How do you keep things you want to leave setting out from looking like random clutter?
Introducing styled stations; a way to turn countertop clutter into a visually appealing, organized area.
My Story
One of my coworkers told the story of how, every time her father visited, he remarked on the neatness of her home.
Particularly noteworthy to him was the fact that there was no countertop clutter anywhere, everything was contained in a basket or bin of some sort.
Until I had worked with her for a while, I didn’t quite get it.
Finally, I realized he was right. Anything sitting out, whether it was on her desk, a shelf, or the top of a cabinet, was somehow contained.
The aha moment came for me one evening when I was drying dishes.
I was drying a random piece of divided glassware that didn’t have a true purpose in my kitchen.
Because I really didn’t want it in my cabinet, I sat it on the corner of my sink and placed some random things in it I typically just leave setting out.
What followed was my aha moment! No longer did those items look like random clutter. Instead, the placement seemed very intentional.
I stumbled on to the phrase “styled station”, and a convert was born.
These days I’m always scoping out ways I can turn countertop clutter into a more intentional, cohesive-looking styled station.
What the Heck is a Styled Station?
A styled station is a random term I unearthed during a Google search that describes a method of corralling what would otherwise be countertop clutter into an organized, visually appealing area.
Why They Work
Everyone has things that for the sake of convenience, they prefer to leave setting out.
Think hand cream, dish soap, an extra roll of toilet paper.
When you simply set those things out on the counter, shelf, or top of a dresser, they contribute to an overall feeling of clutter.
A styled station allows those things to stay out, but instead of looking like mere clutter, they look intentional and part of the rooms’ décor.
An added bonus is that a styled station provides a home for everything, even those things that are typically “homeless”, like the dishwashing soap.
Creating a Styled Station
If there’s two or three random items setting out somewhere, place them together into some kind of organizing container.
Look around for things that, by themselves, look like clutter and play with them and see how they look as a styled station.
The Organizers
Be creative and have fun!
Anything visually appealing that helps organize and corral what is otherwise clutter is fair game.
On our kitchen table I have a wooden trivet that I fell in love with. It’s home to the napkin holder (which happens to be a saddle stirrup) and the salt and pepper shakers.
Trays, bins, baskets, pretty much anything into which you can put something, or set something on works.
If there’s clutter that needs to be hidden (hello charging cords) make sure the bin of choice isn’t see through.
Real Life Examples
Even before I discovered the name, I was instinctively creating styled stations.
The difference is now I create them intentionally.
The Epsom salts and hand crème that sit on the back of the toilet are now in a pretty basket with a bit of greenery included. It contributes to the spa-like feel of my newly remodeled bathroom.
An extra roll of toilet paper, Poo-Pourri, hand sanitizer, and a random pair of reading glasses have been gathered up and put in a wicker basket on a shelf near the toilet in the main bathroom.
Vitamins and medicine are in a covered plastic bin setting on a shelf in our bedroom. This one was of necessity so little hands couldn’t get to it.
Coffee supplies have been corralled on a glass tray near the coffee pot.
The ideas are endless.
All of these areas now look more intentional and less cluttered than they did previously.
So, keep your stuff setting out.
Simply pull it together and make it look intentional by creating a styled station and giving it a home.
Have fun 😊
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