A few weeks after Matt and I married we decided we needed to add to our family, and instead of going the baby route so early on and to stick to the five three year plan for starting our family, we got a sweet little puppy from one of my co-workers. A black border collie mix, whom we named Piper, who was quite the entertainer and we loved having her around. However, after a few months we felt she might need a “day” companion to keep her company, at which point we decided to adopt dear Peyton, a yellow lab mix (he looks like a miniature yellow lab with a permanent puppy face). To feed two dogs that are both roughly 37 lbs requires buying dog food in larger quantities than one can fit in a kitchen cupboard. I faced a dilemma, how to store food attractively AND safely. We live in the south and although we haven’t had a problem with roaches since the first few weeks of living here (the house was unoccupied for over 6 months), they are quite common down here and they just so happen to love dog food. I wanted to make sure the food was protected from roaches, obviously because I didn’t want them in my dogs food, and I didn’t want them in the house (ew gross….) – I could live the rest of my life and never see one again. After the first one we saw we had the house treated and the only ones I’ve seen since have been dead ones around the perimeter of my house.
We considered our storage options.
1.) Trash Can with a Lid Approach. Doable, wouldn’t look completely out of place but where to put it? We have one trash can in the only spot one will fit (we tried putting one under the sink and it did not work, it got filled up far too fast and just did not work for us).
2.) Rubbermaid Container. Most inexpensive. Best seal. But…BUT… by far the most unattractive.
3.) Decorative Chest lined with plastic. Most expensive. Adequate seal. Far more attractive and who doesn’t love the idea of hiding something so stinky and atrocious in something pretty?
While we were paying off our (really mine…I brought 17K in school loans to the marriage) debt and following the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover we were really watching our money and silly as this may seem, but the trash can was even out of our budget unless I had been able to score one at a garage sale for a great price. We ended up going with the highly “glamorous” Rubbermaid container that sat in a corner of the dining room. Blah. Blah. Blah. So unattractive.
But then about 10-12 months after paying off our debt (Yippeee!) I found these beautiful wicker/”banana leaf” chests at Target, on sale, for $37.99 a pop.
Image From Target.com "Banana Leaf Trunk"
If we ever don’t have dogs in the future (what a sad day that would be) we could use these for something else. They are modular and easy to move. And although they didn’t come lined with plastic, a trip to Home Depot’s paint isle and snagging a heavy plastic painter drop cloth would do the trick.
What I love the most about them is that they add some texture to the living room and no one would ever guess that we have dog food stored within. Although we were initially afraid one of the dogs would discover they could eat through the wicker to the food…they never have. We’ve had them for over a year now and they are one of my favorite storage solutions that are decor friendly and don’t ruin the over all look of our home!
Two Banana Leaf Storage Cubes/Benches
I’m always looking for creative solutions like this to help keep my house looking pretty but not losing the functionality that I need in such a small house!
A Starter House 