Creative Studio Makeover
We purchased this house in 2013 and have made SO MANY changes since then. One of the biggest transformations has been my studio space.
When we were looking at potential properties, one of the top items on our list of must haves was a space for my studio so that I could begin to run my company from home.
It was something that I had always wanted to do … when we saw this home, it was the one that needed the most work, but it was the only one that I could actually FEEL our family living in .. and when I say it needed work, I meant it !!
Check out what my studio looked like when we first toured this house … it was actually the original carport in this 1960’s build and the previous owners had closed it in as a storage room. We’ve clearly made some improvements since then !! You can check out some of the process HERE and HERE …
When we first completed this room, i was OBSESSED and loved everything about it… and for a long time it worked really well for me !!
If you want to check out what my studio looked like a little more than 3 years ago, CLICK HERE to watch the video walk through that I did … A LOT has changed both in this space and with my company since then. It is really fun to see how the way I work in this room has evolved and as a result, I’ve needed to make some changes to have it function better as well !!
Having it look like the photos below, and become a literal dumping ground for all the things that didn’t have a home (or everyone was too busy to actually put away properly), wasn’t working for me anymore !!
ORGANIZING
It is VERY difficult to be in this space when it is SO cluttered and disorganized and feel creatively charged and ready to work !!
A good friend of mine who happens to LOVE organizing was all too happy to get in here and start ripping things apart! I knew that we had enough bins etc and would likely be removing some, but we did need some inner drawer bins. I purchased these ones and they were perfect to house a lot of the smaller things inside bigger drawers and bins etc …
ACCESSIBILTY
One thing you will learn about me is that i want EVERYTHING to be able to move easily … so that means putting it on wheels. Most of the large pieces of furniture in my studio are on wheels, and i LOVE these rolling carts (i have 5 in this room) …
These ones live just under the overhang of my large center island craft table.
As you can see, one is just for punches … it is PERFECT, as i can just roll ‘er on over to wherever i am crafting and have them all at my fingertips (yes, they do get dusty and need a wipe down every once in a while),
The other one has the most fabulous bins from Close To My Heart. Contact your Local Rep and BUY THEM because they fit perfectly into these carts !! Mine house ALL kinds of embellishments and i am so happy i have them !
MY RIDE OR DIE
This is my MOST fave rolly cart … i don’t care if you aren’t supposed to have favorites, i do and this girl is it ! Not only is she my fave color, she has this super fabulous handle so that i can take with me everywhere i go !
What i love most is that she houses ALL the things that i use EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. If i need scissors, shes there for me … if i need adhesive, she’s got me covered … if i need a journaling pen, you guessed it, she’s got those too ! Of course she has SO many more bits i need on the regular, so she became my fast fave and i can’t do anything in here without her !!
STORAGE
This corner is great and i am so glad that i invested in (2) of these ALEX rolling drawer units from IKEA. He holds ALLLL my page protectors for all the different sized albums that I use. (2) of the drawers are for extra stationary and office supplies and the other (4) are for my obscenely large collection of page protectors. You never know when you might run out, so best to have them ALL on hand i say !
On top, in the vintage bread tin, i keep assorted card blanks and envelopes so that they are easy to grab when I need them ! Behind that is a space for class prizes sent in from manufacturers etc … and then i also have an enormous selection of alphas that aren’t still with their coordinating paper collection !
KEEP IT VINTAGE
It isn’t news that I LOVE old furniture and I wanted to incorporate a few pieces into my creative space. This old dresser (now without drawers) houses clear project containers that have either photos to be worked with or projects needing to be completed. I’ve even got one of my embossing tools tucked in there too !
On top, i keep my most used cardstock (that isn’t in kits hanging in the bags above) in vertical containers … i like to be able to walk over with a piece of patterned paper and find the colour/s that i need easily. I’ve tried it many different ways over the years and this works best for me !
I also have a couple of paper storage containers on top that house all my large scraps / cut offs … and YES, i do actually use them !!
KITS
WE SELL PAPER CRAFTING KITS … just in case you didn’t know ;)) … and they come to you in these large handled hang bags. They are great quality and able to be used and used and used again.
When a kit is new, it automatically gets hung onto my slat wall in my studio and it stays there until there are just small bits left, then it moves onto a tray in my big paper wall at the back of my room (more on that later) … i like this hanging crafty wall as i can easily see what I have and grab it off the wall to work with !
I have (2) of these Kallax units in my studio and i knew i didn’t want them vertically standing in this space, so I turned them on their sides and yep, added wheels !! They are SUPER functional like this and adding a mix of drawers AND baskets is perfect for me … and for keeping all of my craft supplies separated and organized !
i absolutely LOVE this back wall … if you look back at the listing photo, you can see that it was actually a wall with an enormous sliding glass door in it. We removed it and built in (2) of the 5 x 5 Kallax units. We built a base on the floor so that they were raised up a few inches and then attached them to the wall for stability as well !
ALL THINGS PAPER CRAFTING
I have SO many supplies housed here … i kept my patterned paper trays from when i had a retail space and (6) fit beautifully inside each cube. I also have a few spaces for smaller albums … and along the top and bottom i have rows of cloth bins !!
One of the most common questions that I get asked is how I adhere my layouts to the face of each cube … i found the most adorable gold colored mini alligator clips and they hold them on perfectly !
You can see that once I got everything the way that I wanted it, I ordered grey colored cloth bins to replace the white ones that I’ve had for a few years (they get dirty REALLY quickly with dogs coming in and out LOL) !!
The grey is much more functional being so close to the ground … and i REALLY love the colour next to my stained floor !!
I mean really … how pretty is this wall ??!! It is truly one of my most favorite things !!
… next to this wall of course !!
MY HAPPY PLACE
It’s no secret that yellow is my favorite colour … and this feature wall is the one that i face when i am working in this space and it makes me SO happy !!
I found this oversized chair on marketplace and it was in excellent condition and exactly what i was looking for so that my family and my dogs could sit in here too … and to be honest, it really has become my dogs chair !!
I used wire curtain ‘rods’ from IKEA to create a place for layouts to hang above the chair and I change them out often … it makes me really happy to look up and see memories in front of me like this ! I hang them with the clips that coordinate with the wire but i punch small black cardstock circle and fold them in half so that the clips don’t mark the layouts !
ITS THE LITTLE THINGS
As i mentioned, mixing in vintage pieces was important to me and this door is SO cool … i picked it up while we lived in Calgary several years ago and saved it for this room specifically !! It came out of an old farmhouse … it needed a little work to fit, and it’s not perfect, but i LOVE it … and the piece de resistance is this vintage inspired doorknob. It is glass and I ordered it in just for this door … the perfect finishing touch !
Throughout the entire room I have LOTS of framed photos and tucked behind the door are my most recent cover pages for Creative Scrapbooker Magazine !!
SMILE
Because you can see this space / door from the kitchen and mudroom of our home, I wanted to have a curtain hung to close off the room at times. I added these super sweet vintage inspired curtains that remind me of old lace ones that my Gramma used to have. They compliment the space beautifully and this view makes me smile every day !!
I want you to know that you don’t have to have a large space to make it organized and functional for you to create in. I waited a long time for this room and I am thankful every day for it … i hope that you loved learning a little more about me and my home in the process !!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me here or on Instagram and Facebook too … i am happy to answer any questions !
Be sure to follow along in my stories as I pull out drawers and show you the inside of some of my faves spots throughout the rest of the week !
Until Next Time … j. XOX
