As many of you know, I am a huge Pinterest Fan. I have blogged about it several times before and I really do find a lot of inspiring ideas there. And you know that I have many boards where I pin things to keep my inspiration organized. I have one for Decorating, one for Organization and one for Bathroom Ideas. Which brings us to today’s blog.
We live in a 60’s brick ranch with little to no closet space and small bathrooms. So, being the pack rat that I am, I do love to find new ways to organize tiny rooms yet still have things look pretty. We are slowly redoing some things around the house and about 2 years ago Keith had a little makeover done on the half bath in our guest room that I use all of the time. Just the few little changes he had done made a world of difference, but still it’s a small room with little space.
One area that seems to always get cluttered is the counter. Once you get a soap dispenser and the electric toothbrush on there, you pretty much don’t have room for anything else. My morning routine calls for the use of a straight iron for my hair most days, and it was hard to find somewhere flat to put it that I didn’t have to worry about getting burned or worse still, starting a fire.
Pinterest to the rescue! In my search for all things pretty, organized and functional, I came across two ideas that I thought might work in this small place. And, they use things not normally found in a bathroom but items used in the kitchen or dining room.
This is the first idea. Yea, there is a lot in this image that I like, but look at the cake plate over on the left side of the coutner. This homeowner used it to display trinkets, but what if I could use it to help get things off the counter and free up some much needed real estate? I would need a smaller diameter cake plate due to my limited space and probably one a little taller, too. Hmmmm…..
This idea I loved for the jewelry storage and the cool apothecary jar. I don’t wear a lot of bracelets, but it was still something that I thought was clever and would give me an excuse to find some cool apothecary jars for my dresser in my bedroom.
Well, early in October we were in Pittsburgh visiting family and Keith and I, his sister Janice and his cousin Sally and her husband Mike all went junking looking for treasures. Low and behold while looking in the last shop of the day, what do you think I found? Yup, a glass cake plate that was just the right small diameter and extra high height and not an apothecary jar, but a crystal candy dish.
I love this little cake plate. I now have room for a soap dispenser, a lotion dispenser and a tub of my magic lotion (hidden behind) and even more room for little trinkets if I want to add them.
Last year my Mom gave me the beautiful etched glass dispensers and I am so happy that I have room to use them both. They fit in with the kind of shabby romantic theme I have going here.
And because the cake plate is so small in diameter, the base is small enough to allow me to heat up my flat iron on the counter in the mornings without having to worry (except to make sure that I unplug it – no fires, remember?)
As for the candy dish, I walked by it a couple of times and so did Keith and his sister Janice. In fact, Keith even pointed it out to me once. And at $8, it was a steal, but at first I wasn’t thinking about using it in my bathroom, I was just thinking about adding another crystal dish to my tableware ensemble. Then Janice piped in and said she might want it for cotton balls in her bathroom. But, since she was going to have to carry it home on the plane to California, she decided against it.
Well, that was the spark that I needed to see beyond the original intended use for this crystal bauble. I remembered my apothecary jar and added Janice’s bathroom storage idea and figured I could use it not for cotton balls, but Q-tips, since I use them daily and the package is usually out somewhere on the counter anyway taking up that valuable real estate.
Sold! When I took my treasures up to the counter, I was told that the special at the shop was a discount on all glass and crystal, so I ended up getting the candy dish for $5. I could not wait to get home. I was excited not only to find treasures, but to find treasures that would be useful and help clean up clutter on my tiny bathroom counter while looking pretty at the same time.
I think Pinterest is the new Everything Magazine. I used to subscribe to all kinds of monthly magazines with ideas and tips on everything from crafting to decorating to fashion, but now, who needs that when all of the real world talent and inspiration can be found in one place on the internet? I hate it for those in the media realm, but love it for us in the real world. Pinterest allows us to find real life inspiraiton and put it to use. And like those whose ideas I borrowed, I can now share my deocorating solutions and maybe inspire someone else while repurposing and reusing found treasures.
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