new work space.

Totally digging my new craft room/office.

I finally came to terms with the fact that I’m not the crafty gal I want to be. I just don’t have the time. Sure, I whip up a pillow or a pair of earrings occasionally. But I do not need a room devoted to crafting. {Thus the craft-room-slash-office}. Last weekend I delved into dejunking and realized that with some sorting, I didn’t even need a whole room devoted to storing stuff for crafting. In my weekend quest for Zen, I tossed clothing, books, magazines, files, gadgets, etc. I sorted and labeled and tossed, asked friends to take some of it and donated the rest. I didn’t want my dejunking euphoria to end there so I decided to spruce up my little blue craft room now that much of the extraneous junk was gone.

Here’s a “during” picture…  all that junk is no longer cluttering up my house:

It’s the planning part I like so much.

1. I jotted down a list of all the things I do in this room. It included: school stuff {studying, writing, research}, paying bills/budgeting, blogging/photo editing/other computer stuff, planning/list making, ironing my clothing, wrapping gifts, storing things temporarily {such as gifts to give, things to donate, etc}, craft projects {sewing, jewelry making, scrapbooking, painting}.

2. The room needed: a decent place to study and work, a surface I can clear off to make room for craft projects, a system to store a mishmash of random functional objects, a place to tack up pictures and lists and things to remember.

3. But I wanted it all to look pretty and cohesive. I decided to bring the room together with a neutral, unifying color. {I loved that blue but nothing matched it.} Store random seldom-used things {which includes craft supplies, sadly} and focus on usable surfaces for often-used things {like my camera accessories and school/office supplies}.

4. I set out with a shopping list: paint, a filing cabinet, a desk lamp, a small tray or basket for bills, and a bulletin board. {I ended up with a few other items but scrimped on the filing cabinet in favor of a basket large enough to fit file folders.}My budget was $150, and I spent just under that. Everything else I used to accessorize I pulled from other areas of the house or spray painted things I had in storage. {the bulletin board, mirror with the scrolly thingies, and little square picture from all got a few coats of glossy white spray paint this weekend.}

Here’s the after. {Please excuse the cords and other poor styling. I am no set designer.} That paint is a Martha Stewart color called Midlands Gray.

Table-turned-desk is pimped out with some photo boxes I already had used now to store iPod and camera accessories. That little basket contains little notebooks, thumb drives and other stuff I need frequently. The “k” mug was a steal ($2) at T.J. Maxx. I heart monograms. Pharmacy desk lamp from Target.

This little bulletin board is perfect for sticking pictures I like, notes and ideas all in one place.

As for the craft supplies… they are hidden in the dresser, as is all my gift wrapping supplies. The big stuff (batting, fabric stacks, yarn skeins) are boxed up in the closet. And the other side of the room is pretty boring… maybe some curtains are in order? I can’t decide. But… I like it for now. =)

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