Before and After – Pics of the New Craft Studio! Finally!

I know it’s been too long in coming!

I had to wait for a sunny day, which was also too long in coming!  LOL

Last November, I had the pleasure of marrying Robert, who among many things, is a talented builder.  Seeing as we were adding two more people to the house, we felt a little squeezed, especially in adding a teenage boy amongst my three daughters.

Short of it is, we moved my office into the garage and Bayley downstairs and into my previous office.  he’s got a very small space, but it’s his own and far away from all the females, so he’s happy enough.

Before:

 

Besides moving all the “stuff” out, the next step was to put in the floor.  We went for the least expensive option we could find, which was to have the floor ground and polished.  Turns out, we couldn’t have picked anything more suitable!

After some weeks of moving in and organizing and throwing stuff out and doing it all on the cheap, here is my beloved new studio.  I honestly couldn’t ask for anything better:

Rob helped me put up the Stampin’ Up! sticker on the window. A nice touch.  Those are Bayley’s old dresser drawers there.  I just love how much light and sun this room gets all day long.  I didnt’ take a pic of it for some reason, but that entire wall is all glass, so the whole room is warm and sunny.  We all gravitate in here  and the cats love laying on the concrete in the sun.   They like to stand at the window and guard the house, too.

This is a nice, big table Rob made for me, getting the glass and the mdf board for free. We covered the thick board with some fabric I had, then set the glass on top.  He used some scraps from work and made the sides to prevent the glass from getting nicked up.

You can just barely see it here, but those table bases he constructed are actually really deep shelves.  The cats love it under there!  And the basket on the table is also for the one cat who wants to be by me at all times. 

Rob hated those chairs and forbid me to get them, but they were dirt cheap and I love them!  You never know what you can find on TradeMe.  I’ve since added a few more odd chairs to the mix so everyone has a seat.

Another view. The large cupboard on the right is my old tv cabinet, now with shelves installed (Thanks Rob) and filled to the top with fabric.  (I had to promise to never buy any more fabric every again . . . totally do-able as I think I have more than a lifetime stash due to working in a fabric store many years ago).

The curtains are hiding the laundry area.  This set up with the laundry works really well.

Rob made me the chalkboard here.  He painted up a piece of fiberboard with chalkboard paint and then made me a frame to fit.  We tinted the paint Pool Party.  Sofie loves writing me messages on there!

You can see all the natural light in this pic!  These are all drawers and cupboards I’ve had for years, and they fit pretty well in this space.  Rob wanted me to sell it all off and get matching white cupboards, but that felt too sterile to me. I like my eclectic display.

Up above my cupboards and drawers, Rob reluctantly put in shelves where I have punches and dies on the ready.  Love baskets! 

I do have one “sterile white cupboard” that was originally in the garage holding garage stuff.  Now it’s a home for cardstock and large tools. My clever husband added more shelves, too. 

And how I store my stamps.  Now that the wood mounts come in similar cases, this is extra easy.   One thing I’ve found is that my supplies need to be accessible for the maximum creativity.  The sunny room and a big, clean table also do a lot to inspire the mojo!

Thanks, Robert.  I couldn’t have done this without you.  Thank you for supporting my work and believing I am a superstar. xxx