Does it feel like we’ve hardly been posting at all lately? Spring break and Memorial Day will do that, and as much as we love and need these chances to recoup and re-group, we do miss sharing our updates and hearing your thoughts. With that in mind, I have a feedback heavy post for you today, because I need your help with a question as I work on finishing up the dining room decoration!
But first, let me thank you for all of the wonderful feedback to my random “what’s wrong with my living room” post a little while back! That post ran just as I headed into a particularly busy and complex time both personally and professionally, so I didn’t get to respond to individual comments like we usually do on this blog. I really appreciated all of the thoughtful advice, and I will be taking lots of it to heart when it finally comes time to work on this space! Even after 2+ years of blogging, it still feels meaningful when people take time out of their day to share their thoughts with me.
… in that spirit, I am here to ask for more advice about my house! Specifically, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I am struggling with how to incorporate birdseed storage into the plans for my dining room.
Why is this so important, you may wonder?
Brad is a big fan of birds, both seeing birds and feeding birds. He’s not one of those lets-get-up-at-6am-and-sit-in-the-swamp bird fans, but he really enjoys watching birds stop by the feeder while he drinks his coffee at the dining room table in the morning. All in all, I think this is a fine and reasonable hobby, even if it means that we’ve got three feeders decorating our front porch.
As I understand it, one is for regular seeds, one is for small seeds specifically for finches, and the other holds suet for any woodpeckers that drop by.
For a time, we stored the birdseed in this very pretty green plastic container in the corner of the living room, which was displaced when we got the new bar unit.
I was not sorry to see it go, but I am sorry that Brad now needs to walk all the way across the house to the 3-season porch to refill his birdfeeders. It’s his house, too, and if I insist on redecorating the dining room, at least I can find a way to incorporate his birdseed.
But how? I’ve been searching for “attractive birdseed storage,” and this is apparently not a common problem. Most of the options seem to be ugly translucent plastic bins. For all of the countless birdseed crafts that fill the internet, the geniuses of pinterest have devoted remarkably little time to The Storage Problem.
I’ve come up with only a few possible solutions, and I’d love your advice and help figuring out what I should do, and thinking up any that I may be missing. There must be more options out there.
Like any design decision, there are three things that play into this:
- Amount of time that it will take me to do the project
- Cost of the project
- Attractiveness of the end result
First, I could simply keep the same plastic storage bin but paint it white or some other reasonable color. (While it may currently be the pantone color of the year, I won’t let that dictate my decorating choices.) This has the double bonus of being very cheap and relatively easy, but I don’t think it will really look that great in the end.
Alternatively, I could get a simple and affordable mental bin, like this one, and we could keep it near the door. It won’t be quite the look I am going for (I’d probably want to move it for blog photos) but it would be by far the easiest option.
If I can’t reconcile with a plain metal trash bin thing sitting in the dining room, I could paint it or buy one that is enameled a nice color for a little more time or cost.
Finally, if I just can’t get behind a boring and obvious bin, I could find a piece of furniture or build furniture around a metal or plastic bin to hide the fact that it is really birdseed storage. This would probably be the most attractive option by far (unless I mess it up) but is likely far more expensive and time consuming than any of the other options. I’d still need to buy bins to store the seeds, and then I’d also buy wood and supplies, and take the time to design and build a custom storage unit to put them in. On the plus side, it would be great blog content!
So what should I do? What would YOU do? Am I missing some magical birdseed storage solution? How do you store birdseed or other pet foods safely and attractively?
I love the red bin and wouldn’t it look good with the rug and other red accents in the front rooms?
Yes, I like that option, too! I’m just worried it is too bright?
Some random ideas. A small chest with a lid hat lifts, small chest with deep drawers, a recycle type piece that pulls out with space for at least 2 bins, or I like the colorful metal can idea!
Have fun deciding I know it will be cool and fun.
Thank you, Joan! That is kind of what I am thinking, too… how can I hide the bin inside something that looks like furniture?
I vote for spray painting a metal bin. Not time consuming or costly….. But you could get the exact color you want. The rows of spray paint look like a rainbow in any hardware store or Walmart.
I think a bright yellow to match your plant stand would look great. Or if you want it to fade into the background there are numerous shades of blue.
And thanks to Brad for taking the time and effort to feed the feathered friends.
Blue might be nice! I am just not sure I want a metal bin that draws attention to itself, although I do love painting things yellow…
Look at pet food storage ideas. If you’re like us, you buy the great big bags of seed. They’re comparable to dog and cat food bags as far as volume goes. You’ll probably end up building or modifying something to get what you want. At least then it won’t just look like a random (although utilitarian) thing stuck somewhere for something.
Good idea Robin!
Bird watching is fun! Especially from inside a house, rather than from a swamp … beguiling as swamps, bogs, and wetlands can be.
Is there some reason why you can’t keep the birdseed in an attractive metal can in the three-season porch? At least for three seasons? Maybe you said and I missed it.
Regardless, your husband deserves to have easy access to the birdseed, and homes are not meant to be showrooms. I’d have no problem with you moving the can for photo shoots. I move/hide LOTS of things before company comes over … 🙂
Yes, watching from inside a house really makes it 🙂
We can (and do) keep a lot of the birdseed in the 3-season porch, but that is across the house from the feeders, and annoying to get so often, so for easy access we want to keep some right in the room.
Thanks for sticking up for me, Bonnie!
Is there space on your porch for a small chair and some type of covered side table, which would nicely hide bird seed in a metal container inside it to keep the critters and damp out?
There is! But we mainly want to access it from the dining room, and there isn’t much space left there.
I recommend enameled colored metal bin. Why do the work and toxic exposure of spray painting a metal one? and I would consider this temporary until your new porch is built because all might change then!!
That’s right – anything in home decor is temporary!
No need to spray the metal bin if that is the option you choose – IKEA has one in two sizes and two colours (creamy white and grey) and if you don’t have an IKEA nearby you can order on line:
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/60045656/#/60045656
Thanks for the link, carswell. I like that the lid has a hook so there’s somewhere to put it while dealing with the inside.
Nice option – I hadn’t seen those!
does bird seed need to be kept in an air tight container? I’m not sure…
anyway, I think that the room (as is), has the right amount of “stuff” in it. I vote for leaving it on the porch. I mean, he needs his exercise, doesn’t he? 😉
I think it does need to be air tight (or at least well contained). We don’t want to become a friendly place for bugs and mice! We’ll definitely keep the bulk storage in the porch or basement, but for daily access he deserves it in the main room! After all, he puts up with a lot from me 🙂
I would look up pet food storage on Pinterest. There are a ton of options. Or consider bird seed like you would pantry items. Store it in three large jars (hermetically sealed ones or Anchor Hocking jars or those penny candy jars with the metal lid on the angle). And get him three nice scoops (like for flour) to fill the feeders. Then you can display the seed like you would oats or flour or quinoa on a countertop.
Pet food storage: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/164099980151936957/
Pantry storage: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/205758276707199996/
Pantry storage: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/205758276695350888/
The ultimate pantry: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/205758276695350877/
Wow, LOVE those pictures Molly! That is a really nice look and I’d love to do something like that. I’d just need to find a big enough container… we go through a lot of birdseed!!
Is there no wiggle room in finding a spot for it behind one of the doors of the furniture you have in the room? If not, homes are meant to be lived in, so I’m with you on finding a solution that works with how you live.
I had a similar problem with dog food storage in my kitchen/dining room. I wanted to keep the food really close to where I feed the dogs, cuz they tend to swarm and I didn’t want to have to wade through dogs back and forth, but there wasn’t a good place to store anything on that side of the room. I ended up getting a metal bookself/storage shelf that’s about 3′ tall and similar width with two shelves, and I got some bins from ikea that are technically for recycling but look like the same bins you see in supermarkets for bulk goods. It was a cheap, and I spray painted everything the color I wanted. I’m thinking something similar for you. Although I have to store a lot of food for my hungry hoard, it doesn’t look like much so you could put a side table by the door with the bin on the bottom shelf. You could just stack the bulk bins too, they are strong.
I could possibly fit it into one of the existing cabinets! Although I was so pleased with having found so much kitchen storage in those 🙂 I love the idea of decorative storage containers!
Is there some Boston-climate reason I’m not getting for keeping the seed indoors? I’ve always kept mine outside, in a garbage can (weather proof and rodent proof) and I like it that way. Ever since you mentioned this storage problem I’ve been trying to imagine how he does it. Does he bring the feeders indoors or take seed outside in a cup or something? Either method would lead to a lot of spilled seed inside if I were the one doing the filling.
I’m recently down from three feeders to one, because when I got my new dog I decided I had to move all the feeders off the deck (where I can see them from the kitchen) to cut down on squirrel activity out there, so the dog would not run headfirst into the deck railings trying to catch them. Or not quite as often. I had trouble finding places to put them where I could see them from inside the house at all, and then the squirrels broke another one….
We use a cup that he carries out to the feeder to fill it on the porch. He is pretty tidy!
On outside storage, there just isn’t a good accessible spot outside for us to keep it. We also get a lot of squirrel interest, but fortunately have no dog for them to torment 🙂
Like Naomi says, I’ve gotten to be a pro at not spilling seeds. What few get spilled outside get vacuumed up by chipmunks and other furry woodland creatures in short order, which adds to the charm of the fill-with-a-cup method.
You are a pro! In twenty years I haven’t gotten any better at not spilling. Outside is not a problem; just ask the squirrels who spill it themselves if I get it all into the feeder.
Enameled metal trash can gets my vote – love the red one you have pictured above.
Thanks Susan!
I’m thinking about wooden storage bins, like a grain bin you might find in an old general store. Like this: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/183803228518754465/
Alternatively, ou could make something more simple and modern like you did in the bedroom, maybe with a divider for the two different types of seed.
Oh wow, I LOVE that!!
I think bird seed could be kind of pretty in a really large glass jar with an attractive top (Something like: https://www.amazon.com/Anchor-Hocking-2-5-Gallon-Montana-Brushed/dp/B000RMTG3S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1496505411&sr=8-3&keywords=glass+jar+large)
That’s only 2.5 gallons, though, so the downside is you’d probably still need a larger storage bin on the three season porch. But it might mean only refilling the “pretty” one once every couple of weeks (depending on bird activity levels)
Plus side, you could have multiple jars for different kinds of feed. See people who put different types of rice in jars and treat them as objet d’art.
Cool idea! I hadn’t thought of that, and birdseed is kind of pretty! We’d need a big container, though. We have a lot of bird activity! They can go through a feeder in a day if the right flock comes by.
How about special inserts for cabinets that are used for recyclables/trash? They fit tall plastic cans and roll out for access. I bet you could retro-fit the right cabinet with roll-out, hidden storage for large bags or rectangular containers. You could even get a couple of base cabinets and build a fauxdenza for all sorts of storage, including birdseed.
That’s a good idea!
It seems like you got enough ideas to try, people are inspired with this project lol. One thing I’d say is that there are several dog food storage ideas that could work for birdseed, don’t you think?
Agreed, similar storage requirements! We definitely have that much in volume, too…
Could a clever woodworky friend build you something like this:
https://goo.gl/images/DkSqKa
I wish!