15. August 2011 by Parker.

You have all seen them. Stacked on the back of a truck going down the highway, painted blue in cubes behind Walmart, or the occasional one tossed on the side of the ride. Pallets are everywhere! And that is exactly why I decided to use this free material as part of my Halloween decorations this year. However, the more I collected, the more ideas I had about how to use them. So here’s a look at what others have accomplished with pallets as well as my masterpiece. Hope you enjoy it!

Pallets as Shelves and Room dividers. A very simple and cost effective concept that would actually give your room so personality. Now I will say that you need to make sure the wood is not rotting or full of bugs. So those pallets sitting in a field for the last 2 years may not be a good idea for these projects. However, a newer pallet with a fresh coat of paint or stain would be perfect!

This has to be one of the more unique options I have found. By simply stacking the pallets, hinging them together, adding a colored glass top, and lights inside…you have a very interesting conversation piece for very little money.

These two are great examples of using pallets for the bedroom. The headboard comes across as very rustic and country themed, whereas the stacked and painted pallets are perfect for a twin bed in a college apartment or vacation cottage.

What I love most about these two is the simplicity behind them. The bookshelves allow you to utilize what might have been wasted space and the wall planked with pallet wood gives the space some depth. Now most pallets do not come in turquoise so I imagine a light coat of paint or colored sealer was used to establish this effect.

Here are some great uses for those pallets that may not be in the best of shape. 1) Fencing around an air conditioning unit. 2) The base for a raised garden. 3) Upcycled outdoor benches. Or 4) A rolling outdoor coffee table.

And this is my masterpiece for the year. A sixty foot wide, eight foot tall pirate ship made from pallet wood. Add the cannons, ladders, railing, and forty-two foot masts and yes sir, you’ve got yourself a pirate ship!

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14. August 2011 by Parker.

I have A LOT of clothes. More than the normal woman would have and that is no exaggeration. My husband and I did an inventory of it once for insurance purposes and figured out that I could go an entire year with repeating an outfit once or shoes more than twice. It’s my obsession, to shop, to find pretty things, to find unique items, to accessorize everything! With all that in mind, I dream about the perfect closet to house all my bargains and fabulous finds.

I like the clean lines and sterile feel of this closet. However, the island is too small and the glass doors would be a pain in the butt. And I understand the desired effect of the chandelier but it just doesn’t do this room justice.

The floor length mirror, the island, and the many shelves for shoes are what attracted me to this picture. Again, I can do without the glass doors as they make the space feel smaller and the tv has got to go.

The idea of having aisles of clothes to choose from  makes me giddy like a school girl. I like the fact that they made it well lit with lots of storage but I don’t like the hard floor as I tend to be in my bare feet when getting dress and that floor would be cold in the winter!Also the off white cabinets were a nice break from all the white from the previous pics.

This closet is extremely practical which is why I can appreciate it. However it does not inspire me to go in there and play dress up like I did as a girl. Ah…who am I kidding? I still like to go play in my closet!

This is a man’s walk in closet. Dark floors, wood stained cabinets, too much light, and no floor length mirror give that away in a heartbeat. I will say this, however, kudos to him for being organized and having a plethora of choices every morning.

This is the super girly, boutique feel closet that would make your friends feel like they are shopping inside your home. While I truly appreciate it and all it’s loveliness, I just couldn’t see this as my every day dressing area.

There is only one thing I like about this closet: the washer and dryer! I have been designing closets for clients for years and one thing I always suggest is to put a washer and dryer in the master closet. Why not? You get undressed and dressed in here every day. Why not be able to launder and hang your clothes right back up in one place?

I’m fairly certain this is part of Mariah Carey’s shoe area. I chose to include it in this post because of the back lighting. With the proper lighting throughout the entire closet, you guarantee yourself that everything will match the same when you walk out the front door.

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25. July 2011 by Parker.

I don’t know about the rest of you but I’ve been dying for a cute laundry room forever. In our first house, my laundry was out in the garage so there wasn’t a lot of prettying to be done. Then, in our second home, our laundry was packed into a small closet that was just big enough to hold the machines and some cabinets. Now, in house #3, I have a huge laundry room (10×12) to work with. So what’s my problem? The room also has to double as a mud room for the dogs and I have 6.

No matter how often I clean that room, it is ALWAYS dirty. From rainy days of mud, to summers of swimming in the pool and rolling in the dirt to dry off, to every day dust and dander that comes with 300 pounds of dog. So my challenge is, how do I create a beautiful laundry room that won’t be affected by all the dirt?

Answer: I’m not really sure that it is possible as the dogs will always be using the space. However, I’m thinking that is I enclose the actual machines and hanging rods behind closet doors, it might solve some of the problem. Then I’ll just have a laundry closet inside a mud room. Not ideal but practical. So here’s a look at some space saving laundry closets that inspire me.

I really like each of these for completely different reasons. Reasons that may make me sound like I have a split personality. I love the orange room for it’s vibrant burst of color which almost excites me at the thought of doing laundry. On the flip side, I have always been attracted to the clinically sterile white laundry room, which would never be white in my world. And while the third option is small, they made excellent use of the door space that I can thoroughly appreciate.

Laundry Basket Storage is another challenge. I currently have a canvas rack that allows me to sort whites, darks, and colors but I need more than that. I need space for reds and delicates and what about dry cleaning?  Maybe I should build a tower of baskets for all occasions within my closet. Hmph. It’s a thought.

Finally, the wish list. I want to add these three items to my improved laundry area. Alright, enough of my rant. Time to go make the money I need to make these things happen.

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21. July 2011 by Parker.

Yesterday was an emotionally draining day as we had to put our oldest dog, Sheena to rest. She had been losing her hearing and eye sight for a couple of years now, stairs and getting up on the couch had become difficult, and she just slept all day because moving looked like it was painful for her. It was a tough choice but my husband and I decided it was time to say goodbye to our almost 13 year old girl. So sleep well fluffy pup and we’ll see you again one day!

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12. July 2011 by Parker.

I did a post last month about craft rooms that I thought I would expand upon. A lot of ladies ask me how to go about organizing their space and my number one answer is storage. Be it boxes, canisters, shelving, or my personal favorite, shoe organizers! I’m not kidding on this one. I have at least one shoe organizer in every room of my house. They hold everything from hair accessories to office supplies to medicines to cleaning products. If it can fit it a shoe pouch, that’s where it will be in my home!

With all that said, here are some creative options for organizing your crafts…

Both of these are vintage spice racks repurposed for organizing other small items. So think about saving your empty spice canisters, filling them with glitter, or beads, or leftover paint. Then spray paint a rack, hang it on the wall, and have an interesting piece to look at every day.

The first picture is pretty clear; use shelves, file organizers, and baskets to keep things clutter free AND don’t be afraid of color. It is a craft room after all.

The second photo is a great example of thinking outside the box. These are actually 2 small wine racks pushed together to store yarn for knitting. Keeps the yarn tangle free and creates a beautiful, colorful piece in the room.

I have always found that people neglect the inside of cabinets and drawers. They assume that since guests cannot see inside, it is free range to just toss everything in a giant heap. Great! Your guests won’t see the clutter but you won’t be able to find anything at the same time. What’s the point?

If you don’t have slide out shelves, think about clear tupperware storage that you can label and also see what is inside. Use wall mounted spice racks on the doors to store smaller items. Keep old coffee cans and  labels the tops. As for the drawers, I’ll say it again, spice rack storage can do wonders for your craft room. Pick up a couple of drawer spice racks and keep all your small items off the counter.

Who knew that you could outfit your entire craft room by shopping in the kitchen and closet section of Target? Try hanging scrapbook papers, stickers, ribbons in ziplocs from pant hangers. This way you can sort by colors or themes and easily acces what you are looking for without having to worry about it getting torn or wrinkled.

Multi-pant hangers are also good for ribbon spools. You can easily keep all those stray ribbons at bay by using a straight pin from your sewing kit.

Whatever you do, do not neglect the back of your door, especially if you are strapped for floor space. Vertical space is often overlooked so step back and look to see what you may have missed. And use shoe racks to store fabric swatches or glue or markers. Trust me, for under $10, they can store a lot of miscellaneous items.

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6. July 2011 by Parker.

Just in case there are people out there that have never heard of him or seen his work, I wanted to do a post in Christopher Guy’s honor. This man is amazing. His work is quirky and whimsical and beautiful. Just imagine  a high end Alice in Wonderland furniture store and you’ve got Christopher Guy creations.

Aren’t you in love too?

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3. July 2011 by Parker.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I am an organizational machine. I love my label maker. I love pretty storage boxes. I love unique ways and places and to hide things because let’s face it, I have a lot of things. But most of all, I love it when there is a pretty but practical way to showcase something and jewelry storage allows this to happen. After all, you wear your jewelry as an accent to your outfit, right? Why shouldn’t it also be an art piece for your room?

So these five options show you how you can use mismatched hooks, spools, shower rings, et cetera to hang your jewelry. Though I like these options, they all still feel a bit messy to me. I can just see myself trying to grab a necklace as I am running out the door and not having the patience to untangle it from the rest or worse, break it as I pull to hard.

Here’s another option, using drawer pulls on boards to hand earrings and necklaces. While I can appreciate the whimsy of these boards, they seem fairly unpractical to me.

Now I think these options work the best for 1)organizing your jewelry, 2)making everything very accessible and 3) becoming a statement piece for a room. The top two are antique printer drawers which can run about $50 at an antique store. However the last two are kitchen and office drawer organizers for as little as $10 each. The benefit, however, of the printer drawer if the unique small spaces that allow you to add cup hooks for earrings.

So here are 3 final idea outside wall storage. Ceramic hands are a great way to store bracelets and rings. Glass bottles can also work for bracelets but make sure you like the shabby chic route before you do this one. Finally, a sewing mannequin makes a great place to add a collection of brooches, as long as you don’t need the mannequin too often.

Lots of options. Lots of styles. And there’s plenty more where these came from. Let me know if any of them work for you or if you have a creative approach I haven’t mentioned.

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30. June 2011 by Parker.

I do research a lot. So much so that I can be called a Digital Hoarder. I have files upon files of pics for events I have planned, homes I have decorated, sets I have designed, and miscellaneous items that I simply found helpful or entertaining or dream closet worthy. And since my husband and I attend several black tie events every year, these seven gowns aren’t that far out of my reach!

As you can tell, I adore flowing, layered gowns. They make me feel like a princess!

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20. June 2011 by Parker.

I’ve worked with many  clients that wished they had the female equivalent of a man cave, the craft room. Some have converted the basement, part of the laundry room, or even the extra walk in closet of the guest room. Wherever they could muster up some space, we made them a crafty sanctuary. So here’s a look at five of my favorite inspirational craft rooms:

This space is a converted garage in which they added lights,an island, bookcases, and a rug. With very little money, you can start your space with these basics just to get you going in the right direction.

White is always the number one choice for most craft rooms. It creates a clean working space where you can spot anything out of whack fairly easy. The down side? It’s hard to keep it clean when you work with a lot of glitter or shedding fabrics. The most important aspect of any craft room, though, is storage.

I’m venturing a guess that this is either in a daylight basement or a garage that has been tiled. I love the fact that they used black furniture which feels more sophisticated to me. (I have black in my craft space) As you can see from the shelves, they are using everything from baskets to jars to laundry tubs to keep things organized.

This space throws me a curve ball. Is it a kitchen? A laundry room? A craft room? I’d like to believe that it is the kitchen/ laundry area of a mother in law suite that was not being used. If that is the case, kudos to the home owner for giving the area a purpose. Though I am confused because half of it is organized for crafting and the other half is sparsely decorated. Any thoughts?

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29. May 2011 by Parker.

I’ve been working on the new Jeff Foxworthy movie, Crackerjack. It’s a Christian Comedy that is filming in Savannah from mid-April until the end of May and I’ve been taking care of all the Extras, known as Background. It is my job to make sure that everyone gets checked in, put into make up and wardrobe, and is ready to be on set any time they are needed. Sounds pretty easy, right? Wrong. When you have. on average, 30 adults to look after on a movie set, things get crazy! Everyone wants to wander around set to see the “stars”, grab a snack from Craft Services, run to their car, take a nap, have a restroom break, et cetera, et cetera. You get the idea.

I spend 12 hours every day talking as loud as my voice will allow, giving instructions like an elementary school teacher, and rounding up all the extras that are not listening to me. With that said, it is a fun working environment. Every day, I get to hang out with a new set of strangers, a great crew of 85, and a cast that is so down to earth, that we spend most nights going out to dinner together. So here’s a glimpse of our last 5 weeks: (Photos courtesy of Scott Murrish)

This is our Writer/ Director Bryan Coley and his family on the last day of filming.

When we were out at Lake Mayer, we had our “safety” meeting on the dock with the entire 85 crew. Something tells me that this dock was not meant to hold that much weight.

These boys were the main characters of the film and an absolute pleasure to work with. I’m sure we will stay in touch and hopefully find ourselves working together again soon.

In case any of you were ever wondering how rain gets made outside for filming, fire trucks. Extend the ladder over the desired location, open the hose, and viola, it is storming!

This was, by far, one of the most miserable days of filming. We were inside an abandoned warehouse with no air conditioning and it was 95 degrees upstairs with all the lights for filming just heating it up even more. Water breaks and fans running between takes were mandatory!

Here are some of the key actors of the film with all my featured extras. They were such great sports about the physical activity we were asking them to do on these hot southern days.

Some of the same players with more of my extras.Taken toward the end of filming, I think everyone was exhausted and melancholy at the same time.

Some of us from behind the scenes. Randi (make up), myself (Background), Danielle (2cd 2cd AD), Jordan (Set Costumer), Tiffony (Hair), and Rachel (Set PA).

And I would be remiss if I did not give Rick Dial an honorable mention. Just 2 days ago, Rick passed away. It just a couple of weeks ago that this picture of us was taken in the dugout during filming. I will miss you Rick. You had the greatest smile, the biggest hugs, and the warmest heart. Rest in Peace.

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