[decor & design l organization l scrapbooking]

warning: *studio* sounds more glamorous…but really, it’s just my creative *space*

Finally…it’s done! My wonderful, fabulous little slice of *heaven-on-earth* where I escape into my little world of…creativity.

It’s where I dream. Envision. Experiment. Create.

This teeny-tiny-little room is the hub of our family…fun. Yes, we have a fabulous, large family room. Yes, we have a huge living room. But for some reason, we all seem to end up here, in this small room!

I share this room with Don. Stick with me, and I’ll let you peek at *his* side of the room which houses his very awesome collection of Nascar die-cast and our computer, printer and scanner. He’s been very cool in allowing me to re-create my entire 1/2 of the room.

And the kids? We have always had a T.V. in this room with games hooked up to it (time limits are always applied…they have to read books a lot too!). And they love to do crafts in our *den/family-fun-room/nascar room/craft studio*. See the corner by the desk-top palm-tree? THAT is the future home of our wall-mounted miniature flat-screen T.V. That should be up soon.

As for *my space*…well, I have a fabulous 4′ x 4′ walk-in closet with 9 foot ceilings that I use for my actual storage of supplies. And I’ve always had a *desk* outside of this closet. But now? I have the awesome Pottery Barn Bradford desk collection! (thanks, Don!!!)

My closet now has the *awesome* Store-in-Style by Crop-in-Style system. These cubes are adjustable and modular, meaning, you pick the type of cube you want (ie, open space, 2 drawers, 3 drawers, 1 12×12 drawer, etc) and they mount as a unit. Thanks, AGAIN, to Donnie for assembling them!

I’m still getting used to the vertical paper storage system…I have reservations about it, but am keeping an open mind. I kept my *horizontal* paper stackers to store my plain cardstock in. I do love the fact that I can completely *organize* my papers vertically by manufacturer. That is awesome! Love it!

I’ve utilized every single nook and cranny very…practically. My space is not the prettiest space, not the largest space, not the best of the best…but it works for me and is…practical. Plus, I’ve added some pretty elements including my Pottery Barn photo ledge and pixie-lamp! And…as you know, I’m a huge believer in surrounding yourself with the best of your very favorite photography.

One last thing before you peek at my thumbnails…

Why black???

First, I love black. It’s a fabulous, classic, timeless color. And, second, remember, this is a shared room…Don is a Nascar collector/trader and this room had to fit both of us and flow with the whole *Nascar* theme (until that sad day in the future when my kids move out and we have extra rooms to each have our own space!)

Originally he wanted black and white checkered window treatments…this is our *compromise*, so to speak…the sheers are very light and airy. They let a ton of light into this already-very-light room. Looks masculine for him and chic for me, don’t you think?

This room is actually very light, with two windows…it’s supports the black without making the room seem dark or dreary…it actually tones it down a bit!

So, off you go to check out the *details* of my organization and fun *schtuff*…THANKS for looking! Click the button below…all images enlarge. Don’t forget to peek at the *other* side of the room which we’ll simply call…*Nascar Country*.

CLOSET ORGANIZATION:

DESK DRAWER ORGANIZATION:

OTHER VIEWS, JUST FOR FUN:

*NASCAR-COUNTRY* (DON’S SIDE OF THE ROOM, INCLUDING THE COMPUTER)  :)

Other storage ideas that I’ve implemented:

• my corner desk creates a large *storage opportunity*…large black bins are stored under desk which house "paper-keepers" filled with projects-in-progress and other papers and embellishments I like to keep grouped together
• Don (sweetie that he is) installed wire-shelving all the way to the tippy-top of my walk-in closet (9′ ceilings) to store items I want to keep, but don’t use often (great use of storage—even in a standard closet if you have one available!)
• every *nook-n-cranny* is utilized, including the 10" between the end of my desk and the wall, which stores my camera equipment/tri-pod, etc.
• extra 1′ of space at the *other* end of desk allowed me to find a 1′ four-drawer chest (black with brushed nickel drawer-pulls, thanks to Wall-Mart!) to store other items such as fibers, camera-cables and smaller digital equipment, larger tools like glue-gun/brayer, etc.
• black boxes on my desk? recipe boxes (in corner by pixie-lamp and under-neath smaller window) from Target that hold index-cards (my system to keep track of supplies on layouts for submissions), floss, dymo-label, wire.
• there is a second desk/work space in this unit; it allows for a 2nd computer if we choose to do that (which we may end up doing)…but in the meantime, it allows for more storage space in that area plus an extra work space…for the kids or Don.

Lastly, here are some awesome craft-spaces that I love looking at! (EDITED TO ADD: 2Peas in a Bucket’s server has been down…if you can’t link to these fabulous scrappin’ spaces, please check back)

Heidi’s Studio

Heidi’s new desk

Bold Red Room

Pretty and Girlie

Fabulous Room

Awesome Room

One of my FAVES!

A Scrapper’s DREAM

Hope you’ve enjoyed looking at all these extra spaces…aren’t they awesome???