OlioHop MomSpot

Happy Monday everyone! Today brings another OlioHop (although it is not the first Monday of the month there's a reason!) and today's theme is MomSpots! I swear somewhere out there is a force connecting me personally to the themes Olioboard puts out for OlioHop, normally we have Mommy Monday here! This week I'm spending my Mommy Monday from Wellfleet, MA on Cape Cod. I used to vacation here with my parents every summer and I am thrilled to get Kyle and Dablet (all the way) up here for a change of scenery and a Red Sox game!

Our view of Long Pond from our secluded rental

Last month we talked about organizing for our OlioHop, and the immense inspiration from all of the amazing designers, tools available on Olioboard, and really taking a look at how to best organize even my own spaces (it's always harder to practice what you preach!) I took home 1st and 2nd in the Olioboard Ogranizing Challenge! Thank you for ALL of your support!
It has always been a dream of mine to have my own "Mom Cave" - well at least since I became a mom! How many times have you heard "Man Cave" as if us ladies have the rest of the house on lock down?! Maybe we insert more influence, but let's be honest, when you're a mom the house belongs to the kids! In order to create a "Mom Spot" you have to take a few elements into consideration:

• Space available
• Your passions
• Your resources
• The mood you are trying to inspire

For me, the last one is the most important, but I put it last because I feel we (as moms) often overlook how we want a space to make us feel and just explode with sheer excitement at the opportunity to have our own corner. Maybe we can convince our kids to send us to timeout in our Mom Spot?! My top three types of mom spots would be Reading Nooks, Spa Areas, and Crafting Rooms. Before I hit the designing boards on Olioboard, I take to Pinterest for some pinspiration! Check out my full Mom Spot Board Here!

I chose this "I just want to make beautiful things even if nobody cares" as the theme for my Mom Spot blog!

After all, it's about what YOU want to make yourself happy!

Olioboard makes it incredibly user friendly to take your pinspiration and turn in into a "shop-able reality"! Can't find the perfect item you're looking for in the large bank of brands on Olioboard? Don't worry! You can always upload it yourself! I try to upload my pinspiration into my boards so I can have a vision of what my dream result looks like. Here's how my pinspiration took life into Olioboards for reading nooks, spas, and craft rooms:

To see this board and shop the look click here

Find yourself a comfy place to curl up with a book, gossip magazine, and beverage of choice. Been a rough day? No one here will judge you if you get a few drops of red wine on a throw pillow! Choose your favorite colors to set the mood and inspire your hideaway!

To see this board and shop the look click here

Say it with me now, "Ahhhhhhh"! Whenever I see a spa area I immediately want to check out the recipes for homemade flavored water, light a candle, and meditate! In this room it's OK to play in the mud!

To see this board and shop the look click here

Are you the type of person who escapes into creativity, but just can't seem to find the time? Make your craft room easy access with easy organization! Your mental health will thank you for it each time you find 30 minutes to dive inside and be a kid again! 

Need more organization tips? Check out the last OlioHop: Organization!

Do you have another idea for your dream Mom Spot? Head over to Olioboard and get creative! Remember, it's a dream idea so let your budget run wild! Need to make it a reality?! We're happy to help there too and create a budget friendly version of your wildest dreams!

As with all OlioHops, this could not be a success without the teamwork of Olioboard and the other amazing bloggers! Olioboard has given us an extra bonus this week with their presence at World Market Center in Las Vegas, and the Blog Her Conference in NYC! Big thanks go out to Olioboard and these fabulous events for taking the time to take a look at us!

Today we have 12 other talented designers sharing their ideas for fabulous Mom Spots, be sure to check them out and share your ideas with them!

- Chaotically Creative - Design Magnifique - Simply Savvy -

- Frugal Finds - Homestyling 101 - Push Interiors - Seaside Interiors - 

- Selma Hammer Designs - Stacy Naquin Interiors - 

 - Fashion House Interiors - Jennifer Reynolds Interiors - Sway Girl

OlioHop Organize!

"Do a little dance, create a moodboard, let's organize...ba dum ba dum, let's organize!"


Can you tell I'm super excited all over again? That's because it's the first Monday of the month and that means OlioHop! Last month we talked about nurseries and kid's rooms, and today it's all about organization. I am thrilled to not only be involved for the second OlioHop, but also to have been invited to continue to come back every month! Lots of OlioLove going on from this chick for Olioboard and the other Olioistas!


How to make organizing easy:

• Give yourself plenty of creative space
• Label and designate separate areas
• Spend 5-10 minutes in each room that you use on a daily basis putting things away
• Allow the space to change with your needs
• Take "stock" once a month and purge things you find yourself not using

The last time we OlioHopped, I got to spend some time talking about my daughter! Well, my little diva is on the move in major ways! Part of our home makeover includes turning what should be a formal dining room into a playroom for her! If there is only one thing I could pass on about parenting it would be accept life as a controlled form of chaos! This mantra doesn't only apply to parenting, but to organizing as a whole!

To see the Olioboard and shop this look click here!
For more Playroom ideas see my Pinterest board here!

Playrooms pose an interesting challenge by not only needing to be organized and hidden, but also easy to navigate, creative, and kid friendly! I love the numbered baskets from Layla Grayce for the simple fact that I can see myself telling Dablet "Please put your foam blocks away in bin #3". She will just stare at me and smile now because she's only 9 months old, but this is a great way to teach numbers and organizational skills! Along the same lines, I am all about having art space in playrooms! Whipping out chalk and drawing on your own table with a parent friendly "just push everything off the top" drawer built in! I could make a great DIY project hooking up a paper roll holder to the side of this so we could pull across paper and use markers too! Let's face it, kids like to toss everything together! As long as it gets it out of the way, it still counts as basic organization.
The best piece for this playroom that screams functional organization (because that's the easiest kind to keep up with) is the changing table bench! It takes up VERY little space, can be put on top of any bookshelf, and hides any diaper products away in its own drawer!

Moving on to the idea of hiding things away, let's talk closets! How many of you have been guilty of cleaning up a room (any room, but especially a bedroom) and just shoving things in your closet and shutting the door?!?! I'll start the support group here! If your room isn't organized, and your closet isn't organized, this will be a perpetual cycle of back and forth mess and you will get nowhere! See my Closet Storage Pinterest Board Here
Here's a look at organization behind closed doors that is EASY to do, keep up with, and adapt to your "growing needs".

Why a results step one? Because needs are ever changing! You shouldn't expect one form of organization to always be the one that works best for you. This was done before Dablet was born, and almost 10 months after she arrived it now looks like this:

Her other spaces for in-room organization:

Changing table that has storage, easy access, and books!!

In-room reading nook and toy storage!

Moving on to more "adult things", you may know I am working on a design for my new home office and client meeting space. Olioboard has been an instrumental part in pulling together ideas for the overall look of my new office, so I wanted to pull some ideas together on how to keep it user friendly! Also, if I'm planning on having clients into my lair, I might want to be able to keep up with the fabric swatches, pens, sketch pads, and idea books!

To see the Olioboard and shop this look click here!
For more Home Office ideas see the Pinterest Board here

I am obsessed with the idea of using old library card catalogs for storage! I think this is a FABULOUS way to organize crafting areas because you have lots of drawers and a very easy way to label! Keeping a desk pulled together is also essential so you can actually sit and work at it. Having a fun pencil/ruler/etc storage piece like the teal bubble one seen above takes up less of your surface area and provides ample space. I'm also a fan of wall mounted hutches! Want to make it a bit more chic? Try bowls of different shapes, sizes, and colors to store things you need easy access to. They'll serve a purpose and be nice to look at!
Chalkboard paint is in!! If you're looking for something less permanent, you can always use the wall decals! Tile them, make a weekly calendar, or cut them out into shapes you would rather see on your wall.

To make ANY and ALL of this work remember that the easiest way to stay organized is to give everything a  marked place and try to reduce the amount of "stuff" you have floating around your home or office. Goodwill is a fabulous way to purge (with the tax deduction benefit), and I've found some great pieces there for re-purposing! Have questions or need additional help with a specific project? Visit my Services or Contact Us pages for more information, I'd love to work with you!

Need some extra inspiration for now? I took a trip to The Container Store last weekend and here are some of my snapshots!

Walls of boxes in every color, material, and size!

Fun ways to keep your papers organized, marked, and things hung up!

For more storage ideas, see my Pinterest board here

Thank you SO much for joining me today! Have you created an account with Olioboard yet? If not, go for it! It's very easy to use and I'd love to see what you create! Post your Olioboard links below so I can take a look and follow you!
Here's the hopping part! There are 15 other fabulous bloggers blogging with me today during this OlioHop and would love to share their ideas with you! Take a look and enjoy your week!

- Chaotically Creative - Designer Selma - Frugal Finds - Go Simply Savvy - Home Styling 101 -

 - I Heart Organizing - Marilyn Russell - My Urban Eclectic - Focal Point Styling -

 - Pinklet & C - Push Interiors - Seaside Interiors - Stacy Naquin Interiors - 

- White Linen Interiors - Wisteria Home -