If your decor is Modern I can appreciate the delimna. How to organize your worldly possessions and while at the same time maintaining your ideal of a clean, no frills, no extras, life. Check out the Sistema Concept by Italian manufacturere Doimo Design. Not only are these designs modern they are very flexible offering a ton of options. {Via: Furnishism }

See more: http://www.digsdigs.com/15-inspiration-photos-of-living-room-storage-organizing-sistema-concept-by-doimodesign/#ixzz0n3MUgcch

Furniture · modern

Ok. So when I decided to write on this topic I never expected it to become a tree part series. Again, my dedication and practice of Feng Shui is almost none but the topic does interest me. Trying to sync with nature to create positive energy is a unique point of view and warrants some exploration.

We already covered a brief history of Feng Shui and even looked at how Disney implemented it (culturally sensitive application) when it came to Disneyland Hong Kong. But how can we apply it to our everyday life? How can we make small upgrades to our organizing habits that can create more positive energy flow?

Things you can do in your home with Feng Shui:

• Clear Out the Clutter, get rid of everything you do not need. Easier said than done but you really need to take time to address what you need at this point in your life and get over what you think you may need some day. Clearing the clutter will lighten the load and make you feel so much better.
• Improve the Air and Light in your home. These two elements are essential for good Chi, or feng shui energy in your home. Add plants to your home and get as much natural light as possible.
• Study and implement the Five Elements. Learn what the 5 elements do and see how you can pull that into your home. For example, read up on the element of Water and what it can do for you.
• Find Out Your Feng Shui Birth Element and create a home to support your personal feng shui element. For example, if your own element is Fire, you need to introduce the expressions of Fire feng shui element, such as Fire element colors (red, orange, purple, yellow), triangular shapes, etc.
• Always Be Mindful of the State of Your Home and how the energy in your home influences your well-being. Make a habit of paying close attention to the so-called feng shui “triangle” that is deeply connected to your health – your bedroom, your bathroom and your kitchen.
• Look at the Feng Shui “Bagua” and define your home. By taking a quick look at this you can determine which areas of your home are connected to energy flow (good or bad).

On a simpler level, always think about the colors in your home and how they not only influence your personal taste but how the fit into your “bagua”.

Turns out that implementing Feng Shui into you home may not be such a bad idea. This practice can help us turn chaos into order which will lead to more positive energy. Feng Shui teaches us the spaces we live and work should be carefully considered in an effort to achieve maximum balance and harmony.

By organizing our environment randomly, we do not take control of how it affects us and give it the chance to become an obstacle without even realizing of it. Feng shui teaches us that the spaces where we live or work should be thoughtfully disposed in order to take the best advantage of them and make them be a help to us rather than an obstacle.

Resources

• Wikipedia on Feng Shui
• American Feng Shui Institute
• Why is there a focus in bringing out the old and in with the new?
• 2010 Feng Shui Updates
• Bad Bedroom Feng Shui

Feng shui · Home · Organizing

In the last post I talked about “organizing furniture.” Just to be clear, when I say organizing furniture, I mean furniture that is used for organizing that is placed in the main living spaces of our home. Might sound like common sense but think about it a little longer and the dilemma that comes with organizing in your living space. This type of furniture is obviously different from storage solutions we place in the basement that are out of our everyday sight and usually behind closed doors.

A $38 storage rack from Walmart. Not really designed for your living space, is it?

Organizing furniture is out for everyone to see. Not only does it need to reflect who we are it needs to be consistent with our home décor and style. It says a lot about who we are and the pride we take in our homes. Finally, since organizing furniture occupies precious space in our living space it needs to be multifunctional not only from an aesthetic point of view but good old functionality as well.

For example, a storage bench or ottoman that doubles as a footrest or seat but also holds items we need to constantly access. Another good example is a computer desk. They hid electronics but also may act as a work station for other activities.

A stylish, multifunctional piece of organizing furniture for $599 from Crate and Barrel.

The main purpose? Look good and hide our messes. The bigger picture? As we move to be more efficient in our lifestyles we demand more from our furniture. We need our furniture not only to reflect our style and look good, but to be functional and help us organize.

Talk about multifunctional. Holds wine and glasses and has side shelves and center storage. From Crate and Barrel for $379.

Consider the the bench with coat rack above. If we needed a place to hang our coat that would be one thing but now we add a bench for shoes and if you live in the mid-west like we do, a place for hats, gloves, etc. Sort of becomes a highly efficient one-time-stop shop for all things related. I often wonder how people got organized back in the day? Did they worry about organizing? Did they have less stuff? Or did the just not care how they presented their home? It begs the question, when did organizing become a big deal?

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When it comes to organizing your things it can take some pretty innovative solutions. I’m not talking about the things you can store in the basement. I’m referring to organizing the things we need immediate access to. The objects around the house that need to be organized for daily living and we often use furniture to help us with these organizing needs.

This Hipster Storage set offered by inmod may be stylish and versatile (in the traditional sense) but it doesn't conceal and is not affordable at $460.

Offered by PotteryBarn this Jameson Storage Bench is versatile but not very affordable at $399.

We need organizing solutions that achieve several different objectives.

1. They need to be stylish – these organizing solutions are in plain site of company and part of our daily living space so we need something that is attractive an fits our home’s style and design.
2. They need to store a variety of objects – These solutions need to accommodate different objects that have different meaning to many people in the household (see previous post, “What does it mean to be Organized?)
3. They need to be space savers – Most of us (I am making a big assumption) live with limited space so we need solutions that optimize what little space we have.
4. They need to be versatile – These solutions cannot just be for organizing they need to serve some other purpose.  If they are going to occupy precious space in our living space they need to do other functions.
5. They need to be affordable – Who doesn’t want something affordable and who has the money these days?

There are a lot of companies and designers out there that aim to offer innovative storage solutions but affordable pricing is another story – they almost all lack affordability. Take a look at these companies and what they have to offer:

• IKEA
• PotteryBarn
• CrateandBarrel
• Ethan Allen
• BroyHill
• Stacks and Stacks

Our company (re-function, LLC) is in the process of developing furniture that blends creative design with affordable pricing while solving your storage and organizing needs. Until we roll out our products we feel IKEA offers the best organizing solutions in terms of pricing and design. Let us know if you have found any that meet your expectations in terms of design and price.

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