Message Centers... at your service

The picture to the right is my first message center:



A message center was something I decided I had to have in my last home. I was tired of losing my phonebook, having nowhere to post notices/pictures, having a jumble of pens/pencils/crayons, etc. So off to the drawing board in my mind.
I took a large,plain bulletin board I got for $1 at the fleamarket and covered it with black and white ticking fabric and painted the frame black. This was mounted on the wall. A great storage caddy from Ikea I used for the kids' pencils and pens. I framed all my families frequently used numbers on the wall near the phone; and used the large drawer for the phonebook, stationery, craft supplies and paper. In the bottom cupboard I placed extra school supplies, play-doh, coloring books, etc.
In my present home, I have a smaller message center and a great chalkboard across from it. I hang my calendar near the phone ready to jot down important dates and I keep Sophie's colouring books in a great vintage metal picnic basket I got at a fleamarket. I think I will add a curtain to the bookshelf area so I can hide the inevitable junkmail that ends up on the shelves. I absolutely love the chalkboard that my husband made me and consider it "my brains." I think I depend on it too much as I was at a complete loss before he finally made it and hung it on the wall. He said he never rushed a project so much because I was forgetting everything!!!
Great organization thrills me and it's probably a blessing in disguise that my husband is messy because I could get quite obsessed by it. I wouldn't mind if he was tidier, though. I admit to my clients that I struggle with organization issues too, because of my family. One of the favorite aspects of my business is when I get called on to do an organization job. My mantra: a place for everything and everything in its place... words to live by, or at least strive for!!

p.s. the desk phone is one I got at Walmart a few years back. It is identical to one found in Pottery Barn. I love a bargain!!!