Home Solutions: The 'Landing Strip'

No, this post is not even remotely related to Brazilian waxes - the 'landing strip' I'm referring to in the title of this post is something I first stumbled upon while browsing Apartment Therapy for decor inspiration. As most of you will know (from Twitter, I suppose!), my fiancé and I have been searching for our new home since the end of April. I think we must have looked at at least 20 homes before finally finding a beautiful home in the area we'd had our heart set on. There were a few things that worried me: top of the list was the fact that there was no bath. This is something I suppose we could live without, but seriously: cold, wet Cape Town winter days practically demand a long, warm soak at the end of the day. Soon, we discovered even bigger problems: a maximum of a 6 month lease term and an estate agent that wasn't overly upfront with us meant that we decided to give up our 'dream' home and continue the search.

There was a week sometime towards the end of June where I simply gave up looking. I felt completely disheartened and decided that burying my head in the sand was the better option. I simply couldn't face another expensive, yet mouldy, house. And then: a glimmer of hope. Another (even better!) gem in the exact same area as our previous dream home. It's everything we wanted, and more: well-maintained, modern kitchen, three bedrooms (plus a separate office space - so even more space than we'd bargained for!), a fireplace, amazing garden and excellent security. And only a four minute walk to the beach. And it's all ours! The big packing mission has already started, and we move in at the end of the month.

But back to my 'landing strip'. For as long as I can remember, I've wasted much time in the mornings frantically searching for my keys and iPod before heading off to work. At the end of the day, I'm faced with the same dilemma: where to place said keys (so that I can actually remember where they are!) and what to do with my handbag and any other items I may have bought home from work (lap top, extra work, umbrella, etc). In my previous apartment, my front door opened into my kitchen so I used to chuck everything on the island at the center of the kitchen. Not ideal. We hardly ever make use of the front door of our current home, since we come in from the garage in the basement. This means I usually drop my keys onto the kitchen counter and leave my handbag, magazines, work, laptop and other paraphernalia lying around on the dining room table or on the bar stool in the kitchen. Again, not ideal.

I'm determined to become more organised once we move into our new home. That means that it's time to introduce a 'landing strip'. This is a designated space in your entryway where you can leave shoes, umbrellas, your handbag and keys until you need them. Something like this:

Do you have a 'landing strip' at home? I'd love to hear your ideas, or see your photos! It may even be a new blog series in the making...


Images: 1, 2, 3.