Before&After

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Tidy Nest Featured Press: Contemporary Classic: Transforming a New Canaan Kitchen (Bedford & New Canaan Magazine)

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For the last couple years we’ve enjoyed working with the Nicolet family on a variety of projects in their lovely New Canaan home. Through the many things we’ve worked on together, this project stands out as the showstopper. Their designer Jeanne Collins of JerMar Designs, created centerfold-worthy spaces, and we relished the opportunity to work within the parameters of her functional and stunning designs.

During the project, the Nicolets had to relocate their kitchen into their living room, and after various inventory delays due to covid, their kitchen-living room had become rather overwhelming.

Take a look at the photos below to see the evolution of the spaces — from storage bins to magazine-ready!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Featured Press

Take a look at our press mentions in Bedford & New Canaan Magazine over the years.

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Project Recap: Tidy Nest Pantry x mDesign Products

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When we saw this pantry’s metal door detail, we knew mDesign’s graphite wire bins would compliment the aesthetic well. 

This pantry works hard for two very busy professionals and it needed some Tidy Nest attention.

pantry full of items

We pulled everything out, categorized and edited.

Our favorite stage of a project - the space is clean, the product is in, and we can begin to look at the project with fresh eyes.

empty shelves in pantry

We played around with product placement and landed on a few staples from mDesign’s wire collection.

The graphite wire bins were the perfect choice for bags of chips, crackers, pasta and teas. Not only do the graphite bins look great in the space, but they’re functional, versatile, and allow you to see the items without being completely transparent as well. 

mdesign baskets and product on table

The additional products we chose are thoughtfully sized, rust-resistant and in some cases expandable and adjustable. The pullout basket drawers and storage shelves were added to utilize the vertical space.

mdesign metal baskets

The most important piece for this household was to have their supplements visible and easily accessible. Previously they were stored on the kitchen counter and in baskets in the pantry causing the client’s kitchen island to be cluttered and making it challenging to find the correct bottles.

We added an expandable three-tier spice rack and placed the supplements front and center.

Easy access and super visible!

mdesign metal baskets

These are great choices if you’re looking to use less plastic in your home or you simply want a more modern aesthetic.

mdesign metal baskets

Tidy Nest Featured Press: Bedford & New Canaan Magazine Special Home Issue

Check out the Special Home issue of Bedford New Canaan Magazine.

It’s full of amazing homes and expert advice.

We’ve read it cover to cover and we’er not just saying that because we’re in it.

Take a look at our convo below with Bedford New Canaan Magazine on the importance of organizing your house before moving!

 
 

Kiddo Centric Garage Project

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More often than not, garages are one of the most cluttered spaces in the homes we visit. It kind of makes sense though, right? With all of the cleaning and organizing to do in your home, why would you spend time perfecting your garage? Well… we’ll tell you why! Read below…!

This garage project was a fun one. There was lots of space so we had options with respect to making homes for everything. The primary goals for this project were to declutter and to introduce organizational systems (mostly for 3 active boys ) into one garage bay.

As many garages do, this one had accumulated lots of old toys, old furniture and garbage from the past several years and moves. With most projects we like to start with big projects first, so in this case, we tore out the old built ins and demolished them. According to Shannon, there was quite a lot of ‘grunting’ noises emitted from the sledgehammer operator, however those remarks were promptly ignored. Afterwards, we emptied the entire garage, inventoried every item and broke them into manageable categories: keep, donate, trash.

From there we assembled and installed all storage solutions and eventually began repopulating the space with all items grouped together. We even created parking spaces for ride-ons.

The photos below tell the story well. What started as an overwhelming, unusable space, was brought back to life over a weekend. So why is it important to spend time getting your garage in order? Because now everyone knows exactly where everything is. There’s no more “MOM!! HAVE YOU SEEN MY SOCCER BALL?”

We’ve since checked in, and the client proudly reported that the space looks just the way it did the day we left. And most importantly, we got three thumbs up from the kids, so we called it a win!

Pro Tip: Bring kids into these projects. They’re not going to have the chance to learn just by seeing the cluttered space in the beginning and the organized space at the end. Instead, engage them and see if they want to help find their old toys a new home.

Project Tally:

🚚 950lbs of trash removed

🔨1 large built-in demolished

🛴10 children’s ride on toys donated

👩🏼‍🤝‍👨🏾2 happy parents

Project Recap: Creating Inspiration in a Master Closet 

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Need: Our client’s master closet, while quite large, was overwhelmed with inventory that was no longer being worn. The space was cluttered making it difficult to find items and it made getting dressed a dreaded task. The closet island acted as an unloading station for paperwork, purchases and handbag contents. 

Solution: We reviewed every single item in the closet and with the help of a very participatory client, we quickly made decisions whether to keep, donate, repair or discard.

We then spent some time thinking about what her day-to-day looks like — and you can ask yourself the same questions we asked her.

  • What kinds of clothes do you wear most frequently?

  • What do you have the most trouble keeping organized in your closet?

  • Are there certain areas of your closet that are tough to access?

  • Do you plan your outfits out each night?

After understanding her needs, we mapped out the closet and started adding the inventory! 

  • We implemented new folding systems - rolling and file folding when appropriate. 

  • We created distinct sections throughout her closet - ie. shoe wall - so every category has a home - no more asking “where is that silk blouse?!” 

  • Contents on the open shelves were contained in baskets (custom labeled, of course) to immediately eliminate any sense of clutter when walking into the closet. 

  • We created an “unloading station” for paperwork and handbag contents, wallet, lip gloss, etc. 

  • Finally, we wanted this space to be inspiring so we incorporated our client’s keepsakes and treasures throughout the closet and made sure to display all the pieces that make her happy. 

Pro Tip: This may sound crazy but it is a game changer… Unpack your backpack/purse/tote/briefcase every week. Put the contents in the same place each time, weed out the trash, and relocate the items you don’t need to carry. This forces constant editing and eliminates the annoying problem of having to remember what purse contains that favorite lip gloss...or your car keys. 

Container Store Products:

Grey Montauk Woven Rectangular Storage

Bin Clip Label Holders

Stackers Medium Expandable Jewelry Storage Tray

32-Compartment Drawer Organizer

Premium Non-Slip Velvet Suit Hangers

Poppin Accessory Trays 

4-Sort Wire Dividers

Project Photos

Quick Tidying of a Closet 

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This closet wasn’t in terrible shape per se; it was just a bit chaotic. Dedicating just an hour to the closet (and an hour to the shoe collection) we were able to give this closet a quick facelift. 

The best way to handle this kind of project is to get right into it. We pulled everything out and edited the contents. There were great organizing products already being used, so there was no need to order anything new. Even though this closet is edited seasonally, we still wound up with a few bags of donations, which made a big difference. If we did purchase products, we would have added in shelf dividers to keep the stacks of clothes upright. 

The closet contained different types of hangers - plastic tubular hangers in four styles and three colors and velvet hangers. Instead of buying all new matching hangers, we choose to group the different styles together within the closet. As Shannon’s mom says “like with like.” 

Pro Tip: Grouping like hangers together in a closet is a budget-friendly way of taming the chaotic mismatched hanger situation without investing in new hangers. 

We refolded everything on the shelves using the file folding method and rolling when applicable. Bulkier items were folded flat and denim was folded rather than hung. We contained as much as we could using the Y-Weave baskets from Target. 

We noticed that plastic garment bags (even the nicer ones from The Container Store) attract mold after a few years so we recommend cotton hanging bags for storing formal wear. They come in various sizes for coats, suits, gowns, etc. We used the coat and gown size. 

Finally, we wiped down all the shoe boxes (using Grove All Purpose Cleaner) and relabeled the boxes using chalkboard stickers, leftover scrapbook paper and oil based sharpies. The previous labeling system (post-its) was not working and looked very messy. 

 
 


Products found in this closet:

Amazon: Ultra Thin Velvet Hangers

The Container Store: Tubular Hangers 

The Container Store: Children’s Tubular Hangers

The Container Store: Shoe Box

The Container Store: Natural Cotton Hanging Storage Bag

Target: Y-Weave Storage bins

Project Recap: Closet Close-Up  

project recap

Need: Maximize the space in a linen and utility closet and make it accessible for young children

Solution: Install organizing solutions that would utilize the depth of the utility closet and implement streamlined folding techniques in the linen closet. Labels were a necessity!

Method:

1.     Pulled everything out of each closet

2.     Categorized contents

3. Reviewed and edited all categories – discard expired products, stained linens, and items that are no longer used.

4. Identified storage solutions that could be reused (three-tier drawer unit, plastic shoe boxes, bamboo drawer organizers)

5. This household has young children so we needed to take into consideration the products that the children would need access to, like sunscreen, band aids, and towels. These items were put aside for the lower shelving.

6. Installed deep drawers for easy access for the kids while utilizing the depth of the closet. Since this closet contained a lot of products with labels, to cut down on the visual clutter, we chose a drawer with a cloudy façade to subtly conceal the products.

7. We folded linens uniformly and kept the linens stack low for easy retrieval.

8. We chose to print labels on clear tape for a subtle directory.

Pro Tip:  

Utility Closet: Drawer inserts are key when using these drawers. These inserts keep products upright, so your products don’t topple over when you open the drawers.

Linen Closet: We like to stuff a set of bed sheets inside one of the matching pillow cases. Who doesn’t want to open a cute linen package when it’s time to make the bed?

Product Links:

The Container Store: Like-it Modular Drawers

The Container Store: Like-it Modular Drawer Organizers

The Container Store: White Elfa Mesh Drawer

The Container Store: Gray Under Bed Storage Bag

Target: Sterilite Three- Drawer Cart

Linnen Closet Before & Afters

 
 


Supply Closet Before & Afters

 
 

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