Right-Brained vs Left-Brained: How I Organize Jewelry

A while back I read an article in Real Simple magazine called Organizing for Your Personality.  

The article diagnosed the difference between left and right-brained people and was illustrated with photos of how each differs in organizational style.  Left-brain organizers like order and each thing has its perfect place.  Right-brain organizers like to sprawl out, display, and draping pieces in unusual places.  I remember ripping out every-other page to save for future inspiration (this was pre-pinterest mind you).  And when I took their little "Which Side Do You Think With" quiz, I found out that surprise, surprise... I'm a mix of both.  So lets see with these 4 examples below just how this right-brained-left-brained-ness manifests in my own jewelry organization. 

Photos from Organizing for Your Personality by Deb Schwartz, Real Simple Magazine

1} Right-Brain: a hand-towel stand to display bracelets

When I found this towel stand at a thrift store it was originally brass.  At the time, I was not in love with brass like I am now but I liked the bird on the top.  So I spray painted it a glossy white to give it a ceramic effect.  Now it is a handsome holder for my bangles and caters to my right-brain need to drape my jewelry in an unusual place.

2} Left-Brain: a printers drawer to organize your favorite pieces

Printers drawers are multi-compartment trays originally used to hold the alphabetical character blocks for old printing presses.  The various compartments are perfect lefty organizational tool for small knickknacks of all shapes and sizes.  Growing up, I had one hanging on my wall displaying everything from found objects, to figurines, to my coin collection.  Now it proudly sits on my dresser and corrals all my jewelry in tidy little quadrants - keeping earrings in their pairs and organized by color.  Selecting the perfect accessory for my outfit is as simple as a quick browse.  Plus there's something soothing about seeing everything in its place.

3} Right-Brain: a window shutter to hang long necklaces

A few of my pieces were too chunky or would get tangled sitting in the dainty storage compartments of the printers drawer.  So to appease my right-brain, they drape willy-nilly off an old window shutter.  Found at my local Habitat for Humanity Restore, the shutter now shows off my biggest statement pieces.  Hang it next to a mirror to allow for easier accessory decision making ;)

4} Left-Brain: a file organizer to hold clutch purses  

Finally, my left-brain would like to present: the file organizer.  With all the cute desktop organizers out there, you really can't go wrong by teaming them up with a good purse collection.  And envelope clutches are the PERFECT size to sit in a file organizer.  Nice.  And.  Tidy.

I found my "ETC." vertical-standing desk organizer at a Home Goods. 

Which side do you think with?

~ Cate

This post was originally published on Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Adding architectural interest to a basic 'box' room

Hey guys! Last week I revealed our Spring/Summer bedroom makeover which included a handful of DIY projects I promised to come back and share. The room-refresh kicked off with this tufted bench makeover, and today I'm going to show you how easy it is to hang art with chunky 3/8" sisal rope.

Our master bedroom

Rope hung art

There is nothing architecturally interesting about our bedroom; it's a square box. Totally fine! But, I wanted to add some unexpected height on the bed side to give that wall more visual substance and make it a real focal point of the room. At first I had the art pieces sitting on the floating bedside tables. That wasn't doing anything helpful. Then I hung them a few inches above the floating tables. Still, something was missing. So, I went out to Home Depot and bought a cord of sisal rope for $5 and had a little fun!

After playing with a few different options, I decided on this criss-cross. Ready to have your mind blown? I didn't actually hang the art by the rope! I tied two pieces of sisal rope onto two hooks I hung close to our ceiling, crossed them, and anchored the bottoms with wall staples I hammered into the wall. Then I hammered a nail right in the middle of the two pieces of rope, and hung the art on the nail.

Super easy! (Fun fact: my grandma painted the 'Jars in a row' piece shown above!) There are SO many fun options for adding a little height to a room and tricking the eye to make a room appear taller. I really like how this simple criss-crossing sisal rope not only does that but also creates a bit of architectural interest in our otherwise square box room.

Tomorrow Cate will be guest posting some unique ideas for storing and displaying jewelry. I've had some sneak peeks and let me tell ya, you won't want to miss it!

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea

This post was published under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Peek-A-Week #4 AND change of plans!!!

Hi All! Cate and I have some super duper important news to share with you, (and we'd love it if you passed this along)! Rather than haul all of our gorgeous, impeccable, one of a kind pieces across town to the flea market, we are going to stay right here on June 7 and open our door to you!!!

That's right; the Fairfax Lake Park Flea Market is OUT, and Chelsea's Garage's garage is IN! Simply stated, we'll have lots more to offer if we just stay right here where we are with no room constraints in our vehicles and designated 10x10 ft space.

This will happen to be Chelsea's Garage's FIFTH sale and I could not be more excited! Here's a peek at the first four:

I'm the most excited I've ever been for this one in particular. Why? One word. Cate. This will be the first Chelsea's Garage sale where Cate will be selling her own stunning pieces as well, so it'll be an extra special, extra fun time. And as always, refreshments will be served to any and all guests who come out to take a looksie.

Event Details:
--Saturday, June 7
--Door opens at precisely 9am and closes when we're out of pieces, (or 3pm. Whichever happens first)
--Contact me at chelseasgarage@gmail.com so I can send you the address
--At sale #4 there were cars parked in front of our house an hour and a half early. This is a smart choice.

Pieces go fast in the first hour, so try to get there by 9am if possible. If you don't believe me, I snapped this picture as our door was opening at the last sale.

:)

In keeping with the Peek-A-Week series where I was showing you one piece a week which would be at the flea market, I'll just continue on with a peek of something you'll find in Chelsea's Garage's garage, (that's more fun to say than you're probably thinking). This week I've got these two campaign style buddies showing off their versatility:

Side-by-side they'd make a great little media unit, dresser, or sofa table

Stacked they're perfect for a taller dresser, office, or living room space to create differing height.

Or let them anchor a living room by flanking a sofa or pair of armchairs.

So don't forget, the party is HERE on June 7! Trust me, we have a good time. 

Thank you so much for stopping by!

~Chelsea

This post was published under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.