Sometimes, you just don't have the space for a huge custom-designed mud room filled with organized lockers or cubbies like we see (and drool over...) on Pinterest for all of the kids' STUFF. But the reality is, they have a ton of stuff. The other reality is that we often have to make do with the space we have. But sometimes, we can think outside of the box and try to make that given space more functional and if we're lucky...maybe even a little bit cuter.

Left photo: Disorganized chaos of unaccessible backpacks and jackets.
Right photo: Organized and adequately spaced hooks. PLENTY of hooks. Like, "there's absolutely no excuse for a kid to plop their belongings on the floor when they walk in the door" amount of hooks. 

I went to my favorite gals' site over at Shanty 2 Chic for a tutorial on this little project. These girls are amazing and are a great resource for DIY projects. 

I measured (which is most of the work!) and designed my wall then headed to Home Depot. To the left is a photo of the wall with the battens secured. I used Liquid Nails panel adhesive and my Ryobi brad nailer to secure everything. Then I caulked, painted, screwed the hooks and then of course...painted my walls a new color. 

The wood cost me about $30 and the hooks cost me about $25 total at Hobby Lobby. 

Testing out the hooks...MUCH better! :)

The left photo below is my inspiration from Ballard Designs. I wanted to create a fun "Coat Check" sign that had an interesting shape. I used some reclaimed wood I had and my jig saw to create the sign. I then added the "Coat Check - not responsible for garments or articles over night" text to it. Note: the photo is taken faaaaaar back so you cannot see the horrific free-handed painting of the text! Ugh.

GO PLAY OUTSIDE sign with an arrow, pointing to the door, of course:)

This is the ONLY time that my mud/laundry room ever looks like this - completely bare. It is typically filled with shoes, boots, jackets, snow pants, back packs, & lunch bags. And the counters? They're usually covered with my crafting tools. Oh well. It's nice to see them bare for this brief moment...ha!

Small bench with shoe basket found at Homegoods. It was brown, and I painted it black.
Rug found at Ballard Designs.
Wall paint: Benjamin Moore - Galveston Gray AC-27 - LOVE this color + have it in 4 rooms in my home!

When I think about my little bathroom update, I think of the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff. The story is known for it's adorable "circular pattern." A boy gives a cookie to a mouse. The mouse asks for a glass of milk. He then requests a straw (to drink the milk), a mirror (to avoid a milk mustache), etc.  The circular tale is complete when he asks for a cookie (again) at the end of the story. 

My little project all started with a toilet paper holder that fell off the wall in my narrow, teeny-tiny kids' bathroom. Next, I noticed what awful shape the wall was in and was unsure exactly where to screw in a new one. I then thought to install bead board, which would be more stable for the toilet paper holder and would cover up the uneven wall surface. Next, I thought to make the bead board  a taller height, and add moulding for new hooks. Soon, the wall color reminded me of pea soup and looked gross to me, which led to me picking out a new paint color on the walls. Then came in new wall art to complement the new paint. And a fabric-covered window cornice. To top off my own crazy, little circular tale, I didn't even end up screwing in a new toilet paper holder! Instead, I went with a Homegoods find that is a holder for a current roll and future rolls. I guess I could've just started with that from the beginning, but that wouldn't have been any fun, now would it?

The bead board was purchased and cut at Lowe's. I had to purchase two 4x8 sheets and have them ripped down to size. I affixed them to the wall with Liquid Nails panel adhesive and then my Ryobi cordless brad nailer (don't know how I ever survived without that tool!). Next, I added a board at the top and moulding to the seams, caulked, then painted with leftover trim paint I had in the house. It was really pretty easy & adds a fun, updated look to the kids'  bathroom. I used a pop of bright green as my accent color with the new blue-gray slate wall color and added it in the new wall art.

I have to take advantage of the fact that my kids aren't to the point where they're too embarrassed to have naked baby photos hanging in in their bathroom. These are just too adorable to not display...those babes!

Can't complain about the sun shining in - that's for sure!

Custom Family Command Centers are clever, practical & just plain awesome. What better way to start off 2015 than getting you + your precious cargo organized? Centers can be customized to be hung on a wall or be directly painted and/or mounted onto a wall in your home once you find that perfect spot. The options are endless. Features include chalkboards, monthly dry erase boards, cork boards, magnet boards, photo display boards and can be further detailed with names or phrases. 

So ladies, give your husband a little nudge in the direction of Laura Utz Designs to give you the gift of organization. Trade in those loose paper piles for an appealing hub in your home that will keep your family running smoothly - a central area where everyone can see + use it every day. 

Click HERE to download + print a gift certificate. Then the recipient can contact me to set up a time to brainstorm ideas and we'll go from there. Due to the customized nature of the family command centers, prices vary greatly, but generally range from about $75-150, depending on the size and what elements are chosen.

These days, we all spend so much money on beautiful photo cards. I hang them up on a couple of doors in our downstairs and love them! So why not keep them and display them each holiday season? That is exactly what I have been wanting to do for many, many years. I'm typically not a big saver...but every year, I struggle with tossing out those adorable photo cards!

Last January, a former co-worker of mine contacted me and asked if I could design her a cover for her booklet. That still didn't light a fire under me to do it for my own cards. What finally did? I was simply tired of picking them up every day. This year, my four year old daughter located the stack of 2013 cards that were "hidden" in a cabinet in our foyer. She loves looking through the photos and would happily toss the pile of 100+ cards all over our downstairs. "That's it. I'm making them into a booklet!" And so I did. I found some cute, scalloped chipboard covers and bought some book binder rings. I designed a cover using Photoshop and then printed, cut it out, and glued it on the cover. The hole-punching was the only time-consuming part...but even that only took about a half hour. So at the end of this season - do it! Take those gorgeous photos down and put them in a booklet. You'll love looking at them next year.

Click HERE for a free printable for your family photo cards! If you want a custom design or want it personalized with your name, drop me a note and we can whip up something special for you!

Oh my gosh...what a night! I can finally see table tops in my house again! The Pop Up Market at The Brick was incredible an evening filled with beautiful wares from local vendors & artisans. Being a rookie to all of this, as this was my first "show," I left at the end of the night feeling so very grateful for being able to have taken part in such a fabulous event! Thank you SO much to those of you who were able to make it out! It was so great to see so many of you! It's pretty amazing what you can do in a 10x10' space! Here's a peek at my booth! 

My kindergartener walked into the kitchen yesterday after school and whipped this paper out. After laughing hysterically about him looking sooooo small in the screen shot and how stinkin' cute the whole thing was, he eagerly asked, "When are you and dad going to talk to my teacher again? Tonight?"

Last night was Parent/Teacher Conferences for two of my three kids. I've been doing this for four years now, but last night was different. Maybe because we had TWO conferences instead of just one? I'm not sure....but I do know one thing. I felt so grateful. These teachers know our boys so well and our boys simply love them.

One teacher knows that our son is a rule-follower, but loves to hang out with his buddies and talk football all.day.long. She knows he needs to have a recap of the ND game on Monday mornings with the dudes. She knows he loves numbers and math and makes efforts to challenge him. She knows he's been dying to get into multiplication timed tests and even when he expressed fear about a new set goal, she offered encouragement letting him know he'll get there...eventually and not to give up. She knows he has feelings - feelings that can get hurt by peers at times - and knows when to implement lessons and strategies on name-calling or being a good friend. She knows he needs to feel safe, loved, accepted and challenged - all while having fun.

Another teacher knows that our son is a shy, reserved and very sensitive little boy. She knows that it takes him a long time to feel safe and comfortable. She knows that he didn't walk into that classroom in September as an outgoing student who was excited to participate or make new friends. But she got him there today. She knows that he was anxious to speak up at first, but that he is more confident doing so today. She knows that he is meticulous with his drawings, spending lots of extra time on color and details - even drawing "wind" in some. She knows that he circles his periods in red at the end of his sentences to "stop" the sentence. She peeks in on him during his lunch hour to make sure he can open his thermos of hot lunch. She offers endless hugs, lots of encouragement and oodles of warm smiles every day to her "buddies," making all of us want to be a buddy ourselves. Happy tears were brimming in my eyes. 

So on this day before Thanksgiving, I want to thank the teachers. They are so busy wearing so many hats throughout their days, multi-tasking and willingly teaching our kids while having children of their own. They are gracious, dedicated and awesome. Each day, we drop them off at school, hoping they walk through those doors feeling happy. And they do. Thank you for making a difference today and always.

A few weeks back, I made a FB post that I had just stopped at a garage sale that was run by two, little old ladies who were sitting there drinking a couple pints of beer! What a scene! It was there that I spotted small, black metal shelf that I thought would be the perfect fit for a corner in my dining room beneath a wine rack. And since their sale was "50% off everything" at that moment, I couldn't pass it up for a whopping five bucks. I asked one of the ladies what it was originally used for and she said she thought it held a fish tank!!! Hilarious!

I had seen this darling little gold bar cart at Target, which was sort of my inspiration. But even at $129.99, I couldn't justify buying it, since we we truly didn't need it...I just wanted a little gold shelf to store some wine, right?

So, in came some gold spray paint, a glass shelf and a painted/distressed piece of barn wood and there you have it! My cute, little mini bar table! So pleased...and it was the perfect width! Phew!

Chore: [chawr, chohr]
noun. the every day work around the house or farm.

Sometimes I feel as though I actually live on a farm. Truly. This is the first time I have instituted an official "chore" list at our house. Carter is 8. Paxton is 5. Rylie is 4. THEY CAN DO IT, right? Completely. And these aren't even major tasks, people. These are easy-peasy, but need to be done. So, we're giving this a go at the Utz household! After designing them, I printed them out on white card stock and laminated them. The kiddos use dry-erase markers to check their chores off their list.

Carter's chart is geared more towards tasks for his age, for sure. Rylie's and Paxton's are very similar, except that Rylie's has visuals on hers, as she isn't close to reading yet. Paxton is close...

Anyhow - it's been a couple of weeks that they've been in place at our house and it seems to be doing some good around here & is helping mom remain slightly more sane. Sort of.

Click here to download your {FREE} printable that is a blank template OR email me to customize one for your child!