5 Instagrammers' Clean and Uncluttered Looks I Can't Get Enough Of

While we wait on the new kitchen countertop installation, draperies to be installed, and some furniture to be delivered, the Mr. has started on his beloved project of the dressing room.  It'll take him some time to finish, as this won't be another IKEA PAX hack...  he's building from scratch:

... and while he was at it, he also started building some pull-out drawers for the kitchen's lower cabinets.  Testing a completed one here:

Meanwhile, I can't wait to start decorating after all these installations are in place!  We talked about how I've found new love of clean and uncluttered decor, influenced by the KonMari method, in my previous Small Space post.  Today, I want to share the 5 interior designers' Instagram accounts, whose feeds I pour over for their timeless minimalist looks.

Em Henderson

She's currently Target's Home spokesperon, and her style resonates with the brand - comfortably lived-in and unpretentious. I would say her signature look is mid-century with a modern/ Scandinavian vibe.  She styles a beautiful vignette with a few statement pieces and makes it seem effortless.

Studio Mcgee

They're a fast growing interior design firm that specializes in mixing a few eclectic statement pieces to enhance a room's bright and contemporary style.

Erica Cook

She just exudes style, from head to toe.  Just like her impeccable fashion sense, her home is styled elegantly.  I love her black and white decor with accents of warm metals.

Sally Wheat

You might've come across her work numerous times on Pinterest.  Her play of patterns and textures makes her rooms decorated but uncluttered.

Sophie Paterson

Her thoughtful mix of greys and taupes creates spaces that are serene and inviting.  She keeps her accessories simple and let the layers of textures and statement furniture pieces in the room speak for themselves.

With the help of these pros, I've come up with some key elements that they use to seemingly decorate effortlessly.  

How to achieve a clean and uncluttered look

1. Use neutral colours for walls or major furniture pieces - play on colours with accessories in vignettes, throw pillows, and other textiles.
2. Keep accessories simple, with one or two statement pieces per surface -  leaving some empty space between objects make it easier on the eyes to enjoy the uniqueness of each piece.  
3. Create subtle contrast - in textures, colours, and patterns to create interest and balance in the space.

When I can finally unpack and purge through the rest of our boxed up decor after all these installations, I'll be sure to keep these common themes in mind as I decorate our new spaces.  Looking forward to see our new house decorated in this clean new look!

Do share other home decor instagrammers that you love!

Small Space + Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Now into the second week of having moved in, we're still unpacking.  Well, we took a break after we've unpacked the essentials, and continued to unpack once the crown moldings were installed.  It was a nice break from all the boxes; afterall, there's no point to decorate just to have them be in the way for the crown installers, right?

We couldn't wait to decorate the entryway once the crown moldings were installed!

Unpacking may be an endless task, and I'm embarrassed to admit that, for a family of 3, we just have so much stuff!  I didn't realize we were such hoarders - it took our 4 movers 7 hours to move out of the rental and into our new house.  It's true that we don't have much furniture, as one of the movers said, but we have a lot of STUFF.  As a result, I'm always looking for more storage space.

Then, as I was browsing for organizing methods, I learned about Marie Kondo, a celebrity organizer in Japan and author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  It sounded magical for sure, so I delved into it further and read the e-book in one go.  

This isn't a book about cleaning, but more of decluttering by ridding of things that don't "spark joy" in us.  It has a spiritual undertone to it, and in essence, it's more about a lifestyle change.  That by knowing what you love, you become more grateful to your possessions, gain the ability to be a more decisive person (through the decluttering process), and make positive changes in life.

It's definitely an eye-opener and timing just couldn't be better!  We're in a smaller house now, and it's ridiculous to still have so much after rounds of purging.  We're at the best time to start with a clean slate as we unpack the boxes!  This is the easiest way to declutter all in one go, as Marie Kondo stresses.  Purge the unwanted, then store the remaining in its own place, to minimize rebounding back to clutter.  Afterall, "tidying is not the purpose of life."

Little did I know, I was actually already following the Konmari method's order of decluttering - starting from your least emotionally attached items:  clothing, books, papers/ documents, miscellany, and lastly, momentos.  

I first learned about the capsule wardrobe after we moved into our rental last year, and have subsequently purged bags after bags of clothes.  The essence of a capsule wardrobe indeed goes hand in hand with the KonMari method - keep and wear what you love, or "spark joy".

Gosh, this was embarrassing...  I've nothing to wear...

For the next category, books, I've finally gotten rid of my textbooks from university...  seriously, why did I even keep them?!  As for novels, I only kept the ones that are classics - and I consider my Harry Potter collection a classic :-)  I got rid of several boxes of books from this purge.

I'm currently tackling the miscellany category, and our biggest collection is undoubtedly home decor.  We love all the home decor and accessories, and I was all for a layered look in our previous larger house.  Though it's true a layered look is a feast for the eyes, too many home accessories would just make our current smaller home look cluttered.  Not to mention, having too much stuff out also makes it a pain to clean, and encourages procrastinating on cleaning (speaking from experience here). 

Our front hall table at the old house.  Layered look is "out" at our new house.

More and more, I find myself loving the clean home decor look of the instagrammers I follow.  They've shown me that I don't need a lot to make a space look comfortably lived in and welcoming.  Having some blank space lets the eyes rest easily on single objects and devour their beauty.   If I only display things that I love, I would opt to take better care of them with proper cleaning.  I can totally relate to Marie Kondo here:

"Human beings can only truly cherish a limited number of things at one time  As I am both lazy and forgetful, I can't take proper care of too many things.  That is why I want to cherish properly the things I love, ..."

So, I'll be purging some home decor items that don't "spark joy" this week.  Does a bowl with ratten balls on my coffee table spark joy?  I think I'm over that phase.

And onto momentos...  I'm a sentimental person, and naturally a hoarder of birthday cards and any occasional cards.  When we moved from our old house, I've purged all Christmas cards from previous years.  Sorry good friends.  And now, I'm more than ready to rid of the birthday cards I've collected over the years.  Though I still have a special box for all the cards the Mr. has given me since we started dating =)  Yes, that sparks joy in me, forever.

"Souvenirs" from our recent Europe vacation - "sparks joy" - KEEP pile.

This is our third house, and third time must be the charm.  I hope I've finally found a way to put our house in order!  It's been liberating to purge and I haven't been browsing online stores aimlessly.  My goal in following the KonMari Method is to have less, and buy less; spend less time in perfecting a layered look and more time enjoying our uncluttered house.   I'm sure the Mr. will also breath a sigh of relief for not having to build racks after racks for storage after all this decluttering!

Have you taken on the KonMari challenge?  Have you stay decluttered without rebounding back?

WOO HOO! We've moved in!

We have officially moved in over the past weekend.  *HAPPY DANCE!!!!!*  It's a great relief for us all, including our little fur baby, to be in our own home again!  It's a smaller house than our old house, but after staying at the rental for a good year+, we're glad to have more space at the new house.  Check out my Instagram feed for some snippets of our new house!

Even though this is our third house, it's still a daunting task to unpack all of the boxes.  It's just common sense to unpack and organize the daily essentials first and foremost, starting with the bathrooms and kitchen.  Bathrooms/ toiletries are the easiest for me, and I've purchased some organizers to help with that task.  

Then comes the kitchen...  It's all unpacked, and I've shoved (neatly) whatever I can into the cabinets.  As I unpacked and organized, I was reminded that we really have to be efficiently organized in this smaller kitchen.  I tried to look for wire pullout storage to save the Mr. some time and to concentrate on other to-do's around the house, but their sizes don't fit optimally in our cabinets.  Why buy them for $$$ when they don't fit?  Not to mention, the drawer hardwares are only a fraction of the price of those ill-fitting wire pullouts.  

So, you guessed it, the Mr. will need to build the pullouts himself.  Good that he's done it before at our old house for the pantry pullouts.  

And since we're "saving" on the wire pullouts, we splurged on this blind corner storage unit at Lee Valley.  It's great to not have to crawl inside the blind corner to get the rarely used stuff out!

The kitchen is now somewhat organized, but it's still a work in progress.  Most of the appliances have been installed, minus the hood, but we still need the panels to be put on the fridge/ freezer drawers and dishwasher (see Design Board).  For now, at least the kitchen is functional...  we just need time to go grocery shopping!  I'm sure the Mr. can't wait to cook up a feast in his new kitchen!

With all this organizing going on at home, I figured it's also time to post a new to-do list for our new house.  Our projects at the previous house can still be easily accessible on the "Completed Projects" tab above.  

It's all about prioritization with this to-do list.  We still have so much STUFF even after rounds of moving and purging, that storage requirement comes before any improvement on esthetics - trim work and painting.  The order is flexible, and of course, depending on deals and budgets.

We're going by a daily to-do list to get the house in better order each day.  As time goes by, this builder's house will turn into our home, with our personalized touches and DIY projects, much like our previous house.  Remember to check back from time to time on our progress!