Recently, I bought my husband an espresso/ cappuccino machine and the purchase made the two of us reevaluate what we have on our kitchen counter tops. Were we using the small appliances that were taking up space?

Are you using all of the small appliances on your counters, daily?

Our toaster, coffee maker and blender certainly have been earning their keep. But our food processor, juicer and waffle maker, which are used infrequently, were not worthy of our precious counter top real estate and had already been stored away. Since the new machine would not be used daily, we decided it, too, would grace a shelf on our kitchen island where it would be accessible yet out of the way – I get urges for frothy soy hot chocolates with cinnamon sticks!

Frothy hot chocolate - yum!

Do you feel you could use more counter space?

An appliance garage

Unless you have an appliance garage or a very big kitchen, why not take a minute to reevaluate which machines you use a lot and which might be put away? If you do, you may be surprised to find you can create more workroom and, at the same time, make your kitchen look a lot more spacious, too.

There are so many great new outdoor decorative accessories and furnishings coming onto the market today; it’s fun creating/redesigning fresh air “rooms” where clients can read, relax, entertain and eat. One of the benefits of having a well-utilized outdoor space is that it really does make a house seem quite a bit bigger than it actually is.

Time to light up!

This year, two of my favorite things are Restoration Hardware’s Laguna Fire Tables and Fire Columns. These modern concrete pieces are stylish and can add drama to an outdoor room at night, throughout the year. The compact Fire Columns can also work well on smaller patios and terraces where space is limited (they come in various sizes, shapes and finishes).

Now, my husband can have the fireplace he loves…  outside of our Florida house! Hot, indeed.

Wait! I just read that Octavia Spencer is planning to redecorate her home in order to find the perfect place to display her well-deserved Oscar, Golden Globe award and other trophies for The Help. She wants to use what she has to redecorate!

2012 Best Supporting Actress

So, may I ask a favor? If you know Octavia, please give her this message:

“Congratulations, Octavia!
If you need ‘help’ redecorating and displaying your new Oscar along with your other awards, feel free to call me at 1-800-We-Use-It (800-938-7348)! We’ll talk.”

Just as the Best Supporting Actress said in her acceptance speech, “Thank you world” for passing this along.

My dear pal, David Staskowski, shared this smart ‘use what you have’ pot rack idea. You remember David, don’t you? He was the clever ‘Ask David’ columnist from the late, great magazine, Metropolitan Home.

Plus, here’s a suggestion for storing your pot lids from my book, Downsizing Your Home With Style:

Hang your lids over the pot handles to keep them together and save space.