When we remodeled our house I wanted to build a little catch all area. The previous owners had installed a little bench here but I knew that would not be enough. So I quickly went to Pinterest and did some looking and made sure this type of space was added to our home. We had a small space to work with but I needed to to be as function as possible. I think we accomplished this and I got to have a little fun decorating it too.
Before:
Here is what the original house "bench" looked like. It could hardly hold 2 pairs of shoes and we needed more space.
As you can see we were making use of this new space but it was more of a catch all vs something that looked nice as well. So I decided it was time to spruce it up..... a little over a year after living here. *note do you see the railings that I painted black? Most people freak out when they go into a little older home and see all the "yellow" wood. The only room we ripped cabinets out were the kitchen the rest of the wood we just painted. This saved a ton of money. I think my contractor thought I was a little crazy wanting black railings but I love them all through the house.
After:
Agh the organization!! How much better does this look. We even have some room at the top to add in more storage or decor. But for now I am leaving it empty. So lets dive into this makeover.
The first step was getting a cushion to cover the bench. Can you see in the left of the photo one of our blue accent chairs in our living room? I wanted to try and find a pattern that would compliment that. I thought about making a cushion for a hot second then ended up finding this website called Cushion Source seen HERE! To my delight they had the same fabric and I was able to totally custom design this cushion for $120..... and to me that price was totally worth it!
Second step was adding a little greenery to the area. This area doesn't get a lot of sun so I ended up going with a faux plant. I found this one at Fred Meyer, it was a little bit expensive (over $100) but I think it looks nice and I loved the pot it came it. It was a nice addition to the space.
I also picked up the faux fur pillow to add a little texture to the area. I got the black hooks at Hobby Lobby and had my husband hang them for me, poor guy is always tasks with a new home project on his days off.
Lastly I got these baskets from Target which I have actually had for a few months. We get the most use out of the bottoms baskets. In one we have all of Leo's shoes, he has learned when he gets home he comes in the door takes off his shoes and throws them in the basket. We didn't even have to get after him about it he just watched us and learned to do it. The other basket has Leo's summer hats, sunscreen, as well as my flip flops and outdoor gardening hats (ahem visors don't judge me).
In the upper baskets we currently have life jackets and swim diapers in one. A few sweatshirts for Leo in the other and one is actually empty. Eagerly awaiting baby sister arrival. I swap things out each season to make sure we are using all the baskets.
Hope this inspired you to spruce up your little entry space off the garage. I really wanted our "catch all" area to also look nice. We thankfully have a giant closet directly across from this that a majority our coats and shoes go in so this allows this space to stay clean and not cluttered...... I bet this space won't look like this when our kids get older.
The all star in all of this was the website cushion source. Eventually I'd like to get a grey cushion made for this area as well as I liked to hang wreaths during football and Christmas here and this blue cushion will clash with them. But we will save that purchase for a year or so down the road!
Happy Monday I have such a busy week ahead of me. But hopefully I can get a blog post done for Friday!
Cheers,
Jess
In the upper baskets we currently have life jackets and swim diapers in one. A few sweatshirts for Leo in the other and one is actually empty. Eagerly awaiting baby sister arrival. I swap things out each season to make sure we are using all the baskets.
Hope this inspired you to spruce up your little entry space off the garage. I really wanted our "catch all" area to also look nice. We thankfully have a giant closet directly across from this that a majority our coats and shoes go in so this allows this space to stay clean and not cluttered...... I bet this space won't look like this when our kids get older.
The all star in all of this was the website cushion source. Eventually I'd like to get a grey cushion made for this area as well as I liked to hang wreaths during football and Christmas here and this blue cushion will clash with them. But we will save that purchase for a year or so down the road!
Happy Monday I have such a busy week ahead of me. But hopefully I can get a blog post done for Friday!
Cheers,
Jess