TaDa! Finally after Two and a Half Weeks!

Now for the Grand Unveiling! My "New And Improved Craft Room" You may ask why? Why did you redo your craft room? Well for one thing, it had not been painted since our son John moved out, and his sister Kim had the room. She wanted it painted blue. I never liked the color. Still I was happy enough to have a room, that I could go to and paint, make cards, or whatever I wanted. When we bought the house there were shelves that the previous owner had made on the west wall for his wife, she sewed and did minor alterations for people. They came in handy for storage and although not well made they worked. However they were "fixed"and odd dimensions which often didn't suit what I needed. Last year Steven redid the closet and made storage shelves and I moved my stamps into it. Still I had a mish-mash of odd shelving, plastic storage and things stacked in a way that made it a real inconvenience to get anything. So a few weeks ago I asked Steve if he would paint the room for me (this was on a Thursday night). He said "Sure, if you can empty in by this Saturday." (He never thought I would, but I did. I surprised him and myself) So he started the patching and prep to paint it. I ran out to look at paint chips. I originally wanted a soft light peachy-pink, but then thought no, a soft white would be best. So here is a picture of the room with the last coat of paint (I used Behr paint, a soft white called "billowing cloud") Okay, here is a "before" picture, the shelves are along the west wall, the wall facing the doorway in. (Please keep in mind these photos are 2 years old, I could not locate any recent photos, and this was after I just cleaned and re-organized the room. Of course you have to imagine a lot more "stuff" on the shelves. I had already moved the stamps to the closet.) After: We removed all the shelving on the wall (this is facing the south wall the west wall is to the right were the shelving was). A 10' gutter now houses my ribbon (I found the aluminum kid is bigger and works better). The wood shelf houses books and my buttons. I have a few ideas for that shelf yet, but that will be later on. I found the computer desk on Craiglist, and the two "Commercial Grade" drafting chairs also. They adjust and I can use them at the computer or at the island. Before: When you first walked in the room you saw this. The west wall with the handmade shelves. A line of those plastic bins on rollers (I had to remove the feet because they could not support the weight, and the metal top table I would work at). After: Now you walk in and see this. Light, and bright, yet soft. A tall cabinet of drawers houses glitter, metal bits and other things. You cannot see it but next to it is an smaller Ikea Expedit shelf with 8 cubes, 4 of which I have bins in. It houses my solid paper cardstock, wood, stickers, stencils, small projects, etc. I found the kitchen Island at Target 75% off in clearance! It holds my acrylic blocks, scrap paper, art-bin, paint, ink pads. Before: The east wall had the green dresser(now located on the west wall) and several plastic bins. Please keep in mind this was 2 years ago, and it was a lot more "packed" before I did all this renovating. My friend Terri took the wood hutch which is working for her. I am so glad she could use it. See the blue walls? It was so not me. After: Now the large Ikea Expedit shelf hold most of my supplies. The bins are from Target. They are the "Itso" brand. (here is where I mention that I received a Target card from my boss for Christmas. So he actually bought these for me) The smaller bins on top are also from Target, they are the kind Donna Downey has. I would like to mention that I did blatantly "borrow" the shelving idea from Donna Downey. You can go to her site "Simply Me" in my blog list. She graciously shares picture of her studio and sources for everything. She does mention that her room is 8x10'. I really think it is much larger than she thinks, because my room is only 10.5x 10.5'. In her photos she has room for 2 of the large Ikea shelves and still room for her computer right next to it on one side and a cupboard for her stamps on the other. Her Island is a bit larger and her room has a "bump-out" bay which provides a bit more room. If I had to guess (and I am no architect) I would say her room is more like 12'x14'. Go on check it out, her studio is great. I have been looking at pictures of studios all over and kept coming back to hers. While I may tweak it here and there, I am very happy with how it turned out. I really like the bins, they house a lot of stuff and still look neat and tidy. P.S. I tried to make a video but am "Mac" impaired and will have to wait for my daughter the "Wizard" to help me later.