Making Good Use of Space

Before 

After

Under a set of stairs - an often overlooked nook and yet is the perfect opportunity to create an organized and stylish space. In our home, the small narrow space is immediately off the entrance from our garage so, it made sense to transform it into functional storage for coats, boots, shoes, life jackets, bike helmets, leash for our dog (Louie) and so on … and so on … you get the point. Who doesn’t need extra storage space?

Now to make it pretty and functional! I wanted to add some whimsical flare without spending a ton! Why not stencil a pattern? Stencils are such an easy and inexpensive way to bring life into a space. Another option (and one I considered) is wall paper. There are so many beautiful patterns on the market; it was very tempting to take the wall paper route! But once I did a little more research on what stencil patterns are available and compared the price point ($11.99 for package of several stencil patterns) I was sold.

I chose a simple anchor (in spirit of living by the sea), painted charcoal (reads black) which pops against the freshly painted white wall. The opposite wall is painted in charcoal - which I think is a nice complement; two walls of anchors might have been too much of a good thing?!

The rest was easy - added hooks, a matt and a bench that I took from another room in our house. The bench serves as more storage!

And Voila! On one rainy Saturday afternoon, my project was complete! Here are links to material I used-

Rust-oleum Charcoal Paint
Anchor Stencil (similar)
Stencil brush(es)
Wall hooks
Rug