Inspired by Marie Kondo with her life-changing method of tidying up, my linen closet had a well-deserved makeover. Well it wasn’t that bad before (eyes rolling), but I did feel a bit frustrated when trying to put things back without disturbing other items on the shelf. After watching a couple of episodes of her show, I had this light bulb moment – I can stack things vertically woohoo.
First thing, I took everything off and threw on to my bed. Then I held each item asked myself ‘does it spark joy? Oh… Ali Wong is so funny… focus… well do I still need this?’ Nope, I didn’t do the ‘spiritual rituals’ , I just asked myself if I still want them. And I figured out the sheets that I haven’t used for two years due to stubborn stains.
Styling: being an interior designer, I love making things pretty. I knew from the start I didn’t want the all white clinical look (I am also savvy. It’s hard to believe, but I am. I don’t want to throw away towels and purchase brand new white ones. So I just used what I have. That means the closet is a 100% real, not staged. If you come to my house right now, you will see exactly that). What I did know is I wanted gold and woven to carry out the colour palette throughout the house.
Luckily, Kmart has the exact gold wire baskets I was looking for (Yes, it’s the law of attraction, isn’t it?). Straight up I bought out all gold ones on display and went to another store bought the rest. These gold baskets are great, as they give the closet a glamour look (without breaking the bank, $9 each), also provide a more visible storage solution, so you know the contents inside. Plus if you have nice colour blankets, sheets and quilt covers why not show them off.
I love woven products as they add texture and create an organic (less rigid, less formal) feel to any spaces. Especially if you are into bohemian style, woven baskets are must-haves.
For the closet itself, upper shelves are for off-season blankets. Yes, I do have more blankets because I use them to cover my fabric couches. As a dog owner, you know sometimes your pooch forgets wipe himself/herself before walk back in the house. It happens. In between wired baskets are hand towels rolled up in a small basket for easy access.
Eye lever shelf is for sheets and quilt covers that I use all the time. I came to realise a couple of years ago white sheets are the best, crisp and clean. Because even with darker colour sheets, you will still get stains on them. At least with white sheets, you can add a spoon of bleach when you wash them and they will look like new. Also they will be happy with whatever colour quilt covers, blankets and cushions you throw on them. A woven basket sits in the middle to hold spare toilet rolls.
On bottom shelves, I stacked a couple of guest pillows, towels,sheets and quilt covers. Winter fluffy slippers are stored quietly in a rectangular basket til been summoned.
At the end, I spread different sizes of rolled-up towels across two shelves to fill the space and that’s it. Now I have everything I need on display, and sheets and towels can breathe probably. Every time I look at my linen closet, I just feel happy. I guess it does spark joy after all.
P.S. this is my first blog post and I hope you enjoyed reading.
Take care,
Lin