An Organized Closet Armoire

This little armoire closet is so perfectly organized. Shelves maximize vertical space. Dividers on the shelves keep sweater piles from toppling over onto each other. Shoe cubbies allow frequently used shoes to be organized yet accessible.  Clear shoe boxes keep special shoes (or less frequently used shoes) protected yet visible.  A box with drawers contains small items. Hooks on the doors create a perfect spot for hanging belts, scarves, and even a lint roller, which is always nice to have handy.

image source: martha stewart

A Glamorous Dressing Room

Absolutely loving this beautifully organized dressing room from the home of Rita Hazan:

 Shoes are neatly arranged on white open shelves (from Ikea!) and beauty essentials are on a glamorous mirrored vanity

A stylish modern black platter helps keep things organized.

 Such much goodness here - the big window with floor to ceiling drapes, the tufted daybead, the unique gold wall studs, the brass glass pendant...

A patterned tray corrals jewelry and pretty objects.

See more of Rita's home here. 

photography by Brittany Ambridge and design by Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent

Shoe Ladders

Came across these images of ladders used to organize and display high-heeled shoes and thought it was such a clever idea.  I love seeing how people reimagine things and use them for something other than their intended purpose.

Makes a fun alternative to traditional shelving. If you use a salvaged or vintage ladder, it's eco-friendly too!

Another creative shoe organization idea here.

image sources: 1-unknown, 2-the nest, 3-design sponge

Beautifully Organized Space: Accessories Closet

Check out this accessories closet:

Beautifully organized by Flavia of Lulu Abroad, who lined up her shoes on shelves by type, hung belts on a row of hooks, used frames for sunglasses and jewelry, and cubbies for handbags.

Functional and looks great too.  Nicely done!

Shoes as Works of Art

Love the idea of displaying (and protecting!) an ultra special pair of shoes as a work of art under a glass bell jar..

Do you have a treasured pair you'd consider treating like this?

image credits: 1- lucky, 2- lonny

How Jocelyn Organizes Her Closet

This week's guest participating in the 'How I Organize' series is graphic designer Jocelyn of The Stylish Type, who makes and sells pretty decor prints on Etsy and frequently shares her uber stylish outfits on her blog. She gives us a peek inside her home and shares with us her beautifully organized closet:

My closet is small and far from the walk-in-closet I would one day like to own. For this reason, I have to be creative with how I organized it and take advantage of every square foot of space I’ve got. That’s where closet storage solutions come in handy. I’m all about using extra hanging rods, shelves, bins, special hangers, and anything else you can get your hands on to make your closet functional. One of my biggest pet peeves is having a huge mess and not being able to see what I own. Accessibility is also important so I organize by type and then color.

My new Real Simple solutions hangers that I purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond are the best for maximizing hanging space. They are ultra-slim and have a built in hook feature that can be used to stack clothing or hang accessories like scarves and belts. Utilizing these babies to their full potential could ultimately give me double the closet space. A belt loop hanger is also a good investment to keep belts organized and visible.

I own a lot of coats for those chilly San Francisco days so I used an extra closet rod to take advantage of the lost space under my tops and skirts. I purchased some stackable shelves to double my shoe storage and used clear bins to store hats, scarves, and clutches. For those narrow spaces where traditional shelves won’t fit, I used an ordinary locker shelf to gain a little extra space. A basket on the floor is also a good place to store extra blankets or miscellaneous belongings.

Extra Tips:

*Use command hooks on the walls to hang hats or necklaces. They are easily to use and don’t require hammering into the wall.

*If you have a door that opens towards you, use the back and hang a shoe organizer. It’s the perfect place to store flats and flip-flops.

Stylish {Shoe} Storage: Display Cases

I love when pieces of furniture are used in a creative way. These glass front display cabinets are no exception. They work so beautifully as shoe organizers:

image credits: 1-the selby, 2-apartment living by caroline clifton-mogg, photography by winfried heinze, 3- vtwonen via interiors porn, 4-living etc., 5-via flickr

Entryway Solution: Basket for Shoes & Slippers

Sometimes inevitably shoes end up in the entryway.  If you don't have a closet to hide them behind, a solution for keeping it from looking too messy, is to have a beautiful basket for them:

If you have a no shoes in the house rule, you can also fill the basket with slippers to encourage guests to remove their shoes upon entering.

image credits: 1- the marion house book, 2- the elegant abode via decor8

Ideas for Shoe Storage

Hi everyone! Today I'm sharing a few of my favorite ideas for organizing shoes over on La Dolce Vita. Click on over to check it out :)

image credit: LCY

Painted Closets

Welcome back! Hope you had a great weekend! Did you get a chance to flip through the new issue of Lonny yet? As always has lots of great content and eye candy, including this closet with shelves painted a beautiful peacock blue:

Paint is such a great inexpenisve way to make a closet unique and give it personality.  A few more painted closets for inspiration:

image credits: 1- lonny magazine sept/oct 2011 issue, 2- photography by Ngoc Minh Ngo via house beautiful, 3-via madebygirl, 4- kelly wearstler, 5- unknown, 6- house and home,  7- domino, 8- carrie's closet (sex and the city)

How Laura Organizes Her Shoes

This month's first guest participating in the 'How I Organize' series is the incredibly chic Laura of Laura Cattano Organizational Design and of the blog The Order Obsessed. She shows us how she beautifully organizes her shoes in her dressing area :

My dressing area is set up like my personal boutique with everything organized and displayed beautifully. This Lack bookcase from Ikea fits three pairs across perfectly, and there's room in the back for my special occassion shoes stored in their original box. Positioning the shoes front to back saves space. Off-season shoes are put away to give more room and so I'm not distracted by ones I can't wear now. 

Moldings as Shoe Racks

Rows of picture rail or ornamental molding work beautifully as a fun way to creatively arrange and display high heels in a closet or dressing room.

Would you try this idea in your own home?

image credits: 1-living etc., 2-house to home uk, 3-martha stewart living

Photograph Labeled Shoe Boxes

If you like to store your shoes in boxes, it's a good idea to label them to allow for easy identification. Photograph labels are my favorite. Simple snapshots adhered onto the boxes will do, but if you want to step it up a notch, how about taking up-close detail shots of the shoes and sticking them onto pretty kraft paper tags, like this:

If photography isn't your strong suit, you can try searching online for your shoes. Companies usually include high quality photographs in their product pages and you can print those out to use for your labels.

image credit: via house to home

Shoe Ottoman

Lilly PulitzerRousseau ottoman

Ottomans are so great because they often serve double (or triple) duty. I love that this one is secretly outfitted with 16 pockets for storing shoes (or other things!) and is lined with a pretty fabric that adds such a fun unexpected punch of color.

Beautifully Organized Space of the Week

This week's beautifully organized space is from Caroline's tiny 475 sqft studio apartment. I love how she maximized storage potential by using over the door shoe racks to organize her collection of shoes. Don't they look so pretty arranged by color?

Closet Organization: Boots

During these cold weather months it's nice to have boots easily accessible in the closet. A good way to keep them standing up straight and in an orderly line is to use boot inserts. Inserts help boots retain theirs shape and prevent them from flopping and toppling over into an unattractive pile.

You can find boot inserts at various places including here and here. For a super inexpensive alternative, use old magazines as inserts (that's what I use for my boots!). *Update: Jami of Imagine shared another super inexpensive alternative: old wine bottles!

If you'd prefer, you can hang up your boots by making something like this with cedar boot trees and large cup hooks, or using something like this or this:

image credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ideas for Organizing Your Shoes

As I was oohhing and ahhing my way through the flickr album of the incredibly gorgeous home of fellow blogger Sam Reitmayer Sano, I spotted a few noteworthy ideas for organizing shoes:

A shoe tree makes use of vertical space and since most models rotate, it allows for easy access.

Use the gaps of a wooden crate to hang your heeled shoes. A unique idea for those who like to display their shoes and have something unexpected in their space.

Under-shelf wire baskets are usually seen in kitchens, but they're great in closets too. They maximize space and are pretty versatile. Tip: If you shop for one of these baskets, whether online or in-store, make certain it's tall enough to fit the type of shoe you want it to hold. Measure first, then shop!

*To see the rest of her swoon-worthy home click here.

Beautifully Organized Space of the Week

An unexpected closet in the master bath with a library ladder for reaching items stored in high shelves and cabinets.

image credit: home of jill robertson via design sponge

Beautifully Organized Space of the Week

I thought this was so wonderfully unique I had to share:

photo from a Japanese magazine via le club du style

A drawing (not a photograph!) of each pair of shoes to identify the contents of the boxes! Beautiful!