Around The Room | The Office In Progress
This is one of those posts where I grabbed my camera and took some shots of life "as it is."
As it is around here right now means lots of projects in progress, piles on the floor, and me still simply trying to see and feel just how I want this space to work (while working in it).
As you come into my office you walk by built-in shelves (they were built into an alcove that was already there) that were designed to fit 12x12 albums with extra supports for the weight. The spotlights were already there and that top shelf has become a good spot for some of my larger projects and "A's" (most found at antique or junk shops).
The yellow walls were here when we moved in - those walls, along with the one window at the far end, make it a bit of a challenge to get the colors in the photos correct. I like the yellow but I daydream about having it all white.
Looking into the office while standing by the shelves this is what you see:
01 | A small couch with a TV for kids and/or husband. I can see the TV from my desk (just in case I need to have the TV on while working on my computer which is just about never).
02 | The area opposite the couch is where I hope to have a sit-down table one of these days. Right now it's a catch-all for things that need to but put away or hung up (more specifically photos and art that don't yet have a home in our home). I have a bit of fear that the same thing will happen when I put a table there, but the goal is to have a place for the kids or friends to come over and work on projects. There's also a little chalkboard for Anna and a small bookshelf along the wall that holds my art/design/craft/scrapbooking books.
03 | My computer table/desk and all my hardware. I just recently turned the table around so I face into the room - much happier with that setup.
04 | My work table - originally a kitchen island.
05 | Sewing machine and typewriter and more storage.
06 | Lockers. I found these at an antique fair a few years back and I still love them. They hold extra adhesive, painting supplies, ribbon basket, embossing stuff, etc.
Here's a closer look at some of the spaces mentioned above:
My computer table. Along the back of the couch I've got a row of wire shelves that hold my computer tower, printers, scanner, etc.
This is what it looks like if you are standing over by the lockers and look towards my computer table.
12x12 paper storage on top of a piece I picked up at an antique shop. There's nothing in those drawers just yet. The wood piece hanging on the wall is from Pottery Barn.
Here's what you see when looking from that corner over towards the lockers:
I'm still using the same kitchen island I've had since I first started scrapbooking. I have dreams of a bigger work surface - like two of these from Ikea placed back to back.
A layout in progress.
Next to the table is a rolling cart I found last summer at an antique fair. Still not sure I love how I'm using it right now, but it's working.
Stuff on the floor next to the cart.
And the sewing machine/typewriter/more storage area.
Other things currently on the floor include:
My December Daily supplies. I want to go through what I have left again and see what I might want to use this year and what can be shared.
My 2010 Project Life. A sad thing happened to this a few weeks ago - it fell off the ledge it had been sitting on and exploded onto the floor. My next task is to go back in and attempt to put things back in somewhat of an order.
It's all a work in progress. The room, the projects, etc.
My dreams for this space include skylights and some sort of hardwood flooring vs. the carpet. Someday.
Love the work in progress pictures. You can definitely tell that you get a lot done in there and that's nice to see! I just finished my space over the weekend and I am loving it! If you want to see it go here http://simplyharris.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing!
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I really appreciate that you're sharing your office "as is," Ali. Instead of leaving me frustrated with my own creative space, like so many styled studio photographs do, it is helping me see new possibilities within what I have. It's lived in, authentic. And that makes it all the more inspiring.
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Dear Ali, I recently got a re-do of my 10x12 scrapbook room. I kept getting more and more "stuff". I couldn't stand the clutter. I stripped most of it out and we put in a 12' long countertop. Under the countertop are two shelves to hold albums. They sit neatly under my feet and out of the way. They stretch for about 9 feet each! The rest of the albums are in closets around the house. As I scrapbook year after year, I find that the less I have, the more creative I feel. I realize that some people are just the opposite! Thanks for the tour.
I'm the same way - moving towards less all the time :).
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um...I paint. and I live close to you. :) I could come over and paint your walls white for you. :)
I might take you up on that one of these days :)
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Amazing! My hubby has been promising me a scrap space for years, yet I'm still in the unfinished basement on an 8' table. I think he's afraid that I want one of those stark white rooms with white melamine cabinets, and that isn't what he wants to do. I love seeing all of your eclectic storage and decorations - much more me!
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Love the tour! I love all the displays you have up in your office, I like eye candy! I don't like all the stuff that comes with scrapbooking (though I do love to organize it all!). I guess you have to take the bad with the good! ;)
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LOVE this. A true representation that makes me feel normal for not having a magazine cover ready studio. Piles are okay and questionable items can still hang out until they are no longer needed. Now, I must go check out some antique/junk stores I been meaning to walk into and see what I can find to enhance my space. A collection of beauty and inspiration. Thanks girl!
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Really too bad about your PL album. I love to see other people's spaces, especially in working form. I like how all your furniture isn't matchy matchy. I love using found pieces too. One of my friends just got custom cabinetry for her craft room & I was so jealous at 1st. We all agreed it was beautiful but then we all hate to go in there and mess it up so we end up in the kitchen ;) Silly I know. How did you hang that pottery barn cubby/shelf on your wall? I thought about getting it but it looked really heavy.
I used picture hangers that are designed to hold a lot of weight. I looked for the ones at the store that held the most ;).
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love this post, ali! thanks for sharing.
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Hi Ali, i love that you've photographed your office in its "messy" state, and the way that you see it everyday. It would be a great picture for Project life, the way your life is right now.
Thanks for sharing!
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1) I love your space & several things in it! I love all the A's & E's you've collected for 1, SO CUTE! What great potention you have in that space!
2) What a downer about your 2010 album! So sorry! Maybe you have some pictures that you've shared w/us showing you how to put some of it back together??! :)
3) Thanks for being honest with your space & sharing it! I feel SO much better now! I LOVE my recently redone space, but, it's SUCH a mess again b/c I've been working it of coarse! :)
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Thanks for showing us a peak into your office space. Thank god your space looks like it' s used not airbrushed..sometimes I view artists' space and wonder what creativework is actually done in such ulber-clean space...
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Hi Ali, Thanks for sharing your creative space with us today! I would like to know how often do you purge and what do you do with the things you are letting go of? My alphabets and clear stamps are out of control and I need a better way of organizing them any suggestions? Thanks Rhonda
Hi Rhonda - I go through my things in a big way once or twice a year. I'm constantly coming across things I'm happy to part with as I go about my work so I have a basket that I throw things into - those things are shared with some local friends or given to schools. I like doing it this way because I get rid of things as I come across them but also do a more purposeful go-through a couple times a year (depending on projects, etc).
Right now I have the least amount of product I've had in years - there's still quite a bit but it's more manageable than in the past.
I've always found that letting go of things I'm not using makes more room for creativity.
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skylights & hardwood would be great additions.
thanks for the little tour I loved it!!
also thanks for keeping it real! I am so happy to see you have piles on the floor! :)
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Wow, thanks for keeping it real. We usually see perfect spaces on scrappy blogs.
I remember seeing pics from your work space a few years ago and you were in a smaller room. Did you move?
And what's the big alphabet thingy pn the corkboard near the lockers?
We did - last August. I'm looking for the source of that die cut alpha. I bought it online -
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love that you shared your working space, ali. i made me realize that it is ok to have some work-in-progress here and there. thanks!
So much of life (and craft) is "work in progress" :)
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Thanks for your well laid out tour Ali. I have moved my room around a lot since shifting 'offices' with my husband when I retired. My room is yellow also, Benjamin Moore 2159-50, which was the interior color of the MD Senate offices. I loved how that color shifted in our office with the light from windows on three sides. I have several Ikea tables in the room and will get that same Varde when I clear out more floorspace.
It's taking me a good bit of time to see how I want things laid out, and how I use them. I also have realized I need a slightly different layout in the summer as opposed to the winter, with a room a/c next to me. Every day it gets closer and closer to a more workable arrangement. I love seeing how yours will evolve.
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Ali
A home for all of your albums is a major score! The alcove is very cool.
It takes me a great while to get a feel for rooms in a new home. I have to live in them in order to figure them out.
I love that you have plenty of space and different areas (even for family) in your room.
Thanks for sharing.
D
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Thanks for the peek into your office, Ali! I have a Varde Storage island already and it's really great. I can slide bits and bobs underneath too, thus making my craft room look a little tidier than it actually is! I tend to pull things out from everywhere when I'm working on a project, and I'm not so good at putting them back straight away....still I just accept that I'm not perfect in everything! LOL! I do love Ikea for storage. I have 3 drawer storage tall units (Aneboda) (which hold 12x12 papers) and 3 wardrobes to match, that are the same birch colour of my Varde Unit. Just wanted to say that I LOVE your Technique Tuesday stamps and all your digital files. Love from Scotland xo
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Uhhh...do you do your sewing standing up? I guess for your stitched pages it works out okay ergonomically, since you aren't standing very long. I don't keep my machine set up, but as a result, it's sometimes hard to get going on it, hauling it out, etc.
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just an f.y.i... i got an e-mail from karen russell, who shared this amazing blog post at www.jasminestarblog.com (not sure how to insert her link from her post dated yesterday 2.22.11) "Telling Your Story." amazing video if you haven't already seen. And thank you for sharing your studio with us.
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THanks for the bit of real life! As a scrapbooking celebrity, I think many of us put you on a pedestal - glad to see you also have small piles of things like the rest of us. Plus the exploding album. I burst out laughing - I have had it happen several times - though usually it's the result of a 3 year old that has the most angelic face!
Lots of piles and lots of stuff in progress - that's how it goes (and how stuff gets done :)).
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Thanks for this post Ali, I always learn so much.
I love how you have shown us your room as it is, let's face it most of our rooms are not perfect, if they are then maybe they aren't used as much as one hopes. I also love how you have little spaces/areas for different tasks. Are you a stand-up scrapper?
I'm about to move my craft room into the office, meaning much less space. Our office is small so it will be hard to find the right balance of spaces for things, but really the office will be a space where we spend a lot of time.
Yep, I've always been a stand-up scrapbooker.
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I love your space. What size is the room? I have a room all my own it is about 9'X 12'. I like how I am set up right now. But I have a love seat in front of a window that was supposed to be for my daughter to come in here with me while she does her reading and of course it is piled with stuff that hasn't got a home right now.
I'm not sure what size this room is - it's a "bonus" or "media" room - it's definitely more than enough space.
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For got to say I like your choice of tables. I wouldn't mind a couple of those either.
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