decorating – Designing Goldilocks

5 steps to pantry organization

So I finally organized my pantry. Yes, after one year in the new house, I finally completed the project I thought would be done by now.

I had originally planned to line the shelves the first weekend in the house. I had liners in two colors so that I could have options.

I thought I was being smart, you know. Thinking ahead. I would line the shelves while the pantry was still empty before that first big trip to the grocery store.

Wrong.

The pantry fell by the wayside. With all of the busyness of moving into a new house, lining the shelves got pushed down the priority list. Way down.

But it always bothered me. Every time I opened the pantry door, I would see a project that wouldn’t have taken much time at all.

The pantry is small. Like linen-closet-size small. There was no excuse not to get it done. And it wasn’t that the pantry was messy. The items were already neatly arranged in zones that made sense: soups, spices, cereal boxes, cookbooks.

I could have easily left it that way. And I did for one year. But rather than seeing labels when I opened the pantry door, I wanted to see one cohesive color or pattern across all of the shelves.

So one day I cleared the calendar, threw away the excuses and got to work. It took me a couple of hours, start to finish to organize the pantry. And that included stopping for a quick lunch.

I’m happy with the results, and even more happy to share with you 5 steps to a tidier pantry:

Discipline

Before tackling the pantry, or any space in the house, ask yourself why you want to organize it. The obvious reason may be because you want the space to look nice when you open the door. That’s a given. But organization also takes discipline. What I mean is, you have to consciously put items back in their place. You can have all of the storage bins in the world, but they’ll do you no good if the celery salt gets lost between the large cans of crushed tomatoes.

Appearance

Picture an organized pantry. What do you see? Is it solid or clear containers? Do the containers have labels or no labels? Do you want spices on turntables? Do you want to keep cereals and pastas in their original packages or transfer them into containers? The options are seemingly endless. And quite overwhelming. But choosing the containers also is the fun part. And it’s almost easier to find the bins you like first and then decide to organize the space. And that’s often how organization starts. You see an awesome system at the store and then get the brilliant idea to organize your house just so you can buy the pretty bins. But again, do you have the discipline to keep it organized?

Other considerations

It’s not necessary, but lining the shelves may add an extra touch to the space. I chose a brown non-adhesive liner that is both durable and washable. I chose to line the shelves because sometimes I like to take the bins out of the pantry and place them on the counter as I’m prepping to cook. The liner protects the shelves from being scuffed up in the process. If I truly had been thinking ahead, I would have painted the interior of the pantry to match the kitchen walls. There’s always next week.

Organizing

Now comes the hardest part, and yet I found this part to be quite therapeutic. Because my pantry was already organized in zones, all I had to do was remove the items shelf-by-shelf and then place them back on the shelf in their dedicated bins. This was also a great time to throw away items that had expired. When I placed the items in their bins, I organized them by date. What I mean is, for the bins that have 3 jars of spaghetti sauce, I put the newer jars in the back and the older one in the front so that I was sure to use that one first. I also placed the items I use frequently at eye-level (spices, peanut butter, oils and vinegars), the items I rarely use on the top shelf (cookbooks), and the bulky items at the bottom (bottled water and paper products).

Enjoy

I’m happy to have an organized pantry and I think you’ll be too should you undertake this project in your own home. It’s nice to open the door and see one cohesive look. If there is a drawback, it’s that the bins themselves take up real estate that reduces space for pantry items. But it’s not enough of a drawback to go back to the way it was before. In fact, I’m already eyeing John’s pantry in the loft. Now THAT would be a lot of fun.

*Storage bins can transform your pantry, giving each item a de*dicated space and the pantry one cohesive look. Photos by Cindy Hernandez

So what is a design trifecta?

I’ll attempt to answer this question by asking another question:

When it comes to decorating your home, what do you want your furnishings to accomplish?

Let me break it down a little further.

If you need a new couch for your loft, what do you want that couch to do? Do you want it to provide seating? That would be function.

Do you want the couch to look pretty? That would be style.

Do you want a couch that you can relax on all weekend, melt into, maybe even take a nap on? That would be comfort.

Often times, furniture does one or two of these things. But when it does all three, well, that’s the design trifecta.

I’m a firm believer that furniture and home decor can encompass all three elements. It just takes a little more work – as in a little more shopping – to find the perfect pieces. It’s not always easy.

Have you ever been to a friend’s house for dinner and sat on the most uncomfortable dining chair? It may have looked fabulous in the space, but your backside paid for it the next day.

The chair had style and function but lacked comfort. Any maybe after the soup, it started to lack function too.

Or maybe you dated a guy in college that had the most comfortable recliner, but it was hideous to look at. Because it lacked style.

Small spaces beg for the design trifecta. They have to. There’s not a lot of room to waste. The design plan has to be smart all the way through – from the couch to the bed to the dining suite to the kitchen accessories.

Larger homes have more space to work with, but they also have more room for error.

The couch is too puny for the room. The dining table is the wrong shape for the space. The bar stools are too tall for the countertop. The cushions on the patio furniture are too thin. The living room doesn’t have a side table in reach to set down a beverage.

The list is seemingly endless.

And I’m not writing about this because I have design trifecta running through my house. No, but I am writing from the experience of failure.

I had limited space in my condo and had to be smart about the pieces I brought into it. And I chose wrong over and over again. In fact, in the 18 years of living there, I never conquered the space limitations.

I had a living room that had only one uninterrupted wall. The front door and a fireplace took up another side. A sliding glass door took up another side. The fourth side was open to the kitchen.

It was frustrating trying to create a functional living space that didn’t look cluttered. It was nearly impossible. No, not nearly impossible. IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE.

That’s when I realized I had to be smart about the furniture I chose. Each piece had an assignment: they had to provide function, style, and comfort. All at the same time.

Think of the Murphy bed.

You often see the Murphy bed in a room that has to do double duty, typically a guest bedroom and an office.

When guests are over, the bed comes down from the wall. When the guests are gone, the bed is lifted back up and the room is an office again. Cubbies and shelving on the underside of the bed add style and more function for the office. It’s genius.

It has to be genius because most of us cannot accomplish the trifecta on our own for every piece of furniture we bring into our homes. We either don’t think about it, or it’s too time-consuming, or we focus on comfort or style and forget about the other two elements.

John and I will soon be shopping for a couch for the loft, which is where I got my example above. A part of me is excited to bring a new piece of furniture into the house. The other part of me is nervous about picking the wrong piece for the reasons I’ve outlined in this blog.

We have a couch in mind that we saw at American Furniture Warehouse a year ago. The couch hits the design trifecta – function, style and comfort. But I wouldn’t be me if I still didn’t worry that it’ll fall short in some area once we bring it home.

The couch is also priced right, which actually makes it a design quadfecta. Oh, did I not mention the forth element of home decor?

This couch is in the running for the loft and hits the design trifecta of style, comfort and function. Photo by Cindy Hernandez

What’s your interior-design style?

Do you know your interior-design style? Or better yet, do you have a design style?

Or maybe you don’t have a design style but want to aspire to one.

I can relate with you.

Glitz and glamour

When I planned the style for my new home, I envisioned Hollywood Regency.

The glamorous lifestyle from Southern California, circa 1920s through 1950s. Think movie stars sipping cocktails in luxurious loungewear. The style is opulent and rich.

My love for this style started several years ago when I discovered the Hayworth Collection at Pier 1 Imports, smoky mirrored furniture pieces that pack a stark punch in my living room and master bedroom.

Rich textures and bold colors round out the look with black-and-white striped rugs, throws and accent pieces.

Declutter

But as time has gone on, I’ve evolved into a mix of Hollywood Regency and Minimalist. I still love the glitz and glamour of the furniture, but I have held back on flashy wall mirrors and velvet finishes.

Besides a few crystal pieces I keep in a curio cabinet, the decor items I go for now are faux plants to add some nature to the mix. Some green to the sea of grey. I have found affordable plants at Target and have had fun setting them around the house.

Find your style

But back to my original questions. How would you find your style? Well, it’s easier than you think.

Let’s start with furniture and home-decor stores that sell the items you’re drawn to. If you said Ikea, your style may be Scandinavian. Simple and functional furniture pieces.

If you said Ethan Allen, you may be modern or contemporary. Heavy wood or metal furniture, matching rugs and throw pillows, and sensible artwork.

If you said Pottery Barn, you may be coastal. Tall lanterns on the porch and patio. A sea foam color palette. Nautical decorations.

If you shop online at Wayfair, Bohemian may be your style. Colorful area rugs, furry throw pillows and white-upholstered sofas.

Other ways to find your style include flipping through design magazines or replicating the sets you see in movies or on TV shows.

If you have friends or family members whose styles rock, you may resonate with one of their themes.

And while decor is all about the visual, it also should be about the feeling. In other words, how do you want to feel in your home? If you say relaxed, Zen could be your vibe.

This and that

But to be honest, homeowners these days are gravitating toward a mix of styles. I rarely see a staunch French Country or a true Modern in real life. These looks only exist on TV or in magazines.

This may be because most everyone I know cannot afford to execute one style from floor to ceiling. The main components of a look may be there, such as stainless steel appliances and exposed ductwork for the Industrial loft.

But the sofa, dining table and artwork may be contemporary pieces from the popular furniture warehouse down the street.

If you’re following my instagram account, @designing_goldilocks, you’ll notice that my account name is Farmhouse Glam.

I came up with that name because the exterior of my house resembles a farmhouse, which happened to be the elevation the builder pre-selected for the lot I chose. But the interior of my house has the glam furniture from Pier 1.

Farmhouse craze

While farmhouse ends at my front door, the farmhouse style is arguably the most popular design style today. Think white kitchen cabinetry, shiplapped walls and wooden signs with comforting messages like, “Blessed,” and “Home Sweet Home.”

The style is light and bright with virtually every flat surface decked out with hydrangeas in vases, stacks of books, and baskets upon baskets. Farmhouse homes are cozy and inviting with the upkeep to match.

So what design style are you?

I’ve provided you a lot to think about. Whether you know your style or not, interior design is always evolving. Like me, you start with one vision and morph into a mix of them. Or maybe you’re one style through and through. But whatever it is, the discovery phase can be as fun as the execution.

My interior design style is Hollywood Regency with minimalist finishes. Photo by Cindy Hernandez

Decor subscription box

There’s a subscription box for everything it seems. Clothes. Cosmetics. Food. There’s even a subscription box for pet stuff.

But have you seen one for home decor?

If there’s one out there, I’ve yet to come across it. So I decided to have some fun and create a box myself.

I’m always trying to think up ways to help people decorate their homes without breaking the bank. I’m always trying to brainstorm tips on how to give their house a fresh look without redoing the whole decor.

So I thought the decor subscription box would help take the guesswork out of it for them and allow me to curate items based upon their styles and interests.

I thought about my ideal customer: a woman who wants to bring some of the latest finds into her kitchen, but is too busy to shop for them herself.

Not a problem. I can do the legwork for her after gathering information about her space and lifestyle. Here’s what I learned.

Her kitchen has a neutral palette that invites pops of color. She likes practical items but also enjoys little surprises.

She entertains friends for brunch, but also likes nice pieces for her own visual pleasure.

Of course, a real consultation with a real customer would require an in-depth interview or questionnaire to fulfill the boxes over the course of the subscription.

But this is just a mock box. A concept. An idea that can grow into something larger if the appeal is there. So just humor me for a bit.

For the June box, I selected items I recently ordered from Target and Sur La Table, two of my favorite places to shop for home decor.

Because these boxes tend to have a theme, I chose the green-leaf motif that I’ve been obsessed with lately. What better way to decorate for summer than with an island vibe, right?

Here’s what I came up with:

A grey storage bin from Target serves as the box that can be used to organize pantry items.

The mango wood cheese cutting board and leaf platter from Sur La Table go hand-in-hand and can serve as decoration behind the stovetop.

When it’s time to host friends, they can be set out on the counter to serve bruschetta, cheeses and desserts.

The colorful dishtowels, also from Sur La Table, are festive enough for company but practical enough for everyday use.

The faux plant … well, the faux plant is just cute. But the plant, also from Target, is that unexpected piece that finishes off the look whether on display with the appetizers at brunch or just to add some life to the kitchen when no one’s home.

So what do you think? This box was simple, I know. But it was a start.

Would you buy a decor subscription box (or know someone who would)? If so, how much would you pay for it?

What would you do differently?

Leave your suggestions in the comments section below.

A subscription box of home decor items are ideal for the busy woman who wants style but is too busy to shop for the decor herself. The cutting board and platter (bottom) add pops of color to this neutral kitchen. Photos by Cindy Hernandez

Demise of a decor store

One of my all-time favorite home decor stores announced this week that it is going out of business. Pier 1 Imports.

I’m disappointed, but I’m not surprised.

The company earlier this year announced that it would be closing some of its stores and filed for bankruptcy.

Then the pandemic hit, putting a financial strain on non-essential businesses and hindering Pier 1’s ability to find a new buyer. Now the company is looking to close all of its stores.

People just aren’t buying furniture and housewares like they were decades ago. Nor are they spending the kind of money that one would need to shop at Pier 1.

Just this week I posted about shopping at the store’s clearance section for the Hayworth pieces I have been collecting over the years – smoky mirrored furniture reminiscent of the opulent Hollywood Regency era.

But even before the bankruptcy, I had a sense the store wouldn’t be around for long. So after John and I decided to buy the new house, I shopped for as many Hayworth pieces I could afford and moved them into storage until the house was done.

Over time I became known at the Pier 1 near my condo. The salespeople would see me walk in the door and immediately show me the newest Hayworth piece to move into the clearance section, sometimes offering an additional discount in order to unload the piece.

If it hadn’t been for my gut telling me to drop into the store to see what new pieces had been marked down and if it hadn’t been for the salespeople’s personalized service, I wouldn’t have the furniture I do and at the price I could afford.

If Pier 1 gets its way, it’ll dwindle down its inventory. And if I get my way, I’ll have a few more discounted Hayworth pieces to add to my collection.

The dresser from the Hayworth Collection at Pier 1 Imports has been on my wish list for years. Photo by Cindy Hernandez

When to splurge on decor

So you’ve bought some decor on sale. You’ve shopped the clearance section. You even found some pieces at a garage sale.

But there’s a piece you just gotta have and it’s not going down in price anytime soon.

What do you do?

The rule of thumb I use is, if I’m still thinking about the piece the next day, the next week, the next month, I buy it.

Or if there’s nothing like this piece anywhere and it’s unique, a statement piece, a conversation starter, a head-turner and the presence of this piece will elevate the space, I buy it.

Take, for example, the ottoman with leaf motif from At Home Stores.

The price: $30.

Did I need it? Nope.

Did I want it? Yup.

I saw it on a shopping trip one Saturday, stayed thinking about it all week, and bought it the next Saturday. It can be used as an ottoman or as extra seating.

The fabric has a leaf motif that goes perfect with the C-table I bought at Pier 1 Imports. It adds color to the sea of grey and silver that’s running throughout the room. It’ll round out the nature look I’m going as I bring in more faux plants and succulents.

When you think of all that it does for the space, the ottoman was a steal at $30.

*The ottoman with leaf motif adds color, style and function to the room,* making it a steal at $30.
Photo by Cindy Hernandez

Shop the clearance section

A favorite piece in my house is the buffet from the Hayworth Collection at Pier 1 Imports.

I had been eyeing the piece for years, picturing dinner parties with charcuterie boards set out for guests to enjoy. A glass of wine in one hand and an appetizer plate of meats, cheeses and nuts in the other.

The problem was I lived in a 1,000-square-foot condo with absolutely no space for the buffet, let alone guests. In the new house, space was not a problem.

The hurdle now was the buffet’s $1,000 price tag. The Hayworth Collection is not inexpensive. Even on sale, the prices can be steep, which is why I always headed for the clearance section.

Even before ground broke on the house, I shopped for Hayworth pieces in the hopes of finding a bargain. My persistence paid off when I found a buffet for $200.

The piece had minor scratches I could live with and a loose foot that John and my Dad easily fixed. The buffet moved straight into storage where it waited a year for the house to be done.

Today it serves as a sofa table on the main floor between the living and dining areas. It’s the first piece I see when I come downstairs in the morning. It’s the first piece I see when I walk in the front door. It’s the first piece I see when I come in from the garage.

But what I love more than the buffet itself is the deal I got just by shopping the clearance section.

The buffet from the Hayworth Collection at Pier 1 Imports was only $200 in the clearance section, a savings of $800 because of minor scratches and a loose foot. Photo by Cindy Hernandez

My design blog is for you

Are you a Mom with no juice left at the end of the busy day to create a soothing space for yourself?

This blog’s for you.

Are you a career woman who doesn’t want to spend the weekend making more decisions, especially on trivial matters like flowers and succulents?

This blog’s for you.

Are you just design inept?

This blog’s for you. And for anyone you know who may have said yes to any of these questions.

I get it. Decorating your house is stressful. It’s time consuming. There are so many choices, and you don’t know where to begin.

Wallpaper or paint? And if paint, what color paint? And what about the finishes? Flat. Satin. Gloss. High-Gloss.

The decisions are seemingly endless. The process is so tedious, it can make you want to throw in the towel. But are they monogrammed towels? And what about thread count? And I haven’t even mentioned the cost.

I’ve had no formal interior design training. Nor have I worked in the design world. But I’ve owned homes, new and used, and know a thing or two about picking out furniture, settling on colors, choosing artwork, and organizing spaces.

And I have done all of this on a budget. Because I believe interior design and home decor do not have to be expensive to make your home pretty and comfortable.

Don’t get me wrong. If you want to spend one-grand on a club chair, be my guest. My house holds a few pricier items, too. But only because I wanted to spend that kind of money, not because I thought I had to spend that kind of money.

On my blog, you will learn the reasoning behind the design choices I’ve made for my home that you can replicate in yours. I share budget friendly decor options and explain why I splurged on pieces to round out a look.

If the posts don’t address the design challenges you’re facing, reach out to me on my contact page or leave a question in the comments section. You might find your dilemma is the topic of my next design post.

My blog is for the busy, exhausted or uninspired, so send me a design question. Photo by John Hooks

Design with an open mind

Sometimes the house dictates the decor.

Take color, for instance.

Blue is my favorite color, and dominated my design choices in terms of color for years at my condo.

Dinnerware: Dansk Blue Mesa.

Master bathroom accessories: Tommy Hilfiger Elizabeth Anne.

Kitchen motif: Sunflowers with a blue backdrop.

But blue does not work well in the new house. The color that does work?

Green, which comes as a big surprise to me because green is my least favorite color behind pink. But I like it.

It could be that green complements the brown walls and cabinetry. Think tree trunks and leaves. It could be that the house has tons of natural light. Think sunshine and vegetation.

I could have gone with blue if I wanted to. The living room and master bedroom suites are grey and silver, both of which are cool colors. The blue would have fallen in line on the color palette.

But that’s just it. The silver, grey and blue do not provide a colorful range. Once I opened my mind to green, and saw the life it breathed into the decor, my love for the color grew like ivy. Now it’s the color I gravitate to.

Fortunately, the interior decor world is ruled by indoor trees, succulents and fig leaves.

Green is the perfect accent color in this sea of grey and silver. Photo by Cindy Hernandez

Garage sale finds

Don’t underestimate what secondhand items can do for your decor.

Some favorite pieces in my house are secondhand items I got from garage sales, antique stores, and family members (see “The Story of an Accent Table,” April 13, 2020).

I love when decor gets passed around.

This might be part of the reason I struggle to get rid of things. I think I might need them again one day. If I do part with them, I donate them in the hopes they will enhance someone’s home like it once did mine.

Yes, I hoard. I place value in inanimate objects. I admit it. But all of that is a different blog for a different day.

Back to garage sale finds.

Secondhand items are often inexpensive, they can be the items you’ve been searching for, and they help reduce waste.

Case in point:

John and I had been searching for an ice bucket, the kind you would find in a Palm Springs home in the 1950s. We looked high and low at a mid-century antique store in Prescott. We found two buckets on separate trips. They were about $30 each but were not in the greatest condition.

Then one day we shopped around at a community sale in my parents’ neighborhood, and there it was: the ice bucket we had envisioned for the bar room.

Having seen the two in Prescott for $30, we were ready to pay $10 for it. Our jaws about dropped to the ground when the owner said, “One dollar.”

The ice bucket had been a wedding gift and sat at the top of her closet the past 50 years, never having been used.

We told her we were having a new house built with a bar room that needed an ice bucket and about the pricier buckets we had seen in Prescott.

She then told us to leave already before she raised the price on us or changed her mind about selling it.

Today the ice bucket sits on top of our bar with a fabulous story to tell.