Magnetizing the Medicine Cabinet

Posted on January 22, 2013 by bneato

When we moved into our new house, I was stoked to find that our toothbrushes had a place to land (as opposed to our last apartment where we had to store them in the medicine cabinet). Fast forward to me waking up one recent morning only to find our cat, Alvy, munching on our toothbrushes like it was his last meal. What I failed to mention is that our last home was blessed with 2 medicine cabinets as opposed to this pad which had us maximizing only one cabinet. So I decided to magnetize the interior of the medicine cabinet door which could then hold magnetic organizers for our toothbrushes.

Click through to get my essential supplies and more pics that didn’t make the video above! Continue reading →

Canned Good Zen

Posted on October 27, 2012 by bneato

A guest blog by Bneato Team Member Lauren

With all the Hurricane Sandy (a.k.a Frankenstorm – really?!) hysteria on the east coast, it has us west coasters believing even more that the ‘big one’ is just around the corner. A client I was working with the other day freely admitted that she was having earthquake vibes.

Having lived in California before, I am no stranger to earthquakes. Granted, they were not large ones, so I can’t say I’m necessarily looking forward to the ‘big one’ but I’m certainly not scared. A large part of my assurance comes from the fact that I have a really great emergency stock pile which includes a lot of canned goods!

Unfortunately, there aren’t many options when it comes to canned goods organization. The Container Store has a couple, but one of them makes no sense to me (the step/platform one). It would be fine for a store/window display but doesn’t seem functional in a real kitchen. I do like their three tier shelf system – which holds A LOT of cans – so much so that I bought two! Oddly, they don’t have this on the website, but I have purchased it in two different stores, so they are out there.

This new system helps me keep things in order by category; allows me to see what I have at a glance which is helpful when it comes to inventory and restocking; but it also makes me happy when I open up the cabinet for a can of soup (now that it’s fall). Ahhhh, canned good zen.

weights worthy of display

Posted on January 24, 2012 by bneato

there are certain items in our home that no matter how hard we try and hide them, they stick out like a sore thumb. work-out equipment is one of those categories that has odd shaped items; think exercise balls, yoga mats and weights. not only are they awkward, they’re usually ugly to boot. one solution—work out at the gym. or hide the lot at the bottom of the nearest closet. but my favorite idea—incorporate weights like the menu dumbbells (pictured) that are not only functional, they’re pretty to look at. use them as a door stop, work of art or mantelpiece decoration. whatever you use them for, i think it’s a safe bet that you won’t find them stored away—which might just inspire you to use them.

floating storage. yes ma’am.

Posted on December 30, 2011 by bneato

i love love love the way ondine karady solves the challenge of storing items in this small space while leaving room for the essentials. her solution? floating storage. something that most of us probably wouldn’t think to do but once seen in action, it’s something to consider. in this instance, she puts to besta burs wall shelves from IKEA to task. not only do they offer extra storage, their glossy white finish pops from the bright wall which only adds texture and a chic vibe to the space.

i’ll sit at the kid’s table!

Posted on November 6, 2011 by bneato

i was hanging with my lady crew last evening and we got to talking about thanksgiving… who’s bringing what and and so on and so forth. we also found it fascinating that arclight hasn’t said whether or not they’re going to be showing breaking dawn….(it’s a ritual for us to go see it the week it comes out—and this year, it happens to coincide around turkey day festivities).

and during this season, i’m thinking that just about every house could benefit from some extra seating that pops up from out of nowhere—and is just as easily put away. west elm’s version of this is a sawhorse table paired with folding chairs. i like their spin on the ‘kid’s table’ because folding tables, while effective, aren’t always the cats meow in terms of design. i’m also thinking that for you diy folks, this might be a fun project. i mean, how hard can it be to make a version of this table at home?!

hairdryer tips (storing + life expectancy)

Posted on October 21, 2011 by bneato

hook it up in the bathroom to store hairdryers, flat irons and other tools that require an outlet. your bathroom (and countertop space will thank you)! i was at the salon last week getting my hair done (thank you very much holly at goodform salon) and noticed these cute hooks underneath each stylists station. for renters, if you don’t want to drill a screw underneath the cabinet–pick up 3m hooks (found almost anywhere) and affix to the interior of the cabinet door.

and while this next tip isn’t entirely organizing related, holly mentioned that after a while, your hairdryer will lose the ability to forcefully blow out the hot air and because of this, your hair gets damaged. the heat may be much hotter as your hair dryer gets older but the fan slowly gets worse which equals split ends (yuck). my hair dryer is 9 years old. i think it might be time for a replacement.

IKEA catalog inspiration

Posted on September 1, 2011 by bneato

this week is a big ‘ole love letter to IKEA and there will be more tomorrow with my absolute favorite find from 2012′s catalog (it’s a good one–promise). today, i’m highlighting cool ways that IKEA repurposed their wares to make rooms more organized.

1. fintorp rail repurposed in the kitchen to hang pots and pans + some cooking tools. genius way to maximize that tiny pocket of space in the corner while keeping these unruly instruments accessible. fintorp rail comes in two sizes (the 2 pictured are $9.99 each).

ps; you can make an even longer fintorp rail by connecting 2 of them together using a bracket (oh heck yea).

2 + 3. i usually use hooks to hang coats + other items in the entryway but IKEA stylists put a spin on the old hook and hang a chair and a few violins. it’s a little whimsical and i like it. the catalog doesn’t point it out but i believe they’re using the bjarnum hook found here. it’s either that one or the one that folds up.

4. bless the designers for showing us another way to showcase shoes (affordably). fintorp rail makes an appearance again (this time, for only $7.99 each using the shorter rail).

5. i’m a huge fan of having a proper place to store in-between clothes (and i’m not talking about over the back of a chair or lumped on top of a piece of exercise equipment where nothing is searchable). the stylists step it up a notch and hang a grundtal rail in the closet area (with hooks) as a spot to hang clothes that aren’t quite dirty just yet but you may have worn them once in the past week).

world. meet floppy. he’s rad.

Posted on July 13, 2011 by bneato

somehow i tracked down this table online after taking the worst picture possible of it at dwell on design. now that i look back at the original picture, i am thinking it was more of a reminder to myself to do a post on “floppy” and not to publish. anywho… this table folds flat when not in use. genius. and it takes like, 2 seconds to put together. double genius. we could use this in our house for parties so folks could rest their drink and food somewhere. where would you use floppy?!

vanishing side table

Posted on June 10, 2011 by bneato

greetings from vancouver! wanted to show you this radical side table that pretty much disappears and becomes one with the couch. my guess is that this side table was made for this particular couch but it has me wondering are there others out there that you can buy for your own couch?! the only caveat would be you’d need a couch with no arms but if you’re one of these furniture owners—rad!

the eco cube (aka the smallest house… ever)

Posted on May 26, 2011 by bneato

i can only imagine what these folks are thinking…. that there’s no way in hell they could fit all their stuff in this cube. they’re probably right. at 10 x 10 x 10, there isn’t a whole lotto room for much but the designers have done a great job of making it feel like there’s more room than there actually is… Continue reading →