The Kett Files: My Creative Space, Take 2!

Well, I did it. It took me the better part of a day, but I did it! If you read this morning's post...you're ready for this. If you didn't, go back and check that out (or read on...you'll get the drift).

After taking a good hard look at the Living Room, after seeing Emilee's deliciously inviting space, and after browsing through other Creative Space posts and pictures...I knew our space needed some work.

But, as I mentioned this morning I didn't know what to do until I wrote up that post. Funny how that works sometimes! 

Our Living Room, my Creative Work Space, wasn't inviting, motivating, or conducive to creativity. It was chaotic and inefficient. So I came up with steps to improve it. And these steps didn't take running to the store; there were things I could do right then and there. And I have to say I LOVE the results! 

Just a quick reminder, so you don't have to go back to the previous post...this is what it was like when I started:

 The Corner of Chaos

Empty picture frames on the wall and propped up on the shelf.

And this disaster. 

Along with projects strewn about, the all-catching puff quilt "rug", and the box shoved under the cedar chest because it fit. 

My plan for a room makeover in a day was to:

1. Combine the shelves, eliminating the tower of chaos in the corner and making the bookshelf wall not look like a bookstore exploded.

2.  Put SOMETHING in those blank pictures frames.

3. Put the puff quilts away. 

And, that's exactly what I did. 

The very first thing I did was to pull the puff quilts out of the room and throw them in the washer so I can fold them up and put them on the blanket shelf. That was an easy thing to get done and checked off the list. 

But then it was time to tackle the real problem at hand. I took a deep breath and dove in.

I first took the games on the top shelf of the bookshelf and moved them to the remaining open cubby in our bed (which we LOVE...I was nervous at first, but I love it more and more!). That cleared out half of the top shelf. I then went through and moved all the textbooks, books we don't read, most of the fiction books, and the not so pretty books and put them in the mostly empty cabinet of our bed. We hadn't decided what to put in there yet, so I decided today. There was just the perfect amount of space!

This cleared up a TON of space on the bookshelf wall, enough that I could then move everything off the Tower of Chaos and organize it onto the bookshelf. 

It still is quite full, but it doesn't look so crazy like it did before. 

The top shelf is reserved for photo albums and religious books. The 2nd shelf is the craft and movies shelf (we recently went through and put all our DVD's in a disk folder and threw the bulky cases away-saves so much space and it looks so much better than a ton of DVD cases!). The third shelf is the office supply box, the few fiction books we left out, Cameron's science books, and my piano music. 

The bottom two shelves are Darrow's. I recently found the plastic storage boxes at Walmart for $0.97 and bought 5 to work on organizing his toys and I love it. I think I'll go back and get a few more. He can't yet get the lids off, so he can't dump everything and run. And, the little pop up tent that was in the box under the cedar chest fit in a mesh laundry bag we weren't using and fits on the shelf...much better looking than the box poking out from under the chest! 

We put some of the books we didn't want handled much (we have a few over 100 years old that are some of our treasures) up on top of the shelf as decor, mixed with various odds and ends.

So...if I got everything off the Tower of Chaos and on the bookshelf wall, what does the computer side of the room look like now? I'll show you.

Ta da!! I'm over the moon with how it looks and feels now. The room feels bigger, brighter, and better. Of course there are things I could think of to buy to spruce it up still, but for doing this all today just staying home and rearranging what we already have, I'm pretty tickled. It feels more open, more organized, more aesthetically pleasing, and more conducive to creating, living, working, and playing in! And apparently it's quite conducive to taking naps in.

And, I think I'll be able to use the sewing desk to craft and create on a little now too! I love how much more open this looks and feels! We have a wood chair that matches the wood of the desk and table, but Cameron swears this plastic folding chair is more comfortable. So we have the less pretty plastic chair there instead of the pretty wood one. Function sometimes wins out over beauty!

The Tower of Chaos shelves unstacked, and I moved one outside to hold plants and yard decor under my kitchen window when it warms up a little, and the other one I spray painted gold to help lighten up the room some (I tried orange, but didn't have enough leftover orange spray paint in the can). This went right by the desk to help hold the speakers, hide cords, and to enable me to keep my Life Binders close at hand to be able to use them more efficiently (again, a whole post on those will come before too long!). And the one plant I have managed to not kill, through 2 winters and a move even! You couldn't see it back in the corner where it used to live, and it got forgotten a few times. Now I can enjoy it every day, remember the sweet friend who gave it to me more often, and even remember to water it more frequently.

And finally with all the organizing and moving things around done, it was time to hit the last item on the list...the empty picture frames. I've been wanting to get "my colors" (orange, of course, and sage green! I'm loving that combo right now!!) in the living room more, along with a picture of our family, so I decided to make my own "printables" here at home and print them out on cardstock for now. The photos didn't come out super high quality, but it put pictures in the frames and when we update our family pictures after March I can get real prints made. For now though, this works great!

You can't read them real well with the glare, but the top is our last name and year we were married, and the bottom says "Gratitude turns what we have into Enough" (which is a great reminder for us in this little house!).

And then I printed off one of my all time favorite photos of Cameron and I for the other blank photo frame.

I really really LOVE how today's project turned out. I feel so much better about the room. It feels good. It looks miles better. And now I just want to create, or curl up on the couch and read, or play more with Darrow. I don't feel like hiding!

Darrow cheered me on from the couch all day. Poor kid woke up sick. He's a good little sicky...he doesn't cry, doesn't fuss, and doesn't get too clingy...he just wants to snuggle up on the couch, listen to music, and watch whatever I'm doing.

The next step I'd like to take in the Living Room are curtains. But now I have to figure out just what I want! Eek!

It's amazing what a little organization can do towards a room "makeover"!

Anyone else have to double up their living space as their work space and creative space? What do you do to make it work? What's your decorating/organizational style with it?