Over the past few months, I've been working really hard on my studio. It had become really cluttered and pretty much unfuctional. When I walked in, I felt frustrated and overwhelmed. It was time for a change.
Up until the new year, this room was still set up as it had been in my days of making jewelry. The room was crammed with all of my jewelry supplies and tools, and my growing collection of fabric and linens were scattered about, piled in bins, and without a proper home. As I was putting this post together, I couldn't find a before photo, but I will add it when I do - so you can see just how unsightly it was.
The progress was slow going, and it often felt like I would never finish. But now it is pretty much complete - or at least close enough to share. I love this space so much. It has been amazing to feel my creative energy flowing again, just by creating order in this space. When I walk in, I feel peaceful and settled, yet inspired. Everything has a home. I've been working really hard to keep it nice and neat, and to put things away when I am finished working with them (this is really hard for me!).
I am so incredibly grateful to have this space. This room used to be the garage, but when our house was renovated in 2002 (before we bought it), this room was made part of the house's living space. I think it was designed to be the master bedroom - it has a full bath and two great closets, along with a window seat and cedar chest - but we couldn't make that work with our furniture and how we were using the rest of the space in the house. It has been an office, my jewelry studio, and now it is my sewing studio and fabric shop.
So, let me show you around. I'll give you the quick tour and then share some details.
This is the view when you walk into the room. Straight ahead is my sewing table with my regular sewing machine and serger. To the left is the printer, sitting on a set of drawers that holds paper and other office type supplies. And you can see a little bit of the corner where all of my thread, ribbons, rulers, and a set of drawers with most of my sewing tools. That big basket holds all of my vintage linen scraps.
This view shows my cutting table and the bathroom.
This dresser sits on the wall opposite my sewing table, and holds all of my packaging supplies and non-sewing craft and art supplies.
This metal bookcase is right between the dresser and the bathroom door. It holds my sewing books, my vintage pillowcases, and a few more packaging supplies.
Opposite my cutting table are the closets and window seat, which looks out into our front yard.
And a quick peek into the bathroom.
And now I'll share some of the details.
Above my sewing table are embroidery hoops with some of my favorite vintage fabrics.
This is one of my favorites.
Behind my sewing machine sit large jars of fabric scraps, sorted by color.
Next to the window, I hung little metal bins, which hold my ribbon. I picked up these little bins from Target's dollar section.
I punched two holes in the bins and used little "L" hooks to hang them on the walls.
This is another view of the wall beside the cutting table. I'm not crazy about the lamp, but I haven't found another affordable one that provides enough light.
Lots and lots of thread.
This is another view of the cutting table. It is from Ikea, and it is just the right height. Inside, the shelves hold more fabric - thrifted sheets, burlap, batting, as well as my patterns and other larger items.
The shelves above the cutting table hold jars of buttons and vintage tins with vintage sewing notions. The bar is from Ikea, and is home to my scissors and rotary cutters.
Buttons, sorted by color.
This frame is above the three-drawer dresser. I thrifted the frame for a couple of dollars, painted it white, and then sanded it to create a distressed look. I used colored twine to create a place for hanging bits of inspiration and other pretty things I want to have in sight.
A closer look at the frame.
I took some sweet little flower cabachons and glued them to mini-clothespins for hanging my bits of inspiration.
Another shot of the flower clips.
This is the closet on the right, which is home to most of my vintage linens. As part of the studio makeover, I built and painted these shelves in the closets.
To keep the fabric nice and tidy, I cut foam boards sized to fit my shelves and then organized the sheets by color.
This is the closet on the left, which is home to all of my other fabric.
To organize this fabric, I wrapped the fabric around comic book boards and sorted it by color. I had several of these metal bins on hand, and they were the perfect fit for the size of the fabric "bolts" and for my closet space. Once I realized how perfect they were, I went back to Target to look for a few more, and snagged them on clearance. Lucky me!
This paper star was a gift from a dear friend several years ago. I love it so much. It hangs from the ceiling above the window seat.
This window seat is one part of the room that I haven't finished yet. I am planning to make a cushion - I just can't decide on a fabric. Thea doesn't mind though - it's one of her favorite spots in the house.
So there you have it - a peek into my creative space.
Have a lovely weekend, friends!