We are excited to share our first cover feature.  Home Furnishings Business, an industry trade magazine, publishes a “Designer Lookbook” and featured our business.  We found out last week our project was used for the cover.

You can read the magazine online by clicking on this link:

HFBusiness.com.designersspring11

All designers hope to have a ‘cover’ story one day and are in a constant state of ‘fluffing’ just in case.  Joni Webb at Cote de Texas just wrote a funny blog about two categories of people, those who do keep their house in a constant state of ‘magazine cover’ readiness, and those who just wish they could, but their house gets overwhelmed by the clutter of life.   Click here to read her blog:

Cote de Texas: Coveritis Wannabe

I have to admit that without children and pets it is a lot easier to control the clutter.  Yes, we do have white chairs and a white settee in our breakfast nook.  I have some darker parsons chairs I pull out when little ones come to visit.  I also have a white rug and I spilt coffee on it, so we can’t always blame the little ones for accidents.  However, for me, having a bright, airy and fresh looking home is much better than having darker colored upholstery I don’t care for, just to hide the wear and tear.

The best way to keep your house looking fresh and ‘cover ready’ is to clear out the clutter.  One trick that has worked well for me is to deposit everything (handbag, computer bag, mail) at the ‘Home Valet’ (desk area) in the laundry room between our garage and hallway/kitchen.  Everything goes there and the rest of the house stays clean and well maintained.  You just have to force yourself to go through that material frequently.  The good part of this approach to organizing is that you always know where everything is- no bills mislaid in the office or a nightstand drawer.

You also need to be ruthless about recycling old magazines and paperwork.  Tear out the pages you want to keep and toss the rest.  I have an accordion folder where I file away pages I want to refer to later.  One folder for pictures of rooms I like or inspirations, another for recipes and one last one for places to visit when traveling.  For years, I’ve been tearing out the articles that tell you where to eat or stay when you travel abroad.  Just in case I manage to get to Sweden or Moscow, I want to know where to shop and dine!  One day, I plan on scanning these articles and recycling the pages, but in the meantime this is a good system.

If you want to learn about a mom who has taken clutter and organization to an extreme, you should read this article in Sunset magazine.

Zero Waste Home, Sunset Magazine

Photo from Sunset Magazine by Thomas J. Story

This article was really inspirational for me.  I could never do this much and I am sure many of you will say the same.  However, even if you pick up a couple of ideas from her you will see a reduction in the clutter and mess in your house… and every little bit helps.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to click on the link above to read our ‘cover story’ article.  We hope to have more cover stories to share with you in the future!