Showing posts with label residential floor plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label residential floor plan. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Bathroom Towel Storage Options Series Part Five-Miscellaneous

Continuing my series on bathroom towel storage options- in this post I will share scanned photos showing a miscellaneous assortment of options. One option my daughter-in-law used in her previous home, sorry I do not have a photo, was to hang a metal decorative wine bottle rack on her bathroom wall. This rack had three or four U-shaped hooks. Instead of wine bottles she put rolled up towels. Blessings.  …susan

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Source: Great Baths Collection

^Can’t you imagine sitting on the cushioned bench in your robe drinking coffee and reading a book in front of the fireplace? 

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^I did not run across this photo of a short chest with a drawer until after I had published the second post on storage in furniture, so, I am adding it here.

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^Source Unknown-if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

Above and below are two examples of storing towels on a “ladder”. Both become a piece of “art” for the bathroom.

 

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Source: Bathrooms by House Beautiful

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Source: Bathrooms by House Beautiful

In the photo above are some interesting wall mounted bins for storing towels which are in keeping with the contemporary design of this bathroom.

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^Source Unknown-if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

If you are short on storage space, you can always use a basket to store your towels.

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^Source Unknown-if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

Attractive wall mounted towel hooks are another way to store towels and at the same time create a nice visual as shown above.

 

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Source Unknown-if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

There is nothing more luxurious than a warm fluffy bath towel to wrap yourself in when stepping out of the shower or bath tub. Not only does this warming drawer serve to warm the towels but it is also a great place to store towels.

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^Source Unknown-if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

^I have never been a fan of a pedestal sink in any bathroom except the powder room because there is no place to put the items used on a daily basis. However, the long counter with shelves below solves that problem. I like the rod that protrudes out of the front of the counter which is a perfect place to hang hand towels or a bath towel as shown. Note the lighted wall mounted magnifying mirror.

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Source Unknown-if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

^If you run into a situation where there is no place to put a towel ring or towel bar for towels, here is a possible solution.

I plan for my next post to be my Spiritual & Inspirational Sunday post and then I will do one on mistakes to avoid with towel storage.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Bathroom Towel Storage Options Series Part Four-Cabinets

Welcome back to my bathroom towel storage option series. This time the focus is on storing options for towels in cabinets/closets. Enjoy the variety of cabinet/closet designs shown in the photos below. Glass shelves with a glass door, wooden shelves with a wooden framed cabinet door with glass, pair of doors with mirrored fronts, solid wooden doors, and double closet doors with glass mirrors mounted on the door.  What are  your thoughts?  Blessings.  …susan

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 Source Unknown- if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

^Glass shelves behind glass doors.

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Source Unknown- if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

^Wooden cabinet with glass door.

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Source Unknown- if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

^Glass window panes on cabinet doors.

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Source: Great Bath Collections

^Solid wood cabinet doors.

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Source: Bathroom Book by House Beautiful

^Double door linen type closet with full mirrors on front.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Bathroom Towel Storage Options Series Part Three-Open Shelves

Welcome back to my Bathroom Towel Storage Option Series! This time we will look at various options for storing towels on open shelves in a bathroom.  Enjoy the very diverse designs shown in the photos below.  Blessings.  …susan

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Source: Bathrooms by Chris Casson Madden

^The built-in shelves seen in the photo above serves many functions including a shelf for a television, audio controls, books, towel storage, and toiletries. I like how they used different colors of towels to enhance the shelves. I am not sure how functional and safe it is to have a lamp on the vanity counter. I do like the wall mount of the faucet instead of it being mounted on the vanity counter.

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Source: Timber Homes Illustrated

^I am assuming on the opposite end of the vanity which is not seen is the same medicine cabinet with open shelf for towels as shown above. This will provide a generous amount of space for towel storage. Note on the left side of the photo is the bath tub and there is a basket with wash cloths.

 

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Source: The Bathroom Idea Book by Andrew Wormer

^I like the thickness of the glass shelves shown above though I tend to shy away from glass shelves due to the fact the dust they collect is usually quite noticeable.

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^Source Unknown-if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

I like these cubby holes created in the stone. Also not the side wall above the vanity is on an angle.  I like the long hardware handles used on the cabinets.

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Source: The Bathroom Idea Book by Andrew Wormer

^An interesting design using an aquarium instead of a fireplace. Note there are more towels in the chest on the shelf above the aquarium which I assume are the wash cloths and hand towels.

 

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Source: Bathrooms by Chris Casson Madden

^The glass shelves filled with floral printed towels shown above is a bit too busy for my taste though it offers another option for bathroom towel storage.

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Source:  Bathrooms by House Beautiful

^An interesting and different kind of bathroom design that on first look appeared to me to be a his and her side with the towels and seated area dividing the two sides. Upon further inspection the wall behind the seated make-up area is a mirror. Note how the drawers are on an upward diagonal. Those look like some powerful lights mounted on the mirror above the make-up table.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Bathroom Towel Storage Options Series Part Two-Furniture

Continuing my Bathroom Towel Storage Options Series, this post will focus on storing towels in a piece of furniture in your bathroom. I hope the photos shown below give you ideas for your bathroom.  Blessings.  …susan

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^Source: Great Baths Collection

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^Source: Villa Decor by Betty Lou Phillips

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^Source: Villa Decor by Betty Lou Phillips

 

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^Source Unknown- if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

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^Source: Beautiful Baths 2009

More posts to come so please check back!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Bathroom Towel Storage Option Series Part One-Vanity

Welcome to my Bathroom Towel Storage Option Series. Over the next two weeks I will publish several posts showing options for bathroom towel storage. This first post will give you ideas for storing your bathroom towels in the bathroom vanity.  You will find some towels are folded while others are rolled. Enjoy! 

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Source: Beautiful Baths 2008

^The white towels perfectly folded in the photo above add to the elegance of this vanity.  I think they would also look elegant if rolled.  Another option would have been a glass cabinet door.

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Source Unknown-if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

^Don’t you think these open shelves add to the design of this vanity?

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Source: Villa Decor by Betty Lou Phillips

^The blue towels stored in the open shelves above serve as an accent color for this blue and white bathroom. 

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 Source Unknown-if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

^The double row of open shelves in the photo above is very spacious and provides many options for towel storage as well as other storage. There is plenty of space for folded or rolled towels. The baskets actually replace drawers. They could hold hand and wash cloths. The rest of the baskets could hold hair products, with another one holding make up, another hair dryers/curling irons/ flattening irons, etc. 

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Source: Bathrooms by House Beautiful

^A large open shelf as shown above gives you lots of towel storage options. They have rolled the large bath sheets, made a stack of bath towels with wash cloths on top, and then made a stack of hand towels. One could add a small basket and put rolled wash cloths in it to offset the basket of bath brushes. Another interesting detail in the photo above is the towel bar located under what appears to be a medicine cabinet. Take a moment and think about how you would store towels on this vanity shelf.

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Source Unknown- if you know the source and contact me I will note it.

^When I was looking for photos for this post, I ran across this one showing four cubby holes to store folded or rolled towels. An attractive option for storing towels. As I was studying this photo for this post, what caught my attention were the interesting sconces, the three-way mounted magnifying mirror and the shutter to cover the windows. Sometimes I find interesting elements in a photo I have chosen to support my post!

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Source: Bathrooms by House Beautiful

Above is another option- this time it is storing towels on a rounded corner shelf.  The monogram adds a design element.

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Source: Dream Baths

^Storing towels on an opens shelf under the sink in this photo is a great way to hide the plumbing. Additionally, I am wild about the drawer under the towels!

Of course you can always store towels behind a vanity cabinet door or in a vanity drawer.  Check back for Part Two of this series.  Blessings.  …susan

Monday, November 16, 2009

Storing Wine In Your Kitchen: Mistakes to Avoid

As a follow up to my Storing Wine In Your Kitchen Series, I want to share with you some mistakes to avoid.

1. Make sure the openings for storing wine is deep enough so that the wine bottle doesn’t stick out too far.

2. Don’t make the opening so tight it only fits the standard size wine bottle (750 ml). The 1.5 liter size wine bottle (magnum) is also very popular and I recommend that your openings be able to fit both sizes.

3. Pay attention to the location of the kitchen windows and make sure sunshine will not shine directly on your bottles of wine.

4. If you store wine behind a cabinet door and want to be able to lock that cabinet, inform your builder/cabinet maker before the cabinets are made.

5. Consider any physical restrictions you might have that would prevent you from stooping over to retrieve wine stored below the kitchen counter or reaching high to retrieve wine stored above the kitchen counter.

6. If you have young children, make sure wine stored below the counter is located behind a door which can be locked with a key or childproof locks can be applied.

7. Though in the series I showed some photos of wine stored above the refrigerator, it is important to make sure the heat generated from the refrigerator motor does not reach that area as it can dry out the cork and spoil the wine.

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Source of photo unknown

8. Avoid storing wine above an oven due to the heat that escapes when the oven door is open. IMG_0018

9. Ice makers generate a lot of heat so make sure if you are storing wine near an ice maker it will not be affected by the heat.

10. Spend time calculating how many bottles of wine you will be storing so you do not end up not having enough storage or you end up wasting space with too much storage.  In the photo below over 100 bottles of wine can be stored under the island. If you do not have that much wine, a better use for some of the space would be to add  cabinets, drawers, or shelves for cookbooks. IMG

Source: The New Smart Approach to Kitchen Design by Susan Maney

11. Make sure if you use decide to have individual storage using the criss-crossed design that the wood is substantial enough so it will not split or break.

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Source: Kitchen Ideas That Work by Beth Veillette

My hope is that you enjoyed this series- giving you ideas and preventing mistakes!  Blessings.  …susan

PS I forgot my laptop at home when I left town this past weekend so I skipped my Spiritual & Inspirational Sunday Post.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Storing Wine In Your Kitchen Series Part Four

Welcome to Part Four of my Storing Wine In Your Kitchen Series. To see Parts One, Two, and Three, click here, here, and here.

In Part Four, I am featuring walls of cabinets that serve as bars/coffee bars that are part of the kitchen area.

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Source: Kitchen Ideas That Work by Beth Veillette

^The generous amount of counter space in the wall of cabinets shown above creates many uses. I could see the counter below the stained glass window being the beverage center for a buffet dinner or other gathering. Another option would be to use it for serving coffee and desserts. If having a smaller gathering, a buffet dinner could be set up there.  Of course, the entire unit could function as a bar. When entertaining you could place a tray of wine and cocktail glasses on the counter. Did you notice the wine glasses hanging under the left upper cabinet?

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Source unknown. If you know the source of this photo please contact me so I can note it.

^I find the wall of cabinets in the photo above to be very functional and very attractive.  It is a combination of a butler’s pantry, a bar, and a coffee bar.  I love the symmetry in the upper cabinets. I am a fan of the appliance garage holding the coffee maker with the coffee cups stored conveniently in the cabinet above.  It appears to have dishwasher drawers or perhaps they are refrigerator drawer (bottom right side of photo). To the left of those it appears to be an ice maker. I am thinking the vertical pull out cabinet in the bottom center of the photo is for trash or it could hold whiskey bottles.

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Source unknown- if you know the source of this photo please contact me so I can note it.

^I found this wall unit to be quite interesting. Instead of storing wine, this homeowner chose to store bottled water.

My hope is that the photos in this post have given you ideas for your dream home. Blessings.  …susan

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Storing Wine In Your Kitchen Series Part Three

Welcome to Part Three of my Storing Wine In Your Kitchen Series. This post will focus on storing wine below the kitchen counter. To see Part One, click here. For Part Two, click here.

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Source of photo unknown.

Above and below are two ideas for under cabinet wine storage.  As noted in the first post of this series, when storing wine beneath the counter you need to take into account the stooping that is required as well as not being able to childproof when there is no cabinet door. 

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Source of photo: Kitchens by Chris Casson Madden

^In the photo above, creating the wine storage was a nice use of narrow space that would have otherwise been wasted.

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Source of photo: The New Smart Approach to Kitchen Design by Susan Maney

^I like the wine storage idea shown in the photo above. It appears to hold five bottles of wine deep and six bottles of wine vertically which totals 30 bottles.  Though in this particular photo the pullout cabinet is not below a kitchen counter, I included it because it could easily be made to fit below the counter. One concern I have which I cannot tell if it is addressed in this photo is if the bottles move when the cabinet is pulled out. That could be an easy remedy working with your cabinet maker.

The next three photos were in Part One of this series. I included them again because they can be used below an island or below a kitchen counter.

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Source of photo unknown.

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Source of photo: Kitchens by Chris Casson Madden

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Source of photo unknown.

I hope you have enjoyed the series so far. There is still more to come!  Check back for Part Four which will focus on storing wine in the kitchen bar counter or coffee bar counter. Blessings. …susan

Friday, October 30, 2009

Storing Wine In Your Kitchen Series: Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of my series Storing Wine In Your Kitchen.  To see Part One, click here. This post will feature ideas for storing wine in your kitchen’s upper cabinet area. Enjoy!

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Source of photo unknown.

^Though there is no custom cabinet work for wine storage, this homeowner found an area on top of their upper cabinet that works well for wine bottle storage. If you like this idea, you need to make sure there is an appropriate amount of space between your upper cabinet and the ceiling to place wine bottles. You could work with your cabinet maker to come up with an inexpensive design to tilt the bottles in order to keep the cork wet and to prevent them from rolling around when a bottle is removed. Note that in this particular photo the ceiling is vaulted.

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Source of photo unknown.

^In the photo above, a small area above the refrigerator could have easily been wasted space with decorative wood panels applied.  Don’t you think taking that space and creating storage for 24 bottles of wine was an excellent idea?

 

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Source of photo unknown.

^In the same vein as the previous photo, a homeowner took what could have been an easily wasted space and created vertical storage for wine.

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Source of photo: The Smart Approach to Kitchen Design by Susan Maney

^Instead of using the space for an open shelf, in the photo above, this homeowner created a wine storage area which holds 15 bottles of wine.

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Source of photo: Kitchen Ideas That Work by Beth Veillette

^Can you believe 40 bottles of wine fit in the space shown above? 

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Source of photo: The Smart Approach to Kitchen Design by Susan Maney

^The picture above does not tell the whole story because we cannot see how high the wine storage goes nor how far across.  What we can see is storage for at least 24 bottles of wine with at least six vertical cubby holes for mail and other correspondence. 

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Source of photo unknown.

^After seeing the first photo of this post, another option for this homeowner would have been to create a single row for wine storage above the refrigerator in the narrow wasted space. This could have been in addition to the storage shown above or in place of the storage shown. However, I do like the aesthetic look of the wine storage in the photo above.

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Source of photo unknown.

^In the photo above one has the option of adding cabinet doors, either glass or solid.  Cabinet doors would give them the ability to lock the cabinets, see illustration below. I like the fact that the cabinet designated for wine is at the end of the counter and near the living area which keeps the person retrieving wine out of the kitchen work area. Isn’t this an interesting home with a tree trunk in the kitchen?

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^In a friend of mine’s kitchen shown above, a wine rack was built into an area above the mircowave and oven. Though a nice look, the heat that escapes when the oven door is opened might not be the best thing for the wine.

Wine storage illustrations from my

book,

Designing

Your Dream Home

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IMG_0016 Check back to view Part Three of my series. It will focus on options for storing wine underneath the kitchen counter. Blessings.  …susan