As our kids are getting older (and our furniture begins to show its age) we decided it was time for a change. A big part of the drive for this was that my husband and I were constantly competing for space in the small upstairs bedroom we were sharing for both my crafting and his music/recording equipment. Neither of us could start a very large project without taking over the others' space. So we agreed to do a major overhaul of the way we use the rooms, get rid of everything unnecessary and finally make the house work for us.
After giving away some old furniture, moving our piano, and cleaning out the china cabinet I was left with this:
Now that may look like a huge mess (and trust my sinuses, it was not fun to clean up) but as soon as I had this room empty I could see the potential... I finally had a room just for me. Other than the one year I had an apartment in college I have never had a room all to myself to use as I saw fit. Never. I was thrilled at the prospect of arranging, decorating and utilizing a room in a way that I chose! I spent hours and hours cleaning, moving, arranging, rearranging, moving again, planning, folding, stacking, and putting things just how I wanted them. This was the result:
I now have a place to store my books and patterns:
organize my fabrics:
sort my yarn:
work on my finances, edit photos, or more likely, watch Netflix or Hulu while knitting a hat:
sew, cut, iron, whatever, with room to maneuver and not end up in someone's way:
and even several places to display my finished items:
Though I'm not done decorating the walls (pics of each of my kids in Knits & Knots products will be proudly hung on the wall above my sewing machine in the very near future), I have a place for my favorite pic of my husband and I (thanks Micah Bell Photography!) and even a little place for my unused, but treasured, college diploma.
And since this room was once a dining room, its not all that private. But one of my favorite features is that using a shower curtain rod and some inexpensive drapes from Target I can instantly turn my craft room view from this:
(crazy toy room chaos)
to this:
(aaaaah! much better)
And in a pinch this room can even be turned into a pretty great place for a quiet date night in while the toddler is sleeping and the older two are watching Spy Kids 2 in the other room. That's a YouTube video of a crackling fire in the background, to the soundtrack of the Love Songs station on Pandora Radio :) Add some Chinese takeout and its pure bliss!
How are you celebrating this season of change?
