Home organization 101: Pretty organized

When people find out I write this column, talk inevitably turns to their homes (and mine!). Not surprisingly, I've found that many of us share common misconceptions and insecurities about the whole notion of organizing.

Myth 1: People think their homes have to be perfect.

Myth 2: Organizing and beautifying are separate stages in creating a home.

Myth 3: Uncluttered means empty and sterile. This month's column is devoted to busting those myths.

I spoke with Judith Wilson, an interiors and storage expert, writer and stylist in London, about how to create storage that works and looks great. In her book The Well-Organized Home: Hard-Working Solutions For Every Room in the House (Ryland Peters & Small, 2005), Judith shows readers how to marry function and beauty (the key is to "style" items -- a useful term from the magazine industry) in organizing and storage systems. The featured rooms, some of which are shown here, are proof that an organized home is a wonderful thing. Judith says that with planning, a bit of work and some stylist's tricks, you can easily be your own home storage expert.

Storage solutions
See the big picture. Be clear about what goes where and in what type of storage. List the rooms in your home and who primarily uses each, then make a fairly complete list of what's stored in them. Or sketch a floor plan and draw arrows to the side margin, where you can list what will go where.

Know your organizing style. Are you tidy or more comfortable in organized chaos? "If you're naturally messy and you design a storage system where everything is behind closed doors, you're setting yourself up for failure," says Judith. You'll probably avoid tidying, and when you do, you might feel ill at ease in such a strictly ordered environment.

Be specific. Do an inventory of whatever you're creating a storage solution for. Count your CDs, for instance, and calculate how much room you need to store them. Then buy the proper piece of furniture or order a built-in. With clothes, count and measure the width you need for hanging them. Allow extra space for new purchases, and ensure the depth of the unit is sufficient. Plan on enough large deep shelves for sweaters and jeans.

A stylish strategy
Choose furniture with storage, including sideboards, armoires and tables with drawers or cabinets, and use the surfaces for display. "If everything is behind closed doors, a room can look cold," says Judith.

Create a cohesive look throughout your home. From room to room, repeat a style of shelving, pick up on a common architectural detail or choose similar styles of furniture
to create a calming, uncluttered look.

Look at your house with a stylist's eye. Take a picture and you'll quickly see two things: (1) where clutter builds up, in which case you can address the problem by putting an organizing system in place; and (2) whether things on open shelves are unsightly. "Randomly filled open shelves can be messy," says Judith. "Find a basket you like, be it seagrass or leather, and invest in 20 or 30." They'll tidy up the shelves and create impact. Consider buying extras, as you might not find the same containers later. Continue taking pictures to assess your arrangement.

Beautiful built-ins
Let the architectural detailing of the house, like fretwork or panelling, influence the style of built-in storage you choose.

Consider devoting a wall to floor-to-ceiling built-in cabinets with flush doors and touch catches. When painted in the same colour as the walls, cabinets practically disappear.

If you plan on building a custom storage unit or niche for your TV, talk to your builder and electrician about the dimensions (you must allow enough room for air flow, so the unit doesn't get too hot).

Be your own expert. You don't necessarily need a pro to design your built-ins or solve your storage woes. Look through design books and magazines for an inspiring picture -- maybe it's shelves built around a door. A good craftsman or cabinetmaker can work from that, and even improve the design to suit your needs and your space.