Monday, April 20, 2009

Before and After - My Creative Space

Way back, a long time ago I posted about a decision to turn a corner of my kitchen into my own craft and creativity space. I sorted and organized and moved things around. In the process I made a wish list of Ikea items to get the space truly organized the way I like it. My husband L had originally wanted to pick everything up while I was away in New York and install everything while I was gone, but he didn't get a chance to. Which was just as well, since I always enjoy a trip to Ikea!

Here is my before picture:


And here are some after pictures:


It looks a little messier now, but I still love it! Now I've got my sewing machine in a spot that it's usable from (though I still haven't used it to do any of the mending that's piling up). I also hung up the family picture calendar that my step-mother makes each year. The shelves look a little bare for now, but I like to think that they are just waiting to be filled with whatever strikes my fancy. It's also a fortunate thing since the shelves can't bear much weight. We are also using part of the shelving space for kitchen storage. Our cookbooks are now much more accessible and visible and our pasta is out from the dark corner, where it often got ignored.

It is much easier to sit down and get to work on a creative project since I know I've got a dedicated space for it. The challenge that is going to remain is keeping this space for my things and keeping it neat and clutter free. But, I think I have a few ideas on how best to do that.

7 comments:

Davina Pearson said...

Oh wow, I love it! That has to make such a difference to your work - I always find that I get things done so much better when things have a place, even if they're not always there ;) And it's so pretty!

I'm also completely with you on trips to Ikea. My husband and I were discussing this the other day - we can never quite understand why it is that so many people seem to scorn it! Everything we've ever bought from there is great quality, and the whole experience is great!

Hope you're enjoying that creative space!

Genie Sea said...

That's quite the transformation! There's nothing like having the space to be creative with all the necessary tools at your disposal :)

Karen said...

I also love IKEA.
We just set up a simple desk for our kids in the kitchen. I debated about that bar thing that holds up pencil cases and such. We ended up going with a magnetic board.

Kim said...

Your space looks awesome! I'm sure you will find many projects that will help you make use of that space!

Dianne said...

Nice job!

Jenn said...

Thanks for all the comments and compliments everyone. I do love the new space and am thinking up new ways to fill it up. There may even be a plant in its future.

@Davina - We've loved everything we've gotten from there too. It isn't going to be heirloom quality or anything, but for the affordability of it, I don't think you can find anything with better quality. Plus, some of the design of the products is just genius!

@Karen - I think the magnetic board is a much wiser choice for your family as it would be less of a temptation for the little spy in training.

Anonymous said...

I think it looks great!!! I love the way you organized everything.

Oh, don't you just love Ikea! :)