It's been several years since I started this blog and made a few brief entries! Maybe this will be a start to more frequent blogging. Much has happened since that first (and last post), but one thing that continues is my passion for collecting crafting supplies. Combined with my love of photography (primarily focusing on my family as my subject matter for the time being), I occasionally work on scrapbook projects. More frequently, this room was host to many school projects for my daughters. However, we've recently moved and as a result, I no longer have an organized and built out creative space. In the new house all I have are 4 blank walls (which I did paint green again!) waiting to be fitted with cabinets or furniture. Here's what my "old" studio looked like:
It. Was. Fabulous. The camera lens makes it look quite a bit "wider" that it was, but it was a great space. I designed it myself (the architect thought I was nuts) using my simple Excel program! We had stained concrete as the flooring which as terrific (no damage to the floors from glue or paint or whatever else got dropped on it!). I painted it bright green (Behr Paint Scottish Isle) and never tired of it. Although anyone who walked into that room usually commented on how "colorful" the walls were (I assume they meant that as a compliment). There was a huge closet (which apparently allowed me to hoard more supplies than I needed. As a result I had a ton to purge before the move).
One side was all floor to ceiling bookshelves (black distress painted). In the middle was a huge island. It was counter height and had drawers all the way around which allowed you to pull up and sit under the island. Adjustable shelving was in the base of the island. ***One thing to think about if you are designing your room from scratch, put lots of electrical outlets all over the place! The only place I didn't have them that I wished I had was on my island.***
The I had an L-shaped work area on the other long wall (again, adjustable shelves underneath and drawers on top). It was also counter height so that you could work on the island or the L-desk without changing heights. The best part to the L-shaped desk was the 2 tier counter top. This allowed me to use the main part of the desk to work on, but have a second shelf to put other items like my Scraprack, printer, scanner, etc. without taking up valuable counter space. I chose open shelving in hopes that by seeing what I had I would use it and keep it more organized.
So now I am on my quest to design the next room which will not only store my "collection" of craft products, but serve as the space to complete all my kids school projects (maybe even do a little scrapbooking). Although no matter what I keep drawing up, it seems to look an awful lot like this layout. Maybe I found what worked for me? I will continue to search on Pinterest and other sites to see what I can find. All I know is I can't leave it all in boxes forever!
Well, we'll see if I can make project on the next craft studio before the end of 2012!
~Ashley
