Hooks with View
This was to be a post about bedroom organization.
Per my obsessive drill-down, it became a post about hooks. Just hooks.
(For the post on dressers and dressing tables, and a spirited drawers vs. shelves debate, please check back.)
I love hooks and think they can change behavior generally (for the better). In the bedroom, I think they truly shine.
Let’s look at Hooks then - the why, how,what, number, where and who gets?
- WHY: I guess there’s a school that thinks hooks undermine bedroom order. That if you hook-hang you don’t hanger-hang. That a crowded hook (my husband’s shirts-to-dry-cleaners hook on Friday) is an eyesore. That if you don’t “file” your clothes at day’s end – dirty to hamper or clean to re-hang/fold/re-shelve – you’re sliding towards mayhem.
I believe the opposite. As an excellent post on Apartment Therapy outlined, worn clothes need AIRING at day’s end and those that can be-worn-another-day shouldn’t be hung back in closet amongst the totally clean – they should have a hook! - HOOKS are GREEN: We don’t need to wash all clothing every day, we just need to air it. Wear again – re-imagine the pants for a new outfit!
- HOOKS ORDER: I remember seeing a photo of (brilliant) designer Ted Meuhling’s bedroom. He had 7 hooks on his wall with clothes hung for the week. I will fantasize my life/wardrobe in that order, but can imagine achieving it with my kids.
- HOW MANY? Many. They’re not obtrusive and can be on the back of doors, on the inside wall of closets, alternated and double hung. I tend to assign at least two per person and go from there.
Animal Hooks for Kids Room
- For WHOM? I’m of the school that everyone needs a hook. Anyone, down to your smallest (vertical and mobile) family member can use a hook. Or if they can’t (as in the case of my baby), someone can use a hook on their behalf (as below to suspend a laundry basket/tote on the hook of my daughter’s room door).
Bonus: Children LOVE hooks the same way they love their own backpacks – they’re being handed the authority to order their own lives, on their terms (size and height-wise). It’s the Montessori method of organizing.
back of door/husband hook
- WHICH: I like big ones in general. Also fanciful ones. There’s nothing bleaker than a cute + well-placed hook that’s too small to hang a slip on. Make sure your hook’s size, style and brawn match its intended role. Anthropologie has a good selection but, annoyingly, never includes screws with theirs.
The ones pictured are mostly Anthropologie but also have ones (not pictured) from Signature Hardware.
If you want to spend some time at the pursuit, you can ALWAYS find great solid brass ones, ones with ceramic, and longer hook panels on craigslist/ebay / Etsy and salvage shops.![baby room basket hook]()
baby room basket hook
- WHERE: Everywhere you have a wall, support or door solid enough to install one. They do need to be anchored – non-negotiable.
Height-wise they should match up with the comfortable reach of whomever is the intended hooker. Good rule of thumb: never require your hooker to leap or bend…
Ok – that pretty much sums up bedroom hooks (for now). Happy organizing!
