When Tommy and I bought and moved into our house a little over a year ago we spent the first few months painting, buying furniture, hanging art and decorating our new space. It felt like we accomplished so much in a short space of time. Soon after we got swept up in wedding planning and didn’t have the time or money to devote to our house. It’s stayed largely the same since those early months. We’re saving up for a few bigger purchases like a sectional for the living room, a bed or day bed for the third bedroom, and a new desk.
While we save not much was getting checked off my mental home to do list. As part of my cleaning and organizing kick this week I decided to make a couple of quick, easy and inexpensive updates.
The first space was hiding behind the chair in our living room. I use this small corner to store my yoga mat, foam roller and hand weights. While they were out of plain sight they were still a messy eye sore.
I didn’t want to move them to a closet or other space because I use them in the living room. I know that the more easily accessible they are, the more likely I am to use them. I found this wicker basket and it was the perfect size to fit everything and matches the room well. I love how the stripes tie in the different colors of the room and keep with my nautical theme.
All of the items fit neatly inside and are still conveniently at an arms length for when I’m watching tv.
My second update was also a storage basket. Our front entrance and hallway are narrow and tight, but we have three great hooks on the wall for hanging jackets. This helps with the clutter that accumulates when we come in from outside and start shedding our winter layers. However, I never had a great place to store gloves, hats and scarves. They were always on our kitchen island or on the bookshelf in the front hallway. Not anymore!
I added this gray wire basket with cute leather handles to the mat where we leave our shoes. This way it catches all the gloves and hats right as you take them off. And yes, we do keep our serving bowls in the entry way – there’s literally no other storage space on the first floor – at least they’re not filled with stray mittens anymore. #smallhouseproblems
I love having a home for the gloves, mittens and other winter accessories that have been kicking around our first floor for the past few months. Now downstairs was looking more organized, I headed up to our bedroom to add some color.
I bought a new duvet cover and shams right before our wedding. They’re from West Elm and I love the turquoise and white combination but it felt a little dull. I thought yellow or coral would add a nice pop of color but have a hard time finding pillows that I like over the past few months. Until today…
I love the brightness that the yellow adds. It’s really fun and makes the bed look so much more complete. 
It’s amazing how happy a trip to Homegoods and a few small tweaks can make me. Every time I walk past my new baskets or into the bedroom I can’t help but smile.
Jenna Rose 