CasaSugar

Do You Decorate With Fashion Accessories?

CasaSugar — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:00:56 -0700

In addition to plenty of other treasures, French model and designer Ines de la Fressange used a handbag and a single boot as decorative accessories to dress up a chest of drawers in her office in Paris. Seeing as the items are works of art in their own right, and her other furnishings are downright glamorous as well, I think she's pulled it off. But just any old shoe wouldn't do. Do you decorate with fashion accessories?

Photo by Todd Selby

How Do You Store Your Shoes?

CasaSugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:30:38 -0700

If you're sitting pretty like Blair Waldorf, your designer stilettos are neatly stacked in your custom closet. But, if you're more like Yours Truly, your ballet flats are piled up like Legos and plastic trucks in a kid's toy box.Source

Do You Keep Your Shoes in Shoe Boxes?

CasaSugar — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:30:55 -0700

My closet is the most unruly area of my home, and my shoes are the worst of it. The thought of keeping them all in shoe boxes, clear plastic or not, is actually funny to me; they wouldn't last even a week. But I applaud anyone who can keep up with it. Organization Tips group member PopGal recently spent a rainy weekend organizing her shoes in transparent plastic shoe boxes from the Container Store.
She says, "Not only can I see where everything is at once in a nice, organized way, but my favorite part is how clean it keeps my shoes. I have so many pairs I love, but only wear a few times a year, so it was making me sad to see the dust build up on them." How about you?

Link Time!

CasaSugar — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 -0800

Actor Larry Hagman is selling his home, the largest solar-powered residence in the US. - Hooked on Houses
Opening Ceremony does corduroy furniture. - AT:NY
How clever and helpful is this hardware sorting box? - Craftzine
Get your Choo collection under control with these shoe storage options. - Simply Stated
Here are five things you can do today to organize your bedroom. - ShelterPop
Geek up your pad March 14 with some Pi Day themed décor. - Shelterrific

Casa Beta: Lumnique Vanilla Candle

CasaSugar — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0800

Lumnique, a new company that specializes in personalized candles, recently sent over a vanilla candle for me to review. Unfortunately, I can't stand the scent of vanilla, so CelebStyle offered to review it for me! Lumnique allows shoppers to choose the color, fragrance, and "customized intention" of their candles when ordering online, with 14 different color choices and a variety of fragrances - in fruity, floral, or foodie categories - to choose from. Of course, since Lumnique mailed me the candle, we missed out on the whole personalization part of the package, so she'll just review the candle we received, vanilla:

Scent: "In my experience, candles don't usually live up to their scent being burned but this Vanilla Lumnique candle went above and beyond my expectations. The vanilla notes were strong enough to give off a lasting, comforting scent without being overpowering, too obvious, or too feminine."

To hear her thoughts on the packaging and burning, read more.

Packaging: "The candle came in a black cardboard box, slightly smaller than a shoe box. The Lumnique logo was printed in white across the top flap and inside was an insert holding the glass candle in place alongside an expensive-looking book of matches. While the packaging was fancy and substantial, I found it to be a waste of resources and space. It wasn't very eco-friendly, in terms of both the packaging and the shipping."

Burning: "This double wick candle is the candle that keeps on giving! It burns evenly and slowly, and is as fragrant as the first burn weeks later. It burns clean (no black smoke) and doesn't take long for the wicks to stop burning after blowing them out."

Thanks, CelebStyle!

Want to read more candle reviews? Check out these posts on C.Z. Guest, West Third, Linnea's Lights, Chesapeake Bay, and Diptyque candles.

Cool Idea: A Shoe Organizer as a Vertical Garden

CasaSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:30:28 -0700

Vertical gardens are a great choice for those of you who are space-conscious. But, unless you want to pony up for a Living Wall system or the like, they can be complicated and costly to build on your own. So, I was pleased to find a vertical garden made using an over-the-door shoe organizer on Instructables. Aside from the actual soil and seeds, the installation requires only a few household supplies (curtain rod, hooks, a piece of wood, and a trough) and takes only four steps to build. While I'm not sure about how long the fabric would last, it's still a pretty clever solution to a small-space dilemma.

Casa Quickie: Welcome Guests With a Shoe Organizer

CasaSugar — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:15:43 -0800

TeamSugar member SweetPeasMom shared a great tip for making your guests feel right at home involving an over-the-door shoe organizer, which she repurposed. She says:

I hang an over-the-door shoe organizer on the back of the door of our guest room. In each of the different clear pockets I may include the following: a map of the local area, sun lotion, soaps and shampoos (usually the free hotel ones or samples), note cards, a good paperback book (with a note saying to take it with them if they haven't finished), candies, a flashlight, a variety of medications and personal items, a couple of stamps, postcards from the surrounding area, etc. My guests seem to really appreciate it. And it's amazing how many of these little things are free or very inexpensive.

Source

How-To: Share a Closet With Your Valentine

CasaSugar — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:18 -0800

In a dream world, we'd all have a custom-built walk-in closet to ourselves, à la Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City: The Movie. But let's face it: wallets the size of Mr. Big's are few and far between. So, we share. Sometimes, unfortunately, sharing a closet with your better half feels like World War III. To lighten the tension and take the frustration out of making two wardrobes fit into one - whilst keeping you both organized and happy - I got a few tips from the experts of closet organizing: California Closets.

Split your closet: ladies 60/men 40. In order to make this work, give your man the hall closet to store his large items, like jackets and suits.
Ladies: If your spouse stores his stinky gym shoes in the closet, add lavender sachets to your hangers to keep your clothes smelling sweet.

For the rest of the tips, read more.

Have a “no clothes on the floor” rule. If your man’s clothes are on the closet floor for more than 24 hours, he has to give you a 10-minute foot massage.
Since women like to display their shoes, add a shoe rack on the back of the closet door and have him use the closet floor.
Couples with a small closet: Remove all accessories as these take up a lot of space. An easy way to store these is in a flat, plastic bin under the bed.

Do You Store Your Clothes Out in the Open?

CasaSugar — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:30:46 -0800

Desire to Inspire recently rounded up some images of clothes stored out in the open that's really got me considering the storage style. Back in '08, I wrote a trend alert about apparel used as home décor - which is one thing - but I'm talking about really storing your wardrobe out for all eyes to see. This photo from Danish magazine Bolig makes the style look flawless, like a high-end boutique, but I know my shoes would never last lined up like that. It does seem like a nice way to keep your pretty party dresses, though, or even work clothes that you tend to wear five days a week. Do any of you do this?

Do You Allow Shoes on Your Couch?

CasaSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:30:00 -0800

In this photo from New Moon, Bella is all bundled up with her with her warm drink and hoodie and has made herself comfortable with her shoes on the couch. I'm sure once in a while I've done this, but in general shoes on the sofa are a no-no at my house. Do you allow it?

Source