Ta Dah!

Over the last few days, I have undertaken a gargantuan task.  I have rearranged and reorganized my office/studio. 

The hugeness of this job is in direct proportion to the smallness of the room and the vast quantity of stuff I have in there.  It's a 10' by 12' standard bedroom ... not the tiniest studio I've ever seen, but given all the work I do in here and the supplies I have on hand, it's a space that presents a challenge.  The space has worked reasonably well over the 9 years we've lived in the house.  But the way I use the space has changed considerably.  Back then, I worked 20-30 hours a week at my desk, and my sewing machine in the corner was something I used from time to time.  Just having it up full time, in a space where I could close the door and hide the mess, was a luxury.  But these days I'm working far less at my desk, and making art in some fashion or another almost every day.  I not only needed a sewing space --- I needed a work table area where I could spread out and arrange fabrics or fuse stuff or paint or whatever.

So, while I would have liked to knock out a wall or two, or add a lovely Koala cabinet with oodles of storage, or even buy a house with a detached but massive studio, I limited myself to what I could change THIS WEEK, and I rearranged the furniture.  And it actually is an improvement.

I have now dedicated a table (which used to hold a cd player and cds and generally be a catch-all for miscellaneous papers) to the sewing machine.  I pulled a rolling cart out of the garage and it contains threads.  At the Container Store (oh, how I love the Container Store) I found the red metal mini-file drawer thingie, which holds scissors and rotary cutters and supplies, and I got the mini Elfa cart to hold projects in progress so that I could roll them out of the way under the table when I'm not actually working.

This leaves my wonderful office table (which used to be the sewing machine-work table) for spreading out and doing STUFF.  My goal is to keep it clear when I'm not actively working on something.  Hah.  We'll see how that works.  The Container Store also provided the pretty turquoise woven plastic bin, to hold more works in progress and stuff in transit.  (You know how there is always that stuff -- to do something with, to put away later, to remember to give to someone....)   I love this table -- especially how the rounded edges mean that I don't bang my thighs as I move around the room.  It'd be perfect if it were about 6 to 8 inches higher, and maybe one of these days I'll rig it so it is higher -- but for now I'm happy to have the work space.

And here is the desk area.  I like that I've segregated my work area and I still have the lateral files right handy for work purposes.  The downside of this arrangement is that when I sit at my desk, I look straight down the hall into Miss C's bedroom.  As she comes out of her room, I feel like I should say "Can I help you?"  So it's a little insurance-officey, but a small price to pay for getting the open work table.

There's a lot of visual clutter in this room.  I KNOW that, being in here, but it's even more apparent seeing the room in photos.  I may have to take some things down.  Hmmm.  I love the visual inspiration, but maybe it's part of what makes the room feel smaller?  Something to consider.

No wonder my back is sore.  All this tidiness makes me want to get to work on a project -- to mess it all up right away!