Pottery Barn: Style Ideas

Page 32 - How to Organize an Entryway

In-and-out traffic makes an entryway one of the busiest places in a home. It's the first place family members unload things, and the last stop on their way out of the door. Why not take advantage of the entry's strategic location and transform it into a household communication command post? Notice the traffic patterns and daily habits of your household, whether it's large or small, and set up creative systems for sharing keys, sorting mail, and keeping belongings in place. Borrow an idea from wayside inns and use an old hotel key cubby as a family mailbox. All sorts of objects and containers can supply inspiration for your organization system.

Page 50 - How to Organize Books

A well-loved book collection deserves pride of place in every home. Although storing books is largely a matter of keeping them in good condition and within easy reach, their arrangement can be decorative as well as practical. Whether you keep books upright or flat, open or closed, the way you store them should extend a sense of their valuable presence. Look at your books in a new way. They can become decorative accessories or free-form sculptures. Stack similar sizes or colors together, or build a graduated tower for a pyramid shape. Seek out unusual pedestals and elevated places to showcase favorite titles of a beloved book series.

Page 70 - How to Store Media Collections

Whether music, movies, magazines, or all of the above, media collections tend to be large, and they grow larger every day. To fully enjoy your entertainment, a good portable organization system is essential. Place items in small containers, so they can be pulled from a shelf, browsed through, or carried over to the sofa without creating clutter. Layering items - keeping tall, less-used things in the back of a shelf, favorites in front - also enhances a shelf's functionality. Clear plastic containers let you view contents quickly. Labels point you right where you want to go and make it easy to keep track of a growing collection.

All images and text in this post were taken from Pottery Barn Storage & Display (Pottery Barn Design Library)

Renovation Update 9

The house is almost finished but not much has happened lately as we are still waiting for Alecto's return. Though once things have wrapped up, I will be posting our supplier ratings for all those involved in the renovation.

As to the question of the fence and gate, we were wondering if the price quoted (which you can read here) was reasonable. So we asked Edwin, the Facilities Manager where I work, and he said to "grab it" as it was way below his computation of how much the project should cost. He even asked if Rabacon made a mistake as it was quite low. I told him that Maricel's relative owns a quarry so that's where she'll be getting the materials.

Though the quotation was deemed as a good value, we have decided that we will put up the fence once we get to talk to the neighbors so we can share the costs. It might be low, but it could be lower which is an even better deal.

There's also a bit of news that has sent us in a tailspin recently. But we won't know for a few more months what will really happen which is why I cannot post the details yet. Hint: it will involve the house.

In the meantime, this blog will be a little quiet until things pick up again.

The Village