dilema

I have a dilema. In the last two days I have decided that I COMPLETELY DESPISE the layout/function/design/lack-of-design in our house. Despise. Hate even. Despise in a can't-stop-thinking-and-scheming-long-enough-to-fall-asleep-so-lays-in-bed-for-hours kind of way. I could hardly sleep last night because I COULD NOT get my mind to stop thinking of all the ways I would change things, how I would do it... what it would cost...

One of my biggest issues right now is organization. A place for everything and everything in its place, right? That saying used to make me roll my eyes, but now... now with three kids, homeschooling, a getting-busier-every-week photography business, I need for things to have a place AND TO BE IN THAT PLACE.

Cause when things don't have a place, they invariably get left/thrown some place that IS NOT their place and then all THAT STUFF just looks like JUNK. And when I feel like I'm surrounded by junk, I have little motivation to keep things tidy BECAUSE WHERE DO I EVEN START?

I've come to the conclusion that this family and open shelving DO NOT go well together. We have open shelves in our kitchen, all open book shelves in our living room, the boys playroom used to be a kitchen (there was a basement suite) so there's a fair amount of counter space... The problem? Every square inch of available surface space seems to be covered in Lego.

I kid you not. I could spend half the taking every last thing off our book shelves, putting everything back in its place, returning stray objects -at the very least- to the room in which they belong, cleaning, dusting, organizing, then re-loading my now sparkly clean shelves... only to turn around AND FIND LEGO.

And if it's not Lego, it's Playmobil or GI Joes, or Nerf darts or wooden fruit and kitchen utensils. Or... OR Andrew has pulled every last thing OFF the shelves.

I just can't win.

I need furniture pieces WITH DOORS. Doors and drawers and other things to hide things behind. Preferably these things will lock... and be treated with some sort of anti-Lego spray.

(sigh)

This need for closing/locking/hiding type furniture, however, leads us to the next problem...

I've spent some time scouring Kijiji, Used Ottawa and similar sites. I've feasted my eyes on some of the loveliness to be found on various design blogs. And I've come to a somewhat surprising (to me) conclusion...

I like antiques.

I like big, thick, wooden furniture that has personality and character and a story to tell. I love the idea of hunting for amazing pieces that have history. The thought of Ikea and its clean, simple, modern lines leaves me feeling cold and sad.

I love antiques.

So what's a girl to do? We do definitely need some new (to us) pieces of furniture. But where do I start? Keep checking Kijiji obsessively? Antique stores? Are there any good flea markets in/around Ottawa?? Also, I'd love to hear about your favourite design blogs. I think I'm well on my way to kinda/sorta figuring out "my style" but I could always use more inspiration.