Tag Archives: organization

Small Home Design

Small home design is no easy task when you’re faced with cramped rooms, tiny closets and narrow bathrooms. It becomes a lot harder to figure out where everything should go.

Don’t fret, though — there are plenty of ways to make the most of modest areas. Miles Kimball has put together five design ideas for small spaces, along with affordable products and unique finds to turn these ideas into your reality. Read on to learn why we’ve been chosen by families to decorate and furnish their homes since 1935.

Picture showing a living room furnished with a couch, coffee table, and clear floor space.

Small Home Design Tips & Tricks

1) Keep the Floor Clear

When there isn’t a lot of space to begin with, you need to keep as much of the floor clear as possible. You can limit the amount of furniture in the room and place large objects around the perimeter instead of in the center.

If the room requires larger items, such as shelves, think vertically instead of horizontally. Over-door storage provides a convenient place to hang coats, handbags, books and food containers without using a single inch of floor space. Our Over-the-Door Storage Racks and Over-the-Door Hanger Set are great solutions, creating valuable back-of-door storage space.

2) Add Extra Lighting

Good lighting will make a space feel brighter, larger and more inviting. You can allow in as much natural light as possible through a window or add light fixtures to brighten up a space. Table and floor lamps, such as our Read Anywhere Lamp, provide a warm glow. If you don’t have the floor space for a lamp, consider pendant lights, sconces or other hanging and wall lights.

Picture showing a living room layout furnished with compact furniture that serve multiple purposes.

3) Use Multifunctional Furniture Designed for Small Spaces

Compact furniture is a great way to save floor space, especially if the furniture performs more than one function. Shop for multipurpose furniture, such as ottomans with storage compartments or kids’ chairs that double as footstools. Folding furniture and rolling furniture, like our Tray Table With Wheels, also make great space-saving solutions. When not in use, this furniture can easily be moved or stored, freeing up room for other activities.

4) Design with Mirrors

Mirrors are great for small spaces, reflecting natural and artificial light around the room. Not only does this make the room brighter, but it also creates the illusion of more space. You can hang one large mirror or several smaller mirrors to achieve a noteworthy effect. High-shine reflective materials like glossy tiles, lacquered white wall paint and polished marble countertops achieve a similar effect.

Picture shows a sitting area with many plants and flowers in the space.

5) Design With Plants and Flowers

Greenery is one of the best ways to add beauty, liveliness and style to a space. A few plants in a space will make you feel as a good inside as you do relaxing outside on a summer day. Just be careful not to overcrowd the space with plants, as this will make a small space feel cramped.

If you lack a green thumb and are worried about tending to your plants, artificial hanging flower baskets are another lovely option. Faux indoor plants, such as the Mysterious Air Fern®, OakRidge™ Fully Assembled Spider Basket, OakRidge™ Artificial Pothos Hanging Basket Planter and OakRidge™ False Fern Hanging Planter Basket, offer natural-looking charm without needing water or sunlight.

Make sure to check out the rest of our blog for more home tips and tricks!

A Summer to Remember: Storing & Displaying Your Summer Photos

Summer is the time of year when we visit friends, embark on road trips or head to family reunions. Those get-togethers will likely mean that cameras and smartphones will be a frequent sight. Of course, you want to preserve all these special moments!

As a result of these happy photo opportunities, you’ll likely have many, many photographs to store and to display. It’s frustrating when it’s difficult to find those photos you want to share, especially when they’re of your kids and your grandkids. That’s why properly storing and organizing your summer photo memories is so important. Check out Kimball Corner for ways to show off those memories, as well as how to preserve and store your photos with our favorite photo storage boxes and frames.

Store Your Summer Memories

Displaying Your Summer Photos

It’s comforting to be surrounded by those you love. Photos are an opportunity to have those precious moments in time as a daily reminder of the summer fun. One way to show off those summer photo memories is to display them in decorative picture frames, available at Miles Kimball. Create a wall of framed photos with a specific theme (for example, a black and white photo theme or a collage of a special vacation) for a striking photo display that will be both artistic and heartwarming.

Unique Photo Frames

At Miles Kimball, you’ll find wonderfully unique photo frames in many different styles, sizes and shapes. Many of our photo frames can be personalized, so these pictures and their displays will be extra-meaningful to you and your family. Hang them, set them out on tables or on bookshelves as a constant reminder of the people you love. In addition to summer-themed photo frames, you’ll find other selections that are ideal for other occasions and holidays. Show off your grandkids’ cute costumes in Halloween-themed photo frames, celebrate first communions or graduations. Miles Kimball has all the frames, both personalized and non-personalized, that will bring you pride and joy every time you look at them. (Psst! Personalized photo frames make great gifts, too.)

Personalized Photo Frame for Summer Memories

Photo Storage Boxes for Organizing Your Memories

Storage and organization is a challenge for many household items. This can be especially true for photos. Given the nature of your summer photo memories, you want to ensure that these memories are safe and are at your fingertips when you need them. Perhaps you’re wanting to organize these photos for later use in photo albums or in scrapbooks.

Today’s photo storage solutions from Miles Kimball make it easier than ever to keep these summer photos together and organized. Our plastic photo storage boxes provide multiple containers that are just the right size for your vacation photos, family reunion photos or photos of family visits. Choose between 7-piece photo storage box sets or large 17-piece storage box sets, each with individual acid-free containers that will provide safe-keeping for your treasured photos until you need them. The lids snap tightly closed and keep your photos free from dust, debris and dampness. Individually label each of these clever containers by year, by family or by occasion. When the time comes to organize your summer photos in albums (or to show them off to friends!), you’ll know exactly where to look.

17 Piece Photo Storage Box

Photo Albums

Whether you’re a scrapbooking guru or you want to begin organizing your photo collection better, photo albums are the way to go. It’s important, however, that you choose the right photo albums for the job: cheap photo albums can cause damage to your precious photos. You want to find top-notch albums that will offer the protection you need as well as with plenty of room, beautiful bindings and classic presentations that you’ll be proud of. Look for acid-free paper, non-adhesive backing pages and high-quality plastic. Cutting corners with cheap photo albums can cause issues later.

Miles Kimball Exposures photo albums have all of what you need. These beautiful, keepsake-worthy photo albums will not only beautifully display those summer photos, they’ll also look stunning when arranged on bookshelves or on coffee tables. Our high-quality leather photo albums can be personalized with dates, names or special events. Want to commemorate your granddaughter’s graduation from college and the party that went along with it? These albums are excellent for all of life’s memories, such as a special family vacation or road trip that you never want to forget. We even offer wedding albums that are specially made to create a stunning presentation of that super-special family event.

Our Exposures photo albums are perfect to keep those memories all in one place and at your fingertips. Choose from many different sizes, colors and style options. We also offer non-personalized photo albums, which allow you to label your album to your preference. Arrange by dates, events and more. With these high-quality photo albums, it’s easy to create something perfect.

Enjoy, Appreciate and Love Your Summer Photos

Summer is the time to shine; the warm weather beckons us to get together, make memories and enjoy each other. Enjoy all that summer has to offer with these ideas that will allow you to enjoy the many photographs taken to commemorate those memories. With Miles Kimball, it’s easy to do with all our great ideas to enjoy, appreciate and love your summer photos.

Top 5 Baking Must-Haves – 5 Kitchen Essentials

At Miles Kimball, we know that buying the best cookware, bakeware, microwave cookware and cool kitchen gadgets can sometime seem overwhelming. That’s why we’ve put together our favorites in these five categories that will help you get started in the kitchen on the right foot. Whether you’re looking for a useful wedding or housewarming gift or you’re starting out on your own and are stumped, we’ll help you navigate those often confusing culinary kitchen waters to help you find the most useful pieces that you should not be without.

#1: Cookware Must-Haves

Humans cannot live on takeout alone. Even if you’re experience in the kitchen is limited to fried or scrambled eggs, a frying pan or a skillet is a must-have in the kitchen. Skillets are even better when they come with lids. Miles Kimball offers many different styles and skillet products, including our set of three ceramic copper non-stick fry pans, our 12” ceramic sauté pan with a glass lid and our 8” ceramic non-stick pan. They can be used to fry hamburgers, make grilled cheese sandwiches, brown meat and more. They can also be used in the oven to make those super-convenient premade chocolate chip cookies.

To boil pasta, a lidded sauce pot or a stock pot with a lid is a must have. Shop our 8-quart stockpots or our 3-quart ceramic non-stick saucepan. To obtain just about everything needed in one fell swoop, we offer both eight-piece copper cookware and 6-piece non-stick cookware sets. These sets include just about all of the cookware you may need in the kitchen. Check out Miles Kimball for our cookware selections for additional accessories and items, too.

#2: The Best Bakeware

Even if you’re not planning on baking a cake or preparing muffins from scratch, having certain bakeware items on hand if you pick up a just-add-water or oil mix at your local grocer will be necessary. Cake mixes and muffin mixes are super-easy and can be whipped up in minutes, even by children, and make fantastic after-school treats or rainy-day snacks. They also are great activities to enjoy with kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews.

With our 12-cup muffin pan from Home-Style Kitchen™, you’ll be able to properly whip up some muffins or cupcakes from the comfort of your own home. And thanks to the red silicone handles, our muffin pans will be cool to the touch. Baking sheets are also an essential part of a well-stocked kitchen. Baking sheets can be used to make cookies and can also be used to bake meats, chicken breasts, veggies and more. Looking for something a little out of the ordinary? Check out our 10” fluted cake pan, which will transform the most basic cake recipes into an extraordinary creation.

At Miles Kimball, we have something that all bakers will enjoy, no matter how experienced or inexperienced they are in the culinary arts. For delicious baked apples, be sure to take a look at our set of two stoneware apple bakers. Simply core an apple, top with brown sugar, cinnamon, sugar and/or raisins and bake in a microwave or an oven for baked apple perfection!

#3: Microwave Magic

The microwave is a magic do-all in the kitchen. It’ll do everything from heat up last night’s hibachi dinner to cook eggs, popcorn and potatoes in minutes. Our microwave cookware is a must-have in any kitchen. Shop microwave corn steamers, microwave egg boilers, and our 20-piece microwave storage sets with lids. Some of our most popular items in our microwave cookware section are our microwave soup mugs with vented lids, microwaveable bowls with lids and our microwave popcorn poppers.

#4: Cool Kitchen Gadgets Galore

At Miles Kimball, we think that the best kitchen gadgets are not just fun — they’re necessities! That’s why we’ve stocked some of the best kitchen tools in the business that will help accommodate every cook. Shop kitchen utensils and holders that will help keep your items all in one place, like our personalized stoneware crock, our personalized spoon rests and our bamboo organizers. Spatulas are always needed in the kitchen, as is a good set of knives and utensils that will withstand the heat of skillets and frying pans. In our measuring, mixing and prep category, measuring cups are always useful in the kitchen — as are good measuring spoon sets. Don’t forget kitchen timers, some good stainless-steel colanders and a good cutting board. Choppers, graters and slicers are also essential. Check out our wildly popular ChopStir™ — a handy food chopper and stirrer in one. From apple peeler/corer/slicers to meat grinders, our kitchen gadgets offer something for everyone’s kitchen.

#5: Kitchen Organization and Storage

Clever kitchen organization and storage has become quite popular. Because of this, however, more and more organization and storage gadgets have come onto the market. Although we offer dozens of kitchen organization and storage items, we have some favorites. These favorites include our reusable plastic bowl covers in a set of 24, which make it easy to keep dishes, bowls and other serving items fresh with elastic covers that are a cinch to put on. Our square and round cracker keepers are great additions to your pantry and will eliminate those stale crackers that are opened and not closed tightly. From food storage containers and refrigerator organizers to freezer labels and storage, storage racks and bins, there’s a kitchen storage solution for just about every organizational challenge.

Miles Kimball

When it comes to must-have kitchen items, Miles Kimball has everything you need to create a well-stocked kitchen. Our website is always an adventure in shopping, and we hope you’ll take a moment to check out our many departments, including items for the home, holidays, personalized gifts, clothing and accessories, hobbies and books, health and beauty, kids, foods and candy and more.

How to Pack for a Picnic with Essentials from Miles Kimball

It’s a gorgeous summer Sunday. Your plans to get some housework done today fade as soon as you look out the window and see the sun playing on the softly rustling tree leaves. No, this is a day for a picnic with your family. A few phone calls later, you have a plan to meet your sister and her crew at the park by a nearby lake. Now, the question is, what picnic items will you need? Fortunately for you, you’ve been a devoted Miles Kimball fan for years, so you have everything on-hand for a perfect afternoon outdoors.

Your Picnic Checklist

Because a picnic is essentially a “moveable feast,” your thoughts turn to the food you’ve agreed to supply: your famous potato salad, hot dogs and buns, and a cake (chocolate, your spouse has insisted). You head to the kitchen, and pretty soon, the whole family is down there with you, risen from their beds by the smell of boiling potatoes and rising cake batter in the oven.

In a couple hours, the food is ready, and the family is — well, on their way to being ready. Now for the “moveable” part of that feast you’ve prepared. You already have hot dogs, condiments and buns handy, and you pull out your Bun and Hot Dog Keeper Set, one of your first Miles Kimball purchases. Next comes that spectacular potato salad, the recipe for which you keep top secret. Into the largest of your cheery, summer-themed 6-piece Strawberry Mixing and Storing Bowls it goes. These bowls are perfect for picnics, with their plastic snap-on lids. You start whistling as you pack the picnic lunch. This is getting fun.

Now your cake is ready to frost, and your youngest insists on helping. You hesitantly agree, wondering how much of that frosting will go onto the cake versus into her mouth and all over her chubby little 4-year-old cheeks. Oh well. Once the cake is ready, you pop it into your Miles Kimball 12” Cake Carrier. Check.

It’s time to start packing up the car with the help of your spouse and oldest son. Good thing you purchased that trunk organizer last summer, which included a cooler to keep perishable items fresh. You know how important it is to keep food items cool in the summer heat, especially things like your potato salad. Hopefully your sister will also remember her picnic essentials, like that Miles Kimball Double Decker Insulated Food Travel Tote you gave her last Christmas. She loved it, of course, since you had it personalized with her name.

More Picnic Items to Have On-Hand

Everything seems ready, but you wrack your brain trying to think of anything else you might have forgotten. That’s when your little girl comes outside carrying her Melissa & Doug Cutie-Pie Butterfly camp chair, and you can’t resist sweeping her up in your arms and kissing her, she’s so adorable. The sight of her little chair also reminds you of a few more items for your picnic. You run into the garage and grab the deluxe picnic table cover with cushions, which will make it so much nicer for everyone to sit at those public picnic tables and benches, which can be so dirty sometimes. You know your niece Jenny will especially appreciate this, since she’s always excessively paranoid about microbes.

But wait. What if there’s not enough room for everything on one picnic table? Or worse, what if there’re no picnic tables left? What time is it? We better leave soon, you think, before all the tables get taken. Suddenly calm is restored as you remember you actually purchased two of those amazing red folding picnic tables from Miles Kimball a couple years ago, since they were so handy and reasonably priced. We can always use those, you think, if we miss out on getting a picnic table. Plus, we could set them up right on the shore of the lake, in any pretty, shady spot of our choice. You recall that the folding tables even have special beverage holders for your brother-in-law Eddie to put his favorite beer. Your heartbeat returns to normal as you fetch the efficiently compact tables. Thank you, Miles Kimball.

Un-Pestered and Grateful

Finally, everyone is in the car and you’re backing down the driveway. You decide to text your sister once more to remind her to get ice for the 5-Section Condiment Server she’s bringing. Your mouth is watering as you already anticipate a hot dog with onions, relish and mustard. Just as you’re pressing “Send,” an annoying fly lands on your wrist. Gross. But then, the one last thing you forgot flashes through your mind. Stop the car, honey. You get out and return to the kitchen, where you grab your Picnic-Size Food Umbrella. There is no way insects are going to ruin this delightful picnic.

Your kids laugh and play in the back seat during the drive to the lake. It’s one of those moments of joy and exhilaration, and gratitude is your attitude. You consider how lucky you are — a wonderful spouse and children, a beautiful day ahead, and everything to make it enjoyable with the help of Miles Kimball.

Storage & Organization Ideas for Small Spaces

No matter where you live, whether you own your home or rent, it doesn’t take long for you to acquire a bunch of stuff. If you’re like most people and don’t have the option of having a large home, then you need to find a way to organize your belongings in the space that you have. Keeping all of these items organized and your house clutter-free can become an issue, and it may have you wondering how to organize a small space.

While dealing with stuff can be stressful and frustrating, don’t let it get to you. There are small space storage ideas that can keep your house clean and your belongings right where you need them. Below are some ideas on how to organize small spaces with lots of stuff.

Add Some Shelves

No matter how small your space is, there is always room for shelves. Since these come in a variety of different sizes, you have the ability to add them to any room in your home, as well as place them in cupboards and closets. When it comes to a small space storage solution, shelves have got it covered.

In your kitchen, adding shelves under your kitchen sink can keep your cleaning supplies and other items organized. This is probably one of the smallest cabinets in your kitchen, but with the right small space storage ideas, you can give sponges, brushes and other items their own place and keep your sink area free from clutter.

For that cupboard in your kitchen that is always cluttered with pots and pans, you can add a frying pan organizer. This gadget will keep your pans in their own place, as well as neatly stacked and easy to access. No longer will you have to make a lot of noise getting out the pan you need, and your cupboard will have more space for other cooking implements.

Should you find that your bathroom space is lacking and you are wondering how to organize the small space, you can also add shelves into this room. Whether it is a 3-tier bath tower with open wire shelves or a new bathroom cabinet, either of these will give you the extra space and ability to keep your bathroom products together and organized.

When it comes to adding shelves to your living room, you want something that is both functional and adds style to the room. Getting four tier wicker and metal shelves can accomplish both of those goals. You can store a lot on these shelves, including books, plants and decorative items, among other things. No matter what your small space storage needs, these shelves can give you the extra space you’re looking for to keep items neat and organized.

You can also add a wooden shoe rack by the front door to keep footwear out of the way and in a place where it can be easily found. This shelf is not only functional, but it’s also aesthetically pleasing. No matter what kind of décor you have in your home, this rack is sure to match it, as well as keep the entrance to your home free from trip hazards.

Add Some Pockets

When it comes to small space organization in a closet, you can add a hanging 5-section organizer. This item can be used for a variety of different items, including shoes, sweaters, ties or anything else that will fit into the pockets. It will add more space to your closet so that you can reduce clutter and know where all of your belongings are located.

While shelves are a great small space storage solution that can be used in a variety of rooms throughout your home, adding pockets can also help with your organizational endeavors. Some pockets you might consider adding to your home include an armrest organizer, which will keep your remotes and other items within arm’s reach while you are relaxing in your living room.

Think Outside Your Home

Of course, your home isn’t the only place that needs small space storage ideas. Your car is also a place that could benefit from clutter reduction. If you’re looking for a small space storage solution for your vehicle, you might consider adding a trunk organizer with cooler. Placing this in the back of your car will keep things from rolling around, as well as be a great place to keep your groceries and other items cool until you reach your destination.

Kitchen & Home Storage Solutions

Innovative Solutions to Save Space and Time

It’s always the perfect time to get organized with innovative kitchen and home storage solutions from Miles Kimball. Our selection of bins, cases, shelving, and totes make it easy to find the incredible organization and storage options that help you save time and free up valuable space.  With such a wide range of budget-friendly solutions to choose from, there’s no better time to organize kitchen essentials, craft supplies, shoes, DVDs, and more.

When you’re looking to make the most of limited room in a small area, shop Miles Multi-Pocket Storage ToteKimball for affordable storage solutions that help you make the most of floor space. We have corner book stands that put every nook and cranny to work organizing your belongings. Check out the multi-pocket storage totes perfect for conquering a junk drawer in the kitchen or opt for an over-the-door storage solution to remove trip hazards from narrow hallways and entryways.

From rolling storage bins just right for conveniently keeping large flour bags off the floor 4-Tier Metal Basket Towerin your kitchen pantry to stylish 4-tier metal basket towers to house a multitude of objects throughout your home, we carry everything you need to reclaim much-needed space and create a well-organized environment.  Make Miles Kimball your first choice for intelligent storage and organization solutions such as innovative shelving systems that help put an end to clutter.

From plastic storage containers to keep food and beverages fresh to a flip-top storage ottoman that adds warmth to any décor, we’ve got you covered with plenty of choices at Miles Kimball.