a desk, the more I realize how uninviting and full of clutter all of our office spaces in the past have been. I like going to bed without the endless amount of post-it to-do lists posted next to a desk. Besides, the couch and our bed are much easier on my back than is an office chair...at least one we could afford.
Bed: 129 Euro - IKEA We went with an inexpensive bed frame and mattress and invested more money into a memory foam mattress topper and down comforter.
Duvet Cover/Shams: $25 - Target (clearance, marked down from $100)
Side Tables: 22 Euro - IKEA (A little more than I wanted to spend, but my husband really liked them and I really think these add a touch of elegance to the room...and they serve a much-needed purpose, which is always a must in a small space. I love multi-functional, utilitarian furniture.
Chair: 5 Euro - IKEA (as-is)
Bookshelf: 35 Euro
Hanging Lamp: 10 Euro - IKEA (notice that little corner with the paintings? That is Thomas' art studio for now, hence the hanging light).
Plants: 1.99 Euro each - IKEA (Living green things make me happy. I just wish I didn't kill so many of them!)
Pots for plants: 3 Euro each - IKEA
We don't have a closet in our room, just one wardrobe and a dresser. We would like to get another wardrobe, but for now we are forced to utilize the space very carefully and to get rid of clothes that never get worn. Also, we have a coat rack/hooks behind our door, as well as a shoe stand. These are all hidden and out of the way when the door is open.
My husband saw something similar to this in a magazine and so we found the hooks at Ikea (they were a few Euro each) and he used his drill to screw them into the concrete. It's great, especially in the winter, to get the kids' bikes and scooters up off the ground and away from the brutal weather.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)