We caught up with professional organizer, Jeffrey Phillip to get some insight on keeping your home organized. It can be hard to get things in order, especially when moving into a new home. See Jeffrey’s tips on how to get started. What is your top must-have organizational product or tip? There’s so many that I use all the time! The most widely used thing that I have is my label maker. I hate to say that because it sounds so trite but it really is! It identifies things and gives them a home so clients are able to remember and understand where each item goes. If you have an item and it doesn’t have a specific place to go, you’re often going to put it wherever there’s open space. When something is labeled, clients are usually more inclined to put things back where they should be. What tips can you give families to keep kids rooms organized? One of the big things you want to consider is not putting things in closed containers. When things have open containers, children are much more apt to put their items away. If there are lids that go on bins and they’re stacked, it makes it more difficult for children to clean up. Consider open shelving and open baskets that go in the shelving so everything is easily accessible and easy to put away. Labeling isn’t really practical for children because they can’t read yet. Using visual labels is something that I like to use. It’s easier for the kids to identify what goes where. There will be a bin with pictures of trucks for their toy trucks, a picture of blocks for their blocks and so on. Organizing an entire home can be a daunting task. Where do you recommend starting and how to you prioritize what to tackle first? Where I usually start is the kitchen. It’s where you go back to every single day and helps you get out the door, it’s where you function from. The next spot I jump to is the closets. Master closets or whichever need the most help. We’ll work with whatever the clients needs are. In order to approach it, you really need to look at it as one tiny project at a time. If you look at the overall task, it can be overwhelming. It’s really about looking at small, tiny projects and taking those baby steps to get everything done. You talk a lot about the importance of de-cluttering, especially when moving into a new home. How do you decide what to keep and what to toss? There are lots of rules that have been published like if you haven’t worn it in a year, get rid of it. While I use those as guidelines, I don’t believe they are rules that everyone needs to abide by. There are certain things that you may not have worn in a year, but they’re still classic items, they’re still in style and they still fit you. Many things have to be taken into consideration when you’re de-cluttering so I don’t really have a specific formula for telling someone what to keep. It’s really a personal thing that I work with my clients on. It depends on their lifestyle, what they want and need. Even after spending lots of time organizing, it’s easy to let your old messy habits come back to the forefront. How do you maintain an organized lifestyle long-term? Scheduling time for maintenance and discipline. I always tell my clients that I can come in and organize but if you don’t have discipline or some sort of maintenance program on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, it’s just going to continue to unravel. It can be as simple as 10 minutes in the morning, ten minutes minutes at night to run through the house and clean up. Even if you get to the point where it gets out of hand, you put the time in on the weekend and get it all back in check. It’s one of the most important things you can do – schedule time for maintenance and stick to it so you have everything you need for the next day or the next week. 
To learn more about Jeffrey Phillip’s services, please visit www.jeffreyphillip.com. And stay tuned for part two of our interview with Jeffrey!
Author: Mike
Outdoor Living Done Right
Outdoor living spaces are different from indoor living spaces in one very important way – they are outdoors! You will want to consider the elements that are indigenous to your home’s exterior environment in order to create outdoor spaces that are perfectly situated and framed by natural beauty. Start by assessing your primary use for the spot: will this be for entertaining or your own daily relaxation, and are you expecting this space to be used for one season, two, three or four?
The right seating arrangements are as important outdoors as in. You want to create areas that are comfy and accommodating while also visually inviting. Pay attention to the amount of open space around seating to balance the flow and maximize the expansive ambience of being outside. Aligning furniture within an area to maximize function is important, but you’ll also want to take a step back to see if the overall grouping is aesthetically pleasing.
Pops of color in pillows and furniture are a good way to add character and visual interest. For easier maintenance, opt for mold resistant fabrics that won’t fade in the sun. A great rug is an easy shortcut to defining a space, and you can find plenty of handsome options that are designed for outdoor use. Keep the everyday setup simple but flexible. You can always bring out additional touches and décor when entertaining.
Quality landscape lighting allows you to set a scene at the flick of a switch. But it is also fun to customize the mood with candles and lanterns. And of course it is hard to top the allure of sitting around an actual fire. An outdoor fire pit creates an instant destination for delightful conversation and a natural sense of entertainment. Al fresco marshmallows or hot dogs, anyone?What else does your dream exterior include? For many, a pool or spa adds greatly to the experience of enjoying the outdoors. The style and design you select may depend on your ideal usage, which could be anything from entertaining friends to lounging in the sun on a lazy afternoon, or playing water games with the kids – whatever floats YOUR pool float!
When it comes to outdoor living, regardless of what you already have or what you plan to build, the idea is to get outside and savor the warmer weather and beauty of nature as the temperatures rise. Don’t forget the sunscreen!
Spring Into These Buzz-Worthy Interiors
Whether renovating, redecorating, or building new, we all need some inspiration to get started! Take a peek at the clean, crisp lines of these Westport, Connecticut homes.
Milton: It’s in the Details
At Milton, we believe that there is nothing better than attention to detail. Thoughtful details are the hallmark of quality construction and exquisite finishing touches often mark the difference between good and the best. Part of the fun in designing your own dream home comes in exploring what speaks to you personally and compiling a wish list and collection of images that inspire you. Architectural details that you admire can be customized to reflect your own tastes and ideal aesthetic.\r\n\r\nWhat does your dream style look like? Hint: finely detailed does not have to mean ornate. Beautiful design is often stunningly simple but with luxe elements and meticulous attention to detail. This bathroom with precise millwork and beautiful limestone floors is a great example:\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nWe also love the inclusion of the side wall mirror in the bathroom to help expand the space.\r\n\r\nGenerous mirrors easily lend a sense of indulgence to a room while at the same time enhancing functionality. Closet doors are a great place to add them!\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nSpeaking of doors, this is a key opportunity to make a striking statement, both inside and out. A beautifully designed front door is like a smile – a welcoming first impression for your house.\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nDoors can be used creatively to create welcoming spaces outside of the home as well. Bold and graphic cedar fence doors really set the mood in this Southampton garden:\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nInside, quality hardware and fixtures contribute greatly to innovative design. You can use them to create contrast and a visual counterpoint, or to continue a theme. We love how the circular hardware complements the graphic appeal of this bathroom:\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nThe right furnishings are important as well. A chorus of similar shapes can create harmony and make a room feel complete. In this bedroom, the square angled side tables combine with the square pattern of the silver leaf framed headboard to provide a sense of tranquility and order.\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nThink of your ultimate goal for a room and select details that will complement that objective. Remember that they can be whatever you want them to be as long as they are well executed. Meticulous attention to detail will make all the difference in your final product – enjoy the process and don’t be afraid to mix it up. We’d love to see what is inspiring you!
Building A Custom Home With MILTON
When building a custom home, choosing the right team to help you through the process is imperative. We recently caught up with Lauren Zinzi, a current client, to get her take on building a custom home with MILTON.
How did you decide to work with MILTON over other builders? We moved here from Charleston, South Carolina and when we were moving, I was browsing the internet looking for rentals to get us by until we figured out what we were going to do once we were up here. I just happened to stumble upon their website. As soon as I saw it, I said to my husband, ‘These are the people that are building my house.’ It was our taste and our vibe – everything we really like in the look of a house. So my husband ended up calling Gina. She said ‘If you are in town, stop in.’ We weren’t even thinking about building yet. This was still so premature. We came in and met with her. She said, ‘Once you get settled here, let’s talk. We can drive around, tell us what you’re looking for, what kinds of roads you’re looking for.’ And we just kind of went from there. We did meet other buliders to get a taste of what else was out there. It just didn’t compare to MILTON – the way Nick and I connected with Ashley and Gina, the feeling we got, the trust we got. Even though I felt like I needed to go and look elsewhere to compare, it just wasn’t the same. My husband knew too. It was just about finding the right people and the right time. It just worked out. How is the building process going with MILTON and would you change anything? It’s going really great. There’s nothing I can honestly say that’s bad or that I can complain about. It’s gone very smoothly. Because of Marybeth and how she’s ahead of the game on things, we’re ahead of schedule. It’s good for me because I have a baby on the way and once the baby comes, I’d like everything to be picked out for the most part. Working with Marybeth has been amazing. She keeps you on your toes and she’ll say, ‘This is coming up so we need to decide on this, what do you think of this’… she’s great. There’s honestly nothing that I can say I would change. Building a custom home is a huge undertaking. What made you decide that custom is the way to go for you? It is a huge undertaking. I can say it’s been different this time because of the team they have here. I didn’t have that last time when I built my house in Charleston. I had one woman who was sort of the designer but it doesn’t compare to this. I’m not doing all the work myself picking everything out. I have guidance and I have help here. When we moved up here and started looking at houses that were older and already built, we would think, it’s nice but we would still need to change this and the kitchen needed renovation and the bathroom needed renovation. By the time you did all that, we felt that we could build from scratch and have everything the way we want it. Now that we’re up here, it’s going to be for a while. I’m hoping that we’re going to be in this house until the kids are in college. Besides Marybeth, who has been helping you with all your selections? Would you say this process has been easy or difficult? I would never call it difficult. I would say sometimes it can be challenging but it’s fun. I love this process. This is the fun part for me. Gina has helped a great deal. I feel I can easily go to her and say, ‘Should I do this or should I do that?’ and she’ll give me her honest opinion. Ashley has been been a great help too. I’d say the three of them have been the most help. Stay tuned for part 2 of our interview with Lauren Zinzi!
Interview With Architect & Decorator, Marybeth Woods
At MILTON, we believe that having the right talent is essential to building exceptional homes. Our Architect/Decorator, Marybeth Woods, is truly a wonderful talent. With over 15 years of experience in residential design, Marybeth takes traditional elements and fuses them with modern details to create crisp, elegant spaces. The result is homes that are functional, livable and enduring. We sat down with Marybeth to discuss architecture, innovation and her own unique aesthetic. 
What does architectural design mean to you? Architectural design to me means an integration of form and function, basically taking the needs of someone, their program and creating a unified composition that is pleasing to the eye. How do you ensure that client requests are met and that your unique design is preserved? I think that most good architecture is a marriage of several things. Usually there is a site or the house, then there is the client and then there is me. And I don’t think that anything is really successful unless you combine those three elements. So I think that everyone gets some of what they want. And that the total is greater than either individual piece. I think that their needs are met and my needs are met but then there is the site, the home that also dictates a lot. It’s a collaboration and combination. 
How did you decide to form a partnership with MILTON and how are your approaches complementary? I think that the partnership was just mutually beneficial. I think that we were at a point of time when design was starting to change. I think that MILTON saw that. The cookie cutter colonial McMansions were on their way out. A cleaner aesthetic was coming in. In this area, Fairfield County, we have a lot of young New York clients coming in that have a little more of a young, modern aesthetic. I think that MILTON saw that. I was looking to pursue that myself so it was a nice collaborating point. What does brand integrity mean to you? And how do you protect your brand? I don’t know how you protect it. I don’t worry about it. I just keep evolving and changing. And so what I do is constantly fresh and new. If you are on the cutting edge, then there is nothing to protect. People can imitate you and that’s fine (laughs) but I don’t really know how you protect it. 
How would you define innovation? Evolving, changing. For me, truly innovative design at this time is combining old and new. How do you take traditional colonial architectural forms and mesh them with contemporary clean lines that a lot of people want to see, and create something beautiful. And that’s innovation… take two things and you bring them together, integrate them and make something new. Click to view our portfolio.
Great Garage Ideas
For many of us, our garages serve primarily as parking spots and storage depositories. While we pass through these spaces multiple times a day, it is easy to neglect them from a visual perspective. Yet given how much focus we put on the right finish and attention to detail throughout the design of our homes, why shouldn’t we give our garages the same attention? At Milton, we believe that the perfectly outfitted garage is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. You don’t need to be afraid to open the doors!
The most important step to a well organized garage is to get clutter off the floors. Bringing as much as possible up and into designated sections and systems conserves space and makes everything easier to find.
Cabinets are our favorite way to reclaim the serenity of a space. Custom built cabinets provide the cleanest look and greatest efficiency. We love natural woods for longterm performance and durability or the modern look of metal, like stainless steel.
A more casual alternative that provides fun flexibility for easy labeling (and relabeling!) can be achieved with chalkboard paint. Give your kids each their own cabinet and inspire them to put their things away.
Bikes deserve their own designated parking spaces. Racks are great to add vertical capacity and can be cleverly placed around a variety of space restrictions.
Want an immediate solution to tidy things up and hide some of the visual chaos? There is always the good old curtain trick!
For flooring, think easy to maintain, stain resistant, and durable. Yet there is no need to sacrifice beauty in the garage – pick a surface that adds style and complements the rest of your home.
Once you’ve allocated space for tools and all of the kids’ toys and equipment, don’t forget to leave room for your own favorite toys and hobbies – a gardener’s corner is a popular option.
The opportunities are endless. Car collectors may find inspiration in the Italian jewelry scion Nicola Bulgari’s garage bedroom, which overlooks a birds-eye view of his prized collection:
Or you can take creative liberties in an entirely different direction – who said a garage has to house cars? Check out this former garage that has been converted to a trendy but family friendly lounge. It’s your space – do what you want with it!
Anything is possible. Have fun dreaming, and let us know how we can help!
