Whoa…I’ve been away for a bit! The holidays are the busiest time of year for my work, so it’s hard to take the time to blog about everything I’m doing and during that time my studio fell into a complete state of disrepair. It was finally time to deal with my work space and I’m so happy with the results! This project was a long time coming and there were a lot of things to consider before diving in.
1. It had to be affordable. We don’t have extra cash, really ever, so while it was necessary for my productivity, it had to stay well under $1000. Ikea had a great sale just before the New Year on their PAX wardrobes, so one day we just jumped on it and bought some. I really wanted everything in there AWAY, so having something with doors was essential and the PAX wardrobes hold A LOT of stuff.
Before: This was a common scene while packing up for a fair…complete madness!
Even at it’s best, the open shelves were often really dusty and always too full.
Oh, you know…just stuff it where ever you can. My work is so varied so my supplies definitely reflect that.
The back closet area is where I stored my store stock and it never quite fit!
More of my “brilliant” organization skills…shipping supplies up top, sewing and patterns down below…all mixed in with our taxes.
2. I knew there was no way it was going to happen in a day, so I couldn’t clear everything out and start from scratch….I had to work on it with everything still in the space….which was, frankly, BANANAS. It probably would have been faster to take everything out of the space, but taking care of my kids daily only gives me about 4 solid hours of uninterrupted work time during the day.
I cleared away the spot for the closets and cleaned it before assembling.
Madness on the left, and the beginning of sanity on the right!
3. I not only needed my studio to be more functional and make more sense for productivity, it also doubles as a guest room for us, so…3a. the transformation from work space to bedroom needed to be easier. We spend a full day before company arrives trying to make my wild mess tidy-ish for our guests and it’s never quite there! The wardrobes give me a place to stuff my work and now all we have to do is pull out my cutting table to make room for the air mattress.
Panoramic view of the new space!
When company comes, we now will just have to remove the standing work table (and vacuum) and VOILA! A tidy guest room!
I used some of the PAX drawer inserts and jewelry organizer trays for my supplies.
This still needs some work, but the other closets hold my finished products and pillow inserts.
I love the pull out tray organizers for my odd assortment of supplies!
I was able to use some of my antique drawers as well in a new way. This is all of the stuff that makes sense next to the sewing machines.
A proper office area! A shipping station! Yes, it’s still a bit chaotic, but it’s a million times better than before.
Oh…and one more thing….
4. We were perma-loaned a bigger TV for our living room so we also wanted to be able to put our old one in my studio. I feel like it’s both an upgrade to my work life and the potential downfall of it! We’ll see how that goes!
I can watch the kids play and my favorite shows all at once?! Yeah…it’s probably a bad idea but it’s great for guests!
delia-hauser.com 
Great job! I can relate to every one of your issues & I think your captions are hilarious. I think I may be inspired enough to clean up my own act. : )