Can our homes be highly functional, but also visually pleasing? At least, I'm constantly finding ways to achieve that. Here are some tricks we use around our home to hide the "ugly" stuff, while still maintaining functionality. <Cords are simply annoying> Cords often break or distract from the aesthetics of the space. Consider mounting a power strip to your furniture. I mounted one to the back of our coffee console table. The machines are “permanently” plugged in and the excess cords gathered with recycled twist ties. The cord of the power strip is also hidden by a cable channel and painted the same colour as the wall to fully blend in. Take a look around your home and organize any unsightly cords with cable channels. A small detail could just be what tidies up the space. If you have an extensive home office setup with a mayhem of cords, consider mounting a cable management tray to the bottom of your desk. Cable winders are useful for tidying up the cords of appliances. I’m using a white one to demonstrate, but I’d use a black one to blend in. Simply stick on the back of your appliance and loop the cord around. It will not only look tidier on the kitchen counter, but also be easier to store. <I'm drowning in paper> The biggest culture shock I received after moving to Germany was the overwhelming amount of paper documentation. Bills, receipts, health insurance reports and even discount coupons... A wall-mounted organizer in the office acts as a physical backlog of letters and bills. The important documents are then sorted into a suspension file basket. Particularly, we like this one from HAN that has a minimal design and easy to carry around if needed. Its grippy feet help minimize sliding and makes it stackable. Being self-employed in Germany, I’m required to keep physical copies of business expenses for at least 10 years. To keep the receipts safely, I file them in clear folders, label them according to each quarter and store them in a ring binder. When I enjoyed making collages and writing letters, my "pretty paper products" were organized in this letter tray. I have since placed it on a higher shelf and flipped it vertically to easily store and grab notepads and user manuals. <Laundry is a neverending story> A big laundry basket with a lid helps keep your space looking tidy. This one has a split in the middle to separate whites from colours. It has a rattan look, but is actually made of a soft woven material that's easy to clean with just a cloth. We prefer to separate towels, socks and delicates. Smaller pull-out baskets fit perfectly within these shelves and hide unsightly laundry piles. For a tight laundry space, try this easy bench DIY to lift the laundry basket up and slide smaller bags underneath to separate laundry! A wall-mounted laundry rack looks like an intentional part of the interior while being highly practical. This one from Arredamenti Italia comes in various heights. You can also choose between a warm wood or plain white frame. Laundry clips and nets are neatly stored away in a lidded basket on the laundry counter. I like to store bedspreads, duvet covers and pillow cases in rolls within smaller drawers as they tend to be less “chaotic”. Together with a scented wax tablet, sheets for guests are separately stored in a fabric organizer. <Cleaning tools and supplies> My go-to spot for storing cleaning supplies is behind the door! It hides the mess away, but is still very easily accessible. I had built two peg rails to house our supplies. For a full tutorial, you can refer to a previous video~ The peg rail turns the “dead” space behind the door into something useful. Hanging a grid on the door is a no-drill, small-space-friendly solution. I stuck the bottom edges of this Ikea grid with sticky tack. Cleaning tools can be hung using S-hooks. For tight spaces, or even inside a cabinet, use a tension rod to conveniently hang spray bottles. A few years ago when we had a full-sized ironing board, it lived in storage and was never used due to how much of a hassle it felt. Now we have a compact, foldable ironing board. Sometimes, I even comfortably sit on the floor to iron ^^ Hang it vertically or simply slide it in the cabinet~ Cleaning supplies often come in flashy packaging, which can contribute to visual clutter in your home. This is why we decant into mason jars. As someone who gets easily visually overstimulated, this is preferable to staring at a bunch of colourful packaging. Similarly, I had previously stored dish soap in a clear bottle but the flashy colour often felt like visual clutter. Recently, I've switched to ceramic dispensers placed on a diatomaceous dish that keeps the sink area dry. <Recycling> Where we live, paper recycling is collected every 1 to 3 months, and plastic+aluminium every 2 weeks. As a result, they can start to pile up at different areas of the home. It’s important to us to have dedicated places to store the recycling. This lightweight and modular shoe cabinet from Ikea can be turned into a space-saving solution to collect recycling. Below the kitchen sink, we have another 2 recycling bins. I left the lid hinges uninstalled so that they can be emptied easily. A decorative basket seats next to the toilet to conveniently collect empty toilet paper rolls. We also tried to find bigger bins that would match our interior. These 40L Rotho bins stack well. They’re convenient to carry around and the duo-lid makes it easy to both trash something and empty it. <Electrical devices> Hands up if you agree: Routers are so very ugly! An open-weave basket is perfect for hiding the router while still allowing the best connection. After getting a TV cabinet with slated doors, we can’t recommend it more. The receivers and game consoles are hidden away, but still allowed plenty of ventilation to prevent overheating. Electrical panels are most often an eyesore, but can be easily hidden. Please be extra careful if drilling or nailing around it! We hid our large electrical panel with a full-length mirror, hiding that eyesore from the moment you walk in the door. Alternatively, give your basic corkboard a facelift by covering it in a linen fabric that matches your home interior. If your electrical panel is hidden behind the drywall, try hanging a piece of art with renter-friendly poster hooks.
