Half Hour Home Improvement

March 11, 2012 By 7 Comments
Big home improvement projects are very gratifying. Surprising ourselves by doing things we thought  the only professionals could do and big differences between the “before” and “after” are the reasons we love working on our apartment. But as much as we enjoy the process, we really prefer our projects in either one of two states – not yet started or complete.

When you live in an apartment as small as ours is, big projects take up a lot of much-needed living space. And when you’re living small, even a small mess is a big mess. But on the flip side, when you’re living small, a tiny improvement can be a big improvement. So for all of these reasons, Gwyneth and I have special places in our hearts for small-scale improvements that make big diferences.

We had an area in mind that turned out to be a great candidate for a small-scale improvement. We just weren’t crazy for this corner in our bedroom:
We weren’t making the most of the bookcase, and we’d fallen out of love with our dumpster dive frame-turned jewelry holder. We were also in the market for a heavier weight curtain for the closet, since ours looked a little wimpy.When we saw curtain panels on major sale at Bed Bath and Beyond, Gwyneth and I decided to seize the moment.  After 30 minutes of clearing, cleaning and redecorating the space, here’s where we landed:

Instead of the dumpster dive jewelry holder, we decided to use a deviled egg platter from Crate & Barrel and a few boxes on the shelves to store our jewelry.

We now had wall space for a mirror, another big improvement. This one was crucial because while some people believe in checking themselves and taking one piece off before they walk out the door, we believe in checking ourselves and then putting one more piece on. We also swapped out the lamp for a bigger one and pulled one of our wrought iron sconces out from under the kitchen sink. Yes, that’s where we store extra home accessories in our short-on-storage studio!

Lastly, we hung a piece that one of our favorite artists, Sue Scoggins, sent us! Sue has recently started blogging herself, and you can follow her here to see her latest creations!

We’re pleased with the end result and hope we’ve inspired you to improve a small corner of your space when you’re short on time and energy but still want to experience the delight of home improvement!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
Filed Under: Bedroom, Dumpster Diving, Home Improvement, People we love

Comments

  1. Sue Scoggins says:
    March 11, 2012 at 11:46 pm

    Wow! Thanks for the plug. Must admit, I love the deviled egg thingie!

    Reply
    • Meredith and the New Yorkie says:
      March 17, 2012 at 9:03 pm

      Thanks, Sue! We just love our painting! Will be emailing you soon about getting a portrait of my family’s sweet golden retriever, Samantha. She passed away a few weeks ago, and I think it would be nice to have her portrait in my parents’ house to remember her! Will email you on this soon!

      xoxo,
      mk

      Reply
  2. Kathleen Richardson says:
    March 12, 2012 at 12:07 pm

    Isn’t it great what just a few small changes can do for house and soul!

    Reply
  3. Chatty Chics says:
    March 20, 2012 at 1:53 pm

    Nicely done!

    Reply
  4. BusyWorkingMama says:
    April 2, 2012 at 3:55 pm

    Great idea for jewelry organization!

    Reply
  5. SarahKL says:
    April 3, 2012 at 7:56 pm

    Found you through iHeart Organizing – I LOVE the deviled egg platter for jewelry!! I pinned it to my “For the Home” ideas board. Can’t wait to look around here more! :)

    Reply

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