Storage Wish List (+ some organizing tips)

I can really get into wish listing things. Are you with me? They are a lot of fun to pull together but even more, they often motivate me to get things done or to have a certain goal to work towards. Currently, I'm wish listing storage items for my home - everything from zip bags for blankets to bins and magazine folders. There is no doubt about it, when I'm organized I can do my best work. What about you? Some function really well in chaos but I need definite places for everything and a neat space so that my ideas can flow freely. If I'm not organized, I feel like I'm walking in wet sand up to my knees. To motivate myself to get organized at home, I created a wish list for furniture that I'd like to share with you that is both good looking and practical that I also know can help me to get my act together. Introducing my storage wish list...

Pretty, right? I love wooden cabinets, preferably vintage, in gray tones, gray-browns, creamy whites and pure whites... I like them painted inside in a favorite color that is really striking or wallpaper inside. I like hardware that is pretty like hand-painted ceramic knobs. But most of all, I like containing my stuff in set places so I can have some peace of mind! I don't know if you are the same, but when I can't find my scissors or packing tape for a box I'm about to send I get a little peeved!

I believe that everything in the home should have a place. Keys, spices, dish towels, linens, tacks, scissors... you simply must devote a space to everything, including spare buttons and stamps, because those are always the items that you turn over your house trying to find the second you need them and you know you have a stamp laying around somewhere! Another organization tip is that you have to return items to their nook immediately after use to avoid clutter and chaos as well.

I'm currently in the process of organizing my home and for me it means buying furniture. I've not purchased much for my new place since moving in last October. I know, eek is right! The space I had before this one was significantly smaller (550 sq ft) so I had all of the storage and furniture that I needed in a one bedroom apartment. But now that my home has 2,300 sq ft and huge open rooms, I need to furnish it properly. First though, I've spent a lot of time THINKING. I really needed to get a feel for this massive city apartment - a feel for the space, what I want to do in each room, etc. before investing in furniture. It's natural when you first move in to a home to go out and buy everything and be done with it within a few weeks. Problem with that is, you make purchases you often regret later on. You have to get a feel for the space before investing in quality pieces of furniture.

Would you like to see the first item that I purchased on my storage wish list? Here it is....

Above you can see my new cabinet shown in the Lys Vintage shop in Hamburg. I first "met" it several months ago in person and fell in love at first sight. I particularly love how solid it is and that it's this gorgeous gray brown wood with glass doors. It doesn't hurt that it's a new piece but made from vintage wood and that it is from France. It will arrive in just a few weeks and I cannot wait to use it. Once it arrives, I'll show you where I've placed it in my home and what I've put inside so perhaps it will motivate you to get organized if you're not currently. I ordered it from Simone who owns Lys Vintage and curates the lovely selection in this favorite shop of mine located in nearby Hamburg.

Now I'm looking for a closet with a single door, in wood, that I can put in my guest bedroom. We will use it to store winter coats and also as a place for guests to hang some of their garments. I am sourcing for something like this one currently, can you see it there in the left corner in creamy white? I think Simone sold this one, so I'm in the prowl for something similar, definitely an antique and not a reproduction piece, for the guest room.

My next dream storage cabinet is shown below, it's a photo taken by Debi Treloar for my book, Decorate!

This beauty is tall, antique, from France, gray, solid wood, and inside it has only shelves so it would be perfect for my work room to use as a crafts/props closet where I can store everything that I use and love but can also hide stuff in an attempt to have less visual clutter in my work area since it distracts me quite a lot. I'm not sure where I can find a cabinet like it, most likely a flea market or eBay, so I'm on the prowl... This one is in Tine's dining room, owner of Tine K Home. Does anyone have some leads for me? Ideally I'd love one in gray like Tine's but I have plenty of paint and so I don't care what color the cabinet is in because if it's wood, I can paint it! I also want to wallpaper inside... Because Shannon Fricke's cabinet below that I wrote about nearly a year ago hasn't left my radar.

And finally, do you remember Atelier Charivari that I wrote about awhile back as well? I fell head over heels in love with this cabinet below with the green interior. See...

And yes, I'm also looking for something like this for my home too. I hope to eventually find all of the storage that I need (German homes and apartments typically do not come with closets so no room in my home has one except for the kitchen, hence my need for storage!). Remember, I'm American. I come from the land of walk-in closets so this has been an adjustment for me.

So those are my dream storage cabinets, currently on my wish list with the exception of the one I will soon own and the others that I hope to have the patience to source and find.

What's currently on your wish list? Does your wish list motivate you or depress you? Do you have links to share to pages where you keep your wish lists?

(images: first two: lys vintage, third: debi treloar for decorate.)