OK, you're not really getting a peek into much more than my office, but a blog title is supposed to be a hook, right? A few months ago, when I guest designed over at Mosh Posh, they featured a little tour of my scrapbook space. I realized I'd never posted it here, so today I'm going to remedy that!
Since I work from home and occasionally have to meet with graphic design clients here, I have commandeered the designated "office space" in our house. It's supposed to be a formal living room, but since we're not formal (and only own one sofa), it's become my studio. The room is about a 12' x 12' and houses a big wooden desk, a glass-doored bookcase, a red leather chair, an antique filing cabinet and several smaller storage cabinets and bins to hold all my stuff.
Almost all of the pieces are hand-me-downs or were found at antique stores, flea markets & garage sales. I have a thing for furniture with a history (and if it has peeling paint, even better!)
My desk was an anniversary gift from my husband and found at an antique mall in Jenks, Oklahoma. I had spotted it there on a solo outing and came home to tell Mike I'd found the perfect desk. After conspiring with the sales staff at the mall, he took me back under the guise of measuring the desk to see if it would fit our space. When we arrived, there was a big yellow SOLD sign on the piece and I was almost in tears that my treasure had been stolen from me. Then Mike had me open the drawer where another sign said Happy Anniversary and I realized he'd already bought it for me. One of my most favorite surprises ever!
I should note that it did not look like this when we brought it home. It was stained a dark black and had huge, hideous, scrolly brass hardward on the front. We refinished it and added new pulls to the drawers. I love the expansive workspace (almost 5" x 3") and most days, it is usually covered in various scrap projects. On the left side of the desk there are faux drawers, which are actually a door that houses a typewriter lift. I love this feature because it lets me hide the more modern technology my job requires - it's where I've stashed my photo printer and Silhouette.
I store the supplies I use regularly (adhesives, pens, scissors, punches) in a painted wood cubby on my desk - another flea market find. The only challenge is keeping other household members from "borrowing" them.
On the opposite wall as my desk is a glass-doored bookshelf, which holds the bulk of my scrapping supplies. (It's very similar to this one at Crate & Barrel.) I have them sorted into a variety of bins, buckets and baskets and I'm always on the lookout at flea markets for vintage-y type storage. Currently this space is packed full, which means a cleaning purge is imminent.
To the left of my desk, I have an old cupboard with shelves on the interior. To lift it off the floor, my husband added turned legs to the bottom (you can find these in the wood trim area of Home Depot). I distressed the whole thing with cream and sage-colored paint. It houses magazines, photo boxes, ink refills, photo paper and other stuff that's not particularly attractive and looks better behind closed doors.
On top of the cupboard is a small drawer unit that holds all my stamps, inks, and paints. The drawers pull completely out, so I can sort through them while I'm creating. It's also another piece I practiced my distress-painting techniques on. I'm pretty sure my heaven will be painted in faux finishes. :)
I searched forever for a safe, sturdy storage option for my beloved cardstock and I was never able to find anything that was just right. So my handy husband made me two wooden bins that fit my specifications perfectly:
My patterned paper doesn't get such pretty storage - it's stacked in paper racks and housed in the coat closet adjacent to my office. This is another area in desperate need of a purging. Luckily, it's also behind closed doors so it makes it easy to ignore. We also put shelves in this closet to house all my albums (and getting all my layouts into these albums is currently a work in progress!)
A recent addition to the office has helped somewhat to keep my desktop clean. I keep a large, flat basket handy on the floor beneath my desk to sweep scraps into. Once a week, I empty the basket into the recycle bin.
And that, my friends, is where I create. In the interest of full disclosure, I did clean up before snapping these photos. Most days, there are scrap supplies covering the desk, floor, and any other flat surface. Also usually present is a large dog on the floor behind the desk (carefully napping amongst the scrap disaster!) If you were to stop by my house unannounced, this is likely the scene you'd see:
Because creativity requires a mess. At least that's what I keep telling my husband.
Have a delightful 1.11.11!
