Ooh Ahh America’s Independence Day is coming up. Fireworks are the traditional mode of celebration. Ever wonder why that is? Turns out that celebrating with fireworks is a tradition as old as our country. The first such fireworks display took place on July 4, 1777 in Philadelphia, despite still being in the midst of the Revolutionary War against Britain. It was intended to boost morale. Funny that with all of the inventions, advancements, and technology that has come about since [...]
If you’re someone who loves to cook, it is likely that you’ve accumulated an abundance of spices. Often adventurous cooks collect spices as they try new recipes. Which is great if you’re a taste tester, but strains the average kitchen cabinet. One of our more unique solutions is vertical pull out spice racks. These upper cabinet vertical roll outs make for nice eye level storage of spices or other items. They work similar to a roll out shelf and [...]
Custom designed and built vertical pull out shelves help organize your upper cabinet space. Custom roll outs maximize your existing space and make that space more accessible. Help Your Shelves is part of Joseph Otto Enterprises. We are a custom cabinetry shop that realized not everyone was in the market for new cabinetry, but they still wanted to gain accessibility and organization in their existing cabinets. We use the same construction techniques with our roll outs that we use in [...]
Junk Drawer Kitchen organization seems to fall short where junk drawers are concerned. It’s often a bottomless drawer of random things from all over the house that have ended up in the kitchen! While it might be tempting to simply ignore this space, it’s a great place to add some customization to keep organized. We’ve developed the “un-junk” drawer. We find that having a specific place for the items you really want to store in the kitchen keeps the drawer from [...]
Grilling season has official begun. The internet is loaded with more recipes than one could ever hope to try. Pinterest is the perfect place to find some grilling inspiration…and waste a couple of hours. We love to grill and don’t let the snow or the mosquitos keep us from cooking outdoors. One of my least favorite household chores is cleaning the grill. I use the nifty ammonia in garbage bag method, which does work, but still it is a [...]
Reclaimed wood is quite popular these days. The trend of repurposing items is a great way to go green and add character to your home at the same time. During the recent Parade of Homes the Dream Home in Stillwater was a prime example. This home showcased reclaimed wood in several places. The kitchen’s large center island was covered with reclaimed wood, but reclaimed wood was found in several other places as well. The kitchen’s cabinetry was white with the exception [...]
Plants for Pollinators It is finally getting to be the time of year when Minnesotans head out outside. For some that means working in the garden, some it means planting or buying flower plants to enjoy during the warmer months. Most of us it seems, make some connection with growing things over the summer. If we don’t personally partake in growing fruits and veggies we likely visit a farmers market or get a tomato or two from a neighbor. It is [...]
A Space to Call Her Own We have all heard the term man cave. There are television shows about them. There are neon signs for them. The need for a man cave came about when the den became the family room and the man of the house needed a workshop…or a place to escape. Which for many men has always been the garage. The décor of a home has commonly been dictated by the woman of the house, so some (likely [...]
A New Way To Garden This is the time of year when many people get the itch to garden. Have you heard of straw bale gardening? When I first did, it didn’t make much sense to me and then the more I learned the more I thought it sounded fantastic. You see, I love fresh produce and I hate weeding. Straw bale gardening makes for prolific plants and virtually no weeds. Brilliant! Like with most things, the prep work is an investment. [...]
Let’s organize those cabinets! We always tell our clients the most difficult part of a kitchen design isn’t picking the door style or stain color, but designing a kitchen that functions well. Of course, everyone spends time thinking about and dreaming about what that dream kitchen will look like. But we also want to spend time talking about how you will use that kitchen and how to keep everything organized and easily accessible. Here are some ideas we’ve used in [...]
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