Decorative to Functional

I often hear people say that they don't have enough space in their home. If you ever find yourself saying that, think again. What space do you currently have that is decorative? Change it into functional.

Take the picture above. My husband and I call it our “$8 Bookcase”. This was one of our first purchases together when we were first married. We bought it at a yard sale for, you guessed it, $8. And I love the items in it. Pictures from our honeymoon. Beautiful old books we bought together. Book ends from my sister when she visited Africa. An Anne of Green Gables book. 

However, my life has changed. We have diaper bags, lunch boxes, and little girl purses. I no longer can afford just purely decorative space in my house. Almost everything has to double as functional. Here's my functional space now:

And just because something is functional, doesn't mean it's not beautiful. I love my hooks and bench because they are functional and cute. If I just hung some cheap hooks - I'd resent the fact that I no longer have my $8 bookcase.

So if you find yourself needing some more storage space, look at your things in a new light. If they don't double as functional, consider changing them so they do.