Drop it Like it's Hot

I had been frustrated with how everything we brought into the house seemed to wind up on the kitchen island... mail, bags, jewelry, keys... you know the deal.  So I created a small space right next to the garage entrance to our house (where we usually come in) to drop our things... the DROP ZONE!  I was originally calling it the "command center" as I've seen it sometimes called around the interweb, but Greg told my family we called it that because that's where I command him what to do.  Haha.  So I changed the name to the drop zone :).

The hooks are for our keys and the occasional scarf.  I have been hanging coupons I get in the mail on the cork board so I remember to grab them when I go out shopping.  I actually just got a sweet chevron cork board for Christmas so I'll be switching that plain one out.  I have been eyeing that @ sign for so long and I happened to see it on sale at HomeGoods the other day for $7.  Score!

The green magazine holder is from Three by Three Seattle.  It has these cute little magnets that are surprisingly strong.  The board on the right is a chalkboard for writing important dates.  I have an idea for a calendar I may put there instead, but I like this for now.  The little wire basket is from a general store near me and holds incoming mail. 

The little bowls are from Target and catch jewelry and spare change.  The little tray is just an old mirror that I spray painted.  The teal paperweight is from West Elm and $5 of each purchase goes to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  My mom really loved St. Jude's, and after she died my dad bought a memorial brick at the hospital in her honor.  Because of that, we were invited to visit the hospital in Memphis a few years ago.  It was one of the most touching experiences of my life.  Seeing all of those sick kids and how positive they are makes my every day problems seem so trivial.  I believe the worst thing in the world is a suffering child, and St. Jude's does so much to help these innocent children.  I urge you to check out their gift shop or consider donating.  We decided to make a donation to St. Jude's in lieu of favors for our wedding... they give you these cute little bookmarks to give to your guests.

And to wrap up this post, for once I stuck to my self-imposed scheduled and installed my under-cabinet lighting on New Years Day!  Nothing like checking something off of my 2014 list on the first day of the year!

Drop Zone Table Options

The blogosphere has spoken... console table with drawers for the "drop-zone" it is!  Thanks to everyone who weighed in on my dilemma of whether to do a shelf, a simple table or a table with drawers for our family room drop-zone area.  I totally agree with the general consensus that a table with drawers would be the most functional for this space.

I did some online browsing on my lunch break today and discovered these three tables from Target that I think could be contenders:  Option 1 (in black), Option 2, Option 3 (in black).  As a reminder, here is the space where this will go:

I think Option 2 is my favorite, but I'm concerned with how it will match the wood of the shelves above it and the sofa table (picture below), which it will be right next to.  But do wood tones need to match perfectly in a room as casual as this?  I don't know what the rules are!?!? :)  Or is it just too much natural wood in one room?

Let me know what you think... I'm anxious to finish this spot, so I'll probably order one of these tables this week.  Thank you for your opinions!

Family Drop Zone - Shelf vs. Table

One of my outstanding projects in the family room is a command center/drop zone.  This was my original inspiration, but that stuff is wayyyy too expensive).  We always come in the house through the garage and there's a small-ish wall just inside the door that I decided would be perfect for a drop area.  There are a few main things I want this space to accomplish:

-place for keys
-place for mail & magazines
-place to display invitations, cards, etc.
-place to store my purse and work bag each day

Right now most of this stuff ends up on the kitchen table or island.  Therefore, our kitchen always looks a mess.

Here's the area I am working with:

I'm pretty clear on what I want to do with the wall space.  This is a little drawing I came up with (to scale, of course ;)):

The shelves/hooks are already there (from Joss and Main), which take care of a "place to hang keys" and other miscellaneous things.  I also bought this bright green magazine pocket from three by three.  I plan to make or modify a cork board for above the magazine pocket to display invitations, etc.  And I already have the basket for my bags.  The one thing I can't decide on is what to do for a counter space.  I originally wanted just a shelf there, so that I would have a lot of room under it to store things.  But then I got to thinking that since I'm so indecisive about this, a movable table may be better.  I really liked something like this:

I was planning to start building something like that, but then I saw this, and thought "Hmmm, it would be nice to have drawers to store stamps and other mail-y things":

I'd be fine with the building the shelf or the first table, but I'm not particularly confident that I could build something with drawers.  (The reason I wanted to build it is because I have very specific dimensions and finishes in mind).  Maybe I can convince Greg to check out some stores with me this weekend :).

So what do you think?  Should I go with a shelf, a simple table, or a table with small drawers?  Is there anything I am missing for this space?

Thanks in advance for your help!

-C