A few months ago, I was staring at the wall of my guest house, thinking it needed something....It currently housed a little desk, mirror, and chair, and really didn't get much use, nor did it go with the light and coastal theme I had going on in there. I had been thinking maybe a vintage hutch I could repaint, and I asked my cousin Kris (an interior designer) her thoughts. She stared for a long time before saying, "you know what would be perfect for this spot, one of those Ikea cubey shelfy things..." Neither one of us knew the proper name for these, but I knew immediately what she meant. The only time I had seen them in person, they were in someone's playroom, shoved full of toys and knick knacks, and not looking like the beachy vision I had in my mind for that wall. I started googling images of the shelf, which I found out is called the Expedit, and had no idea there was a huge Expedit fan base...there were hundreds of pictures, some were how I had seen them before, but some were done so classy and modern....Kris was onto something. Oh, and here was the other problem. I was on a budget. A big budget. And what would I possible store in 16 baskets? Later, as I went into my small mechanical room to get the vacuum, I tripped over all my kids art stuff, you know, the stuff they bring home, and you can't throw it away? The plastic containers of crayons, pencils, craft paper, paints, piled up and screaming for a new home. I had a light bulb moment, and decided the expedit would be perfect...I could turn it into the craft-o-matic 3000, and finally get on the road to organizing my life. Even though they are only $129 at Ikea for a 4 by 4 unit, I noticed they were all over craigslist for around $50-$100 bucks. I waited and found a white one for $45. I went back and forth about what type of basket to use, they have so many options...(even the Target Itso baskets fit perfectly)...but I loved the seagrass baskets, and had to pay full price at $12 a pop, but love the way it looks. It matches my guest house perfectly, and has become a one wall art studio for not only my kids crafts and art supplies, but all of my scrapbook stuff, craft paint, glue guns, wrapping paper, playdough, I could go on and on! I fit so much in there, and still have 4 empty baskets. I even got out the label maker....if you knew me really well you would know this goes against everything I stand for....I am one of those people who can keep my house kind of clean, but if you opened any drawer or cupboard, stuff would just fall on you...it's bad. I'm not kidding. But this shelf inspired me to label all their art supplies, and I find they actually do so many more art projects, just knowing they can access what they need, and clean it up easily, it just goes right back into the right basket. I have since seen these as changing tables, shoe storage, entry tables, you name the space, they have an expedit that will fit. Can you tell I'm a little excited about these? How can you go wrong for 45 bucks! Here are a few images of other expedits....where can you use one in your house?
No comments:
Post a Comment