Monday, June 2, 2014

Meg gets a Craft Room

We may not blog often, but I hope you at least enjoy when we do.  Today is the story of how Meg gets a craft room.  We updated one of the upstairs bedrooms last year and began tacking the second upstairs bedroom (there are two) over the winter.  This was a particular fun project for me because I didn't have to consider Matt's tastes at all.  When your someones partner, the majority of your home reflects you as a couple.  And when you combine a lumberjack and a contractor, girly details become very lost.  The craft room became s a place I could share my feminine side.

Enter the first obstacle:  #oldhouseproblems

One of the major design components for my new crafting space was the utilization of this flat file we scored for free due to Matt's office moving.  People would kill for this piece!  It had to be used.  at 4' x 5' this monster did not want to play nice getting up our old house stairs.  After these photos were taken all the carpet was ripped out, TWO stair risers and treads were removed, the door frame was taken off, the flat file was cut, and the walls received some pretty big holes.  But - it made it to the craft room.

And now... some before and after shots of the almost finished space:
The big changes included lots and lots of paint!  A coat of primer, two of wall cover, and three different colors for the stencil which we'll get to in a minute.  I still need to find a good replacement light fixtures for this spot and possibly add some curtains to the windows. 
Sources: Chair: Target, Ottoman:Target, Pillows: HomeGoods
I told you the flat file made it!  I probably should have included a photo of the amazingness that is the storage of that thing.  Maybe another day.  And yes, that's a 48" paper cutter also scored for free.  Gotta love engineering offices.  We added a sanded and urethaned piece of plywood to the top.  I liked using plywood and even picked out a sheet with the stamps still on the wood.
Ah! My little triangles, I love them.  I've always loved orange and thought the dark minty green was a fun vintage way to add a second color to the otherwise very neutral room.  Let's talk colors:
Wall Color: Benjamin Moore Lacey Pearl in eggshell finish
Trim & White Triangle Color: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace in semi-gloss finish
Orange Triangles & Closet: Glidden Juicy Cantaloupe in Satin
Green/Blue Triangles: Martha Stewart Duck's Egg Blue
Stencil: Etsy  (we can talk more about how to another day)
I got so much storage out of this place!  The closet renovation was a huge transformation.  I don't have any before photos, but I basically took a closet that hasn't been touched since 1950, cleaned it, painted it, and added carpet.  To the left in that image, the closet it actually about 2' deep and Matt added shelves and I organized my supplies in tons of storage boxes.  Though I think they are a bit expensive, I added the obligatory Raskog cart in this craft room.  I'm using it for my sewing needs.  When it's time to sew I can put that right next to my work table.

I'm in love with this space, and have already not had many chances to use it.  Have you ever had the rare opportunity in  your adult life to design a room just for you?  Any favorite parts out there?  My favorite are the triangles.  I also love that though this is a craft room, the storage I'm using puts everything away.  I feel craft rooms often look cluttered.  Confession: I only have 2 rolls of washi tape... so maybe that explains it.