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Thursday, January 10, 2013

Accessories Storage Solutions

by Heather

I had a little room off the master bedroom that I used to call the "English Room."  It was a sitting room with a comfortable chaise lounge positioned by the front window and filled with books and English objects handed down from relatives or picked up on travels.  Over the past few years, however, this space has morphed into a dressing area/storage for jewelry, purses, and scarves.  I'm always on the lookout for ways to store accessories so that they're visible but organized. In my next life, I'd like to have the type of walk-in closet/dressing room one sees in the interior design magazines, but in the meantime, here are a couple of inexpensive and not labor-intensive ideas that are helping me stay somewhat organized.

Bracelets:
A 3-tiered stand holds bracelets that are organized by color.


An antique handmade blanket chest handed down from Tom's great-grandparents provides storage for out-of-season clothing as well as a base for additional jewelry storage.

Purses:

Purses are sorted by color and season.  Summer purses (wicker, white, straw, etc.) are stored while current purses share space in an inexpensive Target shelf system.  Small chests with drawers help keep earrings and rings organized by color.  The bust (between the two chests) is a good place to host a hat and a few necklaces.
Earrings:
The turquoise drawer

Necklaces:
Tom created a storage area here by enclosing the space with molding and adding hooks for necklaces, which are then organized by color and length. I think I need to add a more decorative frame for it, though.  Any ideas?
Can you tell I like the Hamilton purse from Michael Kors?

Shoes:
Our house used to have an upstairs linen closet.  Tom built deep shelves at one end of his clothes closet for bed linens, and table linens are stored downstairs in a linen cupboard so I've always used the linen closet as a shoe closet instead.  Finally got around to re-organizing it this past week.  I took the last pairs of summer shoes out to be stored for the winter (remember, this is the Valley of the Sun and winter just started - or perhaps I've been procrastinating), decided which shoes and boots to donate, and rearranged what was left.  I guess I could have been more careful when tossing the "to go" shoes out of the closet, but the resulting piles made for funnier (or scarier?) pictures.
These are the shoes that either went into hibernation or got put in the donation box.

The newly organized closet:



Sunglasses:
Small Purses:
Scarves:
Bamboo ladders from Steinmart serve a useful purpose to organize my scarves by color.

Hats:???
Still haven't solved the problem of what to do with my hat collection.  I have cowboy hats with which to hide helmet-hair after motorcycling and other hats for both winter and summer. Tried putting small round plastic containers on the wall from which to hang hats, but that didn't work.  Any ideas?

Would love to see or hear about any ideas you have for storing and/or organizing your fashion accessories!

Love,
H

24 comments:

  1. U have come up w/great solutions!! I am still working on my Master closet.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Denise. Let me know how you're progressing on the master closet. I'm always on the lookout for good ideas!
      Heather

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  2. Thank you, Galeria. I'm working on organizing my garage today but I think I'm making a bigger mess than it already was! Stay tuned...
    Heather

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  3. WOW. I am impressed with "the English Romm" and all the organization! I have my necklaces hung on the wall too and my shoes look like your shoes in the before picctures! I need a little English Room of my own!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Bobbie. I think I convinced my husband to re-do the frame around the necklaces. Thinking of painting it gold once it's done. Any ideas?
      Heather

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  4. So, um, what size shoe do you wear?? I'd gladly take your hand me downs! LOL.

    xo,
    Alyssa

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    Replies
    1. Size 7. If that's your size, we'll invite you to our next swap party :). We had one a few months ago and it was a great way to get rid of unwanted items that were still in good condition. The only hard part is seeing your friends looking better in your castoffs than you ever did!
      H

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    2. SOMETIMES I can wear a 7, depends on the shoe! heck, I'd MAKE it work a la the stepsisters in Cinderella for some of those castoffs!

      Please do invite me to the next swap, I'd love to meet you girls! ;o)

      xo,
      Alyssa

      Delete
  5. Oh my gosh Heather, you have some great organizing ideas. I love the scarf ladder and pinned it. I am going to organize my pantry and then my master closet next week. I have a perfect ladder. Nice to meet someone who has more shoes than I do. lol! Love all your boots. Now you have me WAY beat when it comes to hats. I only have a few. They are hard to organize and about the only idea I have is baskets. or pegs. Just thought I would give you a tip. When I clicked on your link it took me to your latest post. What you need to do so that it takes you to a specific post is this. left click on the title of your particular post. It will show up in the top left hand of your computer. Then right clike on it and copy. Then you will paste that to the html link. I did not know this when I first started linking. Was happy when I finally figured it out. Thanks for sharing with Share Your Cup. I will be featuring you later today.
    Hugs,
    Jann

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  6. Thanks for the ideas, Jann. I just saw some neat wire pegs for hats -- have to figure out where to buy them. I will try to get the correct link to the post for your next Share Your Cup. Will check out the feature later today -- so very cool!!
    Heather

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  7. First of all think what you need to store, how you want your closet to look and how much you're willing to spend, and you can plan the design of your dressing closet with ease of your own ideas.

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  8. Replies
    1. Thank you. I checked out your blog and handbag site. Great finds!!
      Heather

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  9. This is the closet of an Arizona girl, but with its mix of boots and high heels it could just as easily belong to a Midwestern (Missouri) girl like me!!! When we moved into this home, the extra room in the master suite was dubbed a sitting room. I IMMEDIATELY claimed it as a dressing room!!! I like the way you have utilized your space! You have a WHOLE LOT more accessories than I do (I'm retired and rarely venture out anymore), and I really like the way you have put thought into creative storage/display.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry about the late reply to your comments. Just saw your remarks today. I'm retiring at the end of this year and wondering how this will affect what I want to buy. Also wondering if I will find enough to keep me busy. When did you retire?
      Heather

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  12. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  13. Your English Room is just visually appealing! How FUN to go "shopping" for the right accessories! LOVE all you do! Ana

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  14. Love the ladder for scarf storage and the gold three tier (cake??) tray, Heather! I think it's safe to say your English Room is now your Accessories Room!

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