Craft Room Revisit

So, we've been in our house almost a year now and I can say honestly say that the craft room has been worn in!  Not only do I use my office for crafting, it's also where I work from home once a week and where I manage the household business.  When we first moved in, this room was one of the first rooms to get set up and I blogged about it here last October.  Now that's I've had a chance to really live in the space, I thought I'd share a bit about the updates.  I don't know about you, but I enjoy a good craft room redo almost as much as I enjoy my crafting;)

Let's start off with a pic of the room on a normal day...

Let's talk about what's changed!  The work table is pretty much the same (before pic).  I've added the tabletop shelf unit on the left of the table.  I had my eye on that shelf at Michael's for awhile, but I didn't want to pay the full price.  I found one in the clearance aisle for really cheap and scooped it up (I think it may be discontinued).  This is a perfect place for sprays.  I've also rearranged what's in the drawers below, but I'll get to that in another post:)  For now, let's just say that I've made a concerted effort to keep what I use the most next to the work table.

Underneath the work table, I'm now storing my newly restocked Raskog cart.  The most significant change is that the cart now houses my Copics.  I used to store them on a shelf (before pic), but the cart is a 1000X more convenient.  I can wheel it where I feel like coloring.  

This next picture shows my tall filing cabinet (before pic) which is to the right of the work table.  It's mostly unchanged as well but I've added a small metal rack to hold my glitters/embossing powders.  I'll talk a little more about those in an upcoming post.  I also added the double high 12X12 paper rack next to the filing cabinet.  I got both the small black rack and the 12X12 rack from a local scrapbook store that went out of business:(  I'm sad that they closed down, but I like have a little piece of the store in my space:)

This next pic is one of two tall bookcases that flank the window to the left of the work table.  This bookcase still houses my stamps in Ikea DVD baskets (smaller Motorp), but I've also moved in a paper holder that keeps white card stock handy.  The rest of the card stock is in the file cabinet.  I really hate warped paper, so I always store my heavy card base papers laying down or in the file cabinet.  Next to this shelf of stamps, I keep my guillotine cutter and scoreboard.  Makes sense to keep your paper next to your cutters, right?  You'll also notice the colorful tower of mini drawers.  This is where I store my scraps by color.  Any scrap that is bigger than the drawer is cut into an A2-sized card base and put into the card base basket (next to the white paper).  I love this system!!!  Especially since I use scraps often to die cut letters or small pieces.  

Moving left from the bookshelf, the space in front of the window has been completely changed (before pic).  What used to be a hodge podge of plastic storage is now a bar-height table!  My tool bar, that is;)  This change was motivated by the desire to keep my Cameo and ScanNCut ready to use.  Ikea has a ton of inexpensive options to built a custom table and I was lucky enough to find a stock size that fit exactly between my bookshelves.  The tool bar is the permanent home to my Cameo and ScanNCut.  I don't know why I didn't do this sooner.  Yes, I give up a lot of table space, but I also get my money's worth out of those machines! 

When I got the bar table, I also picked up the awesome Alex drawer unit that lives beneath the table.  Maybe I shouldn't tell you my secrets, but the Ikea "As-Is" section is a hidden gem!  This particular piece was a display model and was half off and already assembled (can I get a woohoo?).  I'll talk a little more in another post why you need an Alex;)

You'll also notice that I pulled my old desk (before pic) under the tool bar.  I like that I can stow the small table completely under the bar table if I need to open the middle of the room.  This arrangement works now that I'm only using a laptop and the printer is networked.

Speaking of the printer, the last wall has been updated to the office/sewing wall (before pic).  I'm sure this wall could be improved, but for now, it's a fine place to store my office supplies and my sewing stuff.  I got the short cabinet from a thrift store and I want to paint it something bright like coral some day;).    

Over the next few days, I'm going to share some more details about my craft room.  I know it's just a craft room, but I've gotten a lot of questions about bits and pieces:)   

Thanks for stopping in and have a wonderful Sunday!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj