I think organization is at least as important as sheer storage space. Spread all your bathroom junk out on the floor or bed and pretend you're at a garage sale and that you have to 'buy' anything you want to keep (and not at a too-good-to-pass-ip price). If you don't care enough about it to buy it back now, then throw it away! TOSS those 10-year old lotions and potions! Failed make-up experiments? Throw 'em away! Perfumes and after shaves that aren't your style? Toss 'em! Curlers, straighteners and personal appliances that are no longer being used -- Goodwill 'em. The sheer volume of 'bathroom garbage' may dismay you; but you may also be pleasantly surprised by the 'good stuff' you rediscover simply by tossing the carp. Then sort and group the rest into baskets and bins that are just large enough for what's in them. Storage containers that can be stacked to fully utilize the vertical space will make the most of shelves, and see-through containers and big labels are wonderful! Then put the seldom-used stuff on the hard-to-reach shelves and the used-everyday stuff in the easiest-to-access areas. How much storage space do I have? One small medicine cabinet and an 18" wide by full-height closet. Between those two spaces, I have everything I use plus soap, shampoo, toothcare and deoderant for the entire family.

When we bought our home we gutted it and renovated. It had a sad old CV so I immediately replaced it with a brand new BEAM system. Great suction. However, having never lived with a CV I didn't realize how much I would hate it. I absolutely hate lugging a 35' hose around. If you get it out for a major clean session that's one thing but with two small kids I need to vacuum messes all the time. The hose would live lying on my front hall. After 10 years of this, I went out and purchased 2 Miele vacuums (one upright and one canister). I love my Mieles! They are small and easy to pull out and put away quickly. They have exceptional suction and the tools are excellent. Wouldn't trade them for anything right now. After getting the Mieles I realized that the powerhead with my BEAM CV did not do nearly as nice of a job grooming my upstairs broadloom as the new Mieles do. BIG difference that is very noticeable. If you do get a CV, I would invest in the best tools available.

I don't have access points like that in this house, but in a rental we lived in many moons ago we had the ugly cord, but since it was in the kitchen it drove me nuts. Since the access was near a corner I changed the cord out for a piece of thin tapestry (maybe 9 inches wide) which I bought in a scrap bin. I but a thin binding on it and hung a pretty tassel on the pointed end with the goal of making it look like an old servants bell pull I'd seen in a Victorian house. My sil liked it so much she did one as well but she embroidered service on hers :). No servants ever came when you pulled either but at least they were pretty lol. Now a quick note from the safety commission......if your drop down ladder is an older Werner ladder you should check it's serial numbers with recall sites. They have literally killed or caused significant brain damage due to a part that fails and causes the thing to slam down on your head when you pull them down. I learned this after another Werner ladder that had been recalled failed when I used it, causing me to lose our second baby and breaking my wrist very badly. The recall notices were posted in ladder areas of home improvement stores but who goes there if they already have a ladder? Werner went banko over the attic ladder so if you have one you end up assuming the cost if a new one, but it's cheap in comparison to permanent brain damage or death of you or a family member so pretty please.....check if your ladder is over five years old? Off my ladder soap box and sorry ab

Thanks so much for your response. I didn't think it would look right to only do the hardwood in the middle. I was concerned about the cost and waste of replacing the railing and spindles and hoped they could be reused. We would really like the stairs to be hardwood as the entrance foyer opens to them.