As the seasons change the closet really does require a cleaning to stay as user friendly as possible.  The change from winter to spring is a tough one in the Northwest, we can have some warm weather then it will be followed by a couple of cool days with rain.  We can’t go from winter coats to shorts and tees overnight our weather will not allow it.  Take a look at this closet organization video to help get you inspired to do it the right way!

Here are a few things I recommend to make the cleaning out process much easier.

1. Take a look at all the coats, vests, sweatshirts, and jackets.  Recycle any that you did not wear this year.  Some of these items just get to worn looking, get rid a few them and then next year buy one really good replacement.

2. Clean out the shoes.  Pack away the boots that will not be worn during the spring and into summer, again, if shoes are looking too worn donate them.  Get the summer shoes out and do the same thing, get rid of shoes that were not worn last summer.  Put a shoe rack on the back of door, maybe the closet and put the everyday shoes up where you can easily see them.

3. Cleaning out the clothes can be hard, first go through and donate anything that you don’t like or looks terrible on you.  Put l winter things in garment bags and store in extra closets, in the basement, or the garage.  Get some hanging racks and tubs for folded items.

4. For summer think about how to organize the tees, light sweaters, casual pants and work clothes.  The more items you can fold the more space will be available in closet.  Make a list of what you need, you don’t need tons of outfits you need a few that look great and go together.  Maybe it is just a necklace or scarf that can pull the look together.

I hate to do this but it is good to just empty the closet on the bed and put each piece back one at a time, organize, pants, casual and work, tops, sweaters, and weekend clothes.  Go through the accessories and choose what you will use for summer and put the rest away.  Even if this takes a couple of days to complete, it makes it so easy to get those outfits together.  A couple of weeks ago I did this, unfortunately, it took me five days, I piled everything on the floor and just kept thinking about it.  Finally it took two and half hours to get it perfect, and I had four bags to go to Value Village.

Contact Gary or Joan at Amazing Spaces for a FREE quote on storage and organization solutions for your closets and home.

We have had the pleasure of knowing Kristen and Tod Sakai for the last few years, we actually met them at the Seattle Home Show.  We have been fortunate to have worked with them on projects and have found that they are an amazing group. Together they own Sockeye Homes and do both new home construction and remodeling, they have been recognized nationally and locally with many awards for fantastic design, building methods and functionality.

Kristen and Tod just have finished their own family home and it is a stunner.  Their home has won the Northwest Idea House of 2012 and will be featured in several magazines in the summer and fall. Their home combines the design of the Pacific Rim and the Northwest contemporary. Since they have two small children the home is not only beautiful and peaceful but also a functional home for a family and for kids to grow. Take a look at Team Sockeye!!

For the new home we were lucky enough to be asked to do their master closet, pantries (there are two) and many of their window coverings.  This really gave us the opportunity to showcase our designs and materials in their home.

We will go months and months without having an inquiry about garages, then we will get three or four all at the same time.  Some of our customers know that they want a small work bench, some shelving, and perhaps a couple of tall cabinets with doors that keep items out of sight.  Other customers want top of the line with everything behind closed cabinet doors, work benches with lots of drawers for tool organization and an area for all the gardening items.  It doesn’t matter if it is small or large what is important is that it meets the needs of an individual or family.

Garages can be costly so deciding what you need is the first order of business.  When people are moving into a new home the garage is clean and uncluttered so figuring out what to do with the space is easier.  Shelving is a must and I like using the large container tubs that can be labeled and organized on the shelves making storage and retrieval easy. Tubs that will not be opened often like old family pictures, saved baby clothes, or heirlooms can be stored on the top shelves or in the back. Other tubs might hold seasonal decorations, sports equipment, household repair items or gardening supplies, can be front and center for quick access.  Make sure that all the tubs are labeled clearly and all tops are securely fastened.

One additional feature you might consider for a busy family in the garage is shoe storage, removing wet shoes and boots before entering the house helps to keep often traveled areas clean.  Hooks for coats and backpacks can also be put in the garage.  Figure out what you need and your garage will work for you. For most of us, the garage is our “welcome home” after a day of school and work.

Contact Gary or Joan at Amazing Spaces for a FREE quote on storage and organization solutions for any room in your home, including the garage.

Even though kids are looking forward to summer vacation, as parents you know that it won’t be long and another school year will begin.  This is a perfect time to begin thinking about planning a good study center that could be in place before the new school year.

We think of study centers for older kids, but the little ones also need quiet organized spaces to develop the skills that will help them all the way through school.  For the little ones they may be completing a classroom worksheet or just doing some quiet reading or looking at books.  Establishing a space for them gives your kids a place to go and get started.

A study area can be as simple as a desktop, drawers and a few shelves.  An area properly planned out can grow with your student.  Younger children don’t need laptops, but they need work space for writing or completing worksheets and a place to keep books organized.

Keep it simple for all the elementary students, have the tools they need like different types of paper, pencils, crayon, paste and scissors.  I love reference books like a dictionary and some nonfiction animal books or science for kids to look up information.  Spell check is good on a computer but actually learning how to use even a very simple picture dictionary or encyclopedia can be so good for your early learner.

Organization skills for learning start in the primary grades look around this summer and see if you can take, even a very small space, and create a learning center for your child.

Contact Amazing Spaces for a FREE quote on home office/study area, custom closets, plantation shutters, blinds and shades and more. Ask for Joan or Gary at 425.304.0706

Everyone wants a closet that looks like Oprah’s, which is not always possible. Sometimes we have great places to live, we might love the view or the neighborhood, but the house or condo just doesn’t have the closets or storage spaces that we need.

Many of our clients that complain that their closets are too small have tons of clothes in there that they never wear. I don’t care if you put a clothes rack in the garage and then put those clothes that are seldom worn in garment bags but get them out of the closet. For men, it is often suits, they wear them to funeral, weddings, or cruises, these clothes should not be in the main closet.  For women, you have long dresses that haven’t been worn in years or even a wedding dress, no need to be in the closet! Check out this YouTube video: How To Organize a Closet 1 of 3

Small closets need a couple of things, they need some double hang sections just to maximize the space, possibly some drawers, at least, some shelving for folded items and maybe some long hang for dresses or coats, and if possible, some shoe shelving. These closets are not expensive and can just make your life so much easier, cleaning out a small closet makes it so easy to put together outfits and just see what you have to wear.

I am finding that with each season I need a clean out, need to get the outfits that actually fit me and what goes with what. It is easy to shop when you know what you need and not what you think you need. Shopping with a list is harder than just reacting to what is on sale or looks so cool on the mannequin.

We would love to give you a FREE quote on creating organized closet solutions for your home. Call Joan or Gary at Amazing Spaces today! 425.304.0706

Working from home is something that is not unusual anymore, many employees find they get more done and find it easier to concentrate on work from a home office.  Many companies find their jobs do not require an office and many of our clients work just a few days a week from home and then go to the office for at least a couple of days a week to attend meetings and work with team members.  We work with many clients that own their own businesses and work from home.

We have designed many home offices over the years and it is a product that really makes a difference in how people live and work. Designing a closet is pretty much the same for everyone, the space may be different, but the needs are the same, they need hanging sections, shelves, drawers, laundry baskets, etc. When you design an office, not only are you looking at what to do with the space, but the most important questions are what the client needs to be efficient, productive, and comfortable.

Most of our clients want a design that makes them want to come to work, they want space that will be organized and a place for printers, faxes, computers, phones, and any of the special equipment they might require. We have some great pictures on our website page; Home Office Solutions.

Working from home has been a learning curve for me and one that I still struggle with from time to time.  Owning a small business does allow me to put projects off or not do them at all, this is a bad strategy for a business. I am always looking for new ways to be productive.

Contact Amazing Spaces if you need a new home office layout to help you work more efficiently at home. 425.304.0706

In choosing window coverings for a home you often need to mix up the choices and not just stay with the same thing.  In the Northwest we have dark days with lots of rain so we really want to maximize the beautiful days that we do have, well, a few months out of the year.

We are finding that wooden blinds, shutters, and roller shades fit the bill for many homes. A mix of shutters and wooden blinds work great, if you have a view home you will want to maximize it.  We have just finished a home on Lake Washington that has used combination of window coverings and they turned out great.  These were people, who wanted the view to be the best part of their home, so they mixed it up.  With windows on the southern exposure they chose to do the roller shades, they can raise the shades when the sun in not out and they can lower them when the bright sun heats up the house.  With the windows on the street side they are using the wooden blinds, a good classic look with the ability of raising them.  Make your home work for you and what you love about it.

Whether you chose one type of window coverings or a combination make it your choice and really take a look at what is available. Check out our website and schedule an appointment, we can help you with the choices you have to make.

We actually started Amazing Spaces by doing pull-out shelves, one of our neighbors had us do shelves for her collection of family china.  When we completed this project she asked if Gary could do something with her closet, he got on-line and began doing research about building closets.  He found Neil Balter, who quickly became one our favorite people.

Neil’s business is Organizers Direct in Scottsdale, Arizona, at that time Neil was doing the training in closet design for independent dealer for the Closet Maid Company.  He was running a “closet college” where you were trained in materials, computer aided design, marketing, sales and the installation of the closet.  His notion was a man, a plan and a van; his idea was that people could run their own businesses and keep it small and profitable.  Gary attended the college for a week and a year later he attended, again, with me.  Our closet business was started with the classes we took from Neil and through the last 8 years we have remained friends and business partners with him.  He was recently featured in a Closet industry magazine, read the article here; Closets Daily.

Neil Balter is so interesting because he started California Closets as a young man and sold the company about 10 years later.  So when people ask to compare our products to the big box stores we were trained by the best and the first.  Neil has been profiled by The Walls Street Journal and Forbes Magazine, has had 1000’s of newspaper and magazine articles about his success, he is the industry leader in custom closet and home organization.  Neil has a new line of garage storage systems coming out in the summer of 2012, we will be featuring news about Neil and his products in the future.

Last summer we were asked to participate in a Make-A-Wish bedroom transformation for a young lady who needed a great place to hang out and meet with her friends.  We did a super cute shoe closet that fit right into the design of the room.  Last week we were asked to do a walk-in closet for a special young man who also received a new fabulous sports bedroom.  We were able to take a reach-in closet and add shelving, a drawer unit, and hanging sections; it will add storage, organization and function to an ordinary closet.

Make-A-Wish was started was started in 1980 with the one wish of little boy who had a wish to become a police officer.  It started small with one wish and has grown into an organization that has reached 250,000 children all around the world.  This organization has lots of ways to serve, it might be building a closet, fundraising, special events and parties and many volunteer opportunities.

We have been blessed with children and grandchildren that have not had to struggle with life-threatening illnesses, so when we are asked to help a designer make a room works for a child that is facing a major illness we are happy to help.  Our project has been in our hometown area which even makes the projects more special.   If this is an organization you have heard about but maybe don’t really know how you would fit in, check out their website at WISH.org and read about their mission and successes.

I guess after mini-blinds honeycomb shades are the most popular type of window covering in the Seattle area.  We are just beginning the full sale of our window coverings, and we are finding that the roller shades are what many of our clients are wanting.

Roller shades are great for the Northwest because when they are rolled up you have full visibility of the windows and light.  Many of our new customers are businesses that have windows facing the west and by the late afternoon they are having a difficult time seeing computer screens and cash registers.  These shades make it possible for the business to keep their windows open for sun in the early part of the day and then lower them as the sun becomes too bright.  Another issue for businesses is that they do not want window coverings that block street access to their shops, not only for customers but for safety at night.

Roller shades come in fabulous fabric and color choices, you can go from a light covering to a total blackout shade, and everything in-between.  You can manually raise the shade or for a small increase in price you can have battery operated shades that use a remote control, how cool is that!  These shades are also wonderful fit for large windows, which are sometimes hard to get a good fitting covering.

We are running a great promotion for residential or business customers; you will find this type of window covering a great choice for fashion, function, and price.  Visit our web page at www.amazingspaces.biz and send us an email for in-home estimate (in-business) and you will receive the promotional price.