Workspace - Office Makeover...

I have always been one to pick up my laptop and sit on the couch and work, so I never really needed an "office" area, but I do have a lot of files, etc. so it seemed like a nice idea to try and consolidate them into one location.

Before, this was just an empty corner near our staircase and a play area.  Now that the girls have outgrown their play kitchen it was a good place for me to "set up shop" so to speak and locate our desk and file storage.

Here's what it looked like before:

And here's what it looks like today:

The file cabinets are from Ikea and they store the files for all three businesses and our household files as well.  The bulletin board is where I hang anything I want to ponder.  Behind the blue door is our "art closet" where we keep all of our art supplies that can't live out in my studio.

This is a desk that was handed down to us from my husband's aunt and uncle.  I made it look a little more fun by adding yellow hexagon pulls from Anthropology and some wrapping paper and plexiglass for the top.  I put a few family photos underneath.  I keep my "ongoing" files here as well as my laptop so I can easily grab them and work anywhere.

The art is a notebook cover that I cut off the notebook when it was filled and put it in a frame. The black birds are repurposed from a photo hanger kit from Target.  The chair pad is vintage.

It's nice to have an organized place to put everything... even if I am still sitting on the couch while I type this!

Getting organized...

I have been trying to get my studio organized for the best functionality since we built it, but it hasn't seemed just right until recently.  I took out the old ikea storage cabinet and installed some modular shelving from Lowes and I also expanded and turned my work table to allow the space to be more open.  I am really happy with how the space feels now.  What do you think?

I went a little crazy with my new label maker too.

This is what the space looked like before.

Studio Chairs...

I have been looking for some extra studio chairs now for some time.  I want something durable that looks good too.  It also needs to be adjustable.  I have a really hard time finding useful stuff for the studio that also looks cool.  Why are chairs so expensive?  Have you found any cool chairs that don't look like the typical "office" chair?

These are the choices so far:

This is just a simple *cheap* office chair...pretty boring.

Cute chair from Ikea...not sure how durable it will be in the long run.

This chair from Bevco is the one I want (I already have one of these) but it is a bit pricey at $140 each and the seat isn't very easy to adjust.

Studio Tour

My jewelry studio continues to be a work in progress, but it sure has come a long way from what it looked like when we moved in.  Take a look...

BEFORE.........

Outside of Studio.

Inside of Studio.

AND AFTER............

Entrance to Studio

View of my workbench display case and work table.

Work table and some of my jewelry books.  Below the shelf hangs a vintage butcher store paper roll that I recently found at a yard sale.   It is perfect for pulling out on to the table for sketching out ideas.

View of the back of the studio, rolling mill, anvil, and vise.  The big white storage cabinet is from Ikea and holds tons of random non-metal supplies.  (I keep metal hidden in a safe.)

Workbench and sink area.  I made the curtains from fabric I found on sale at Ikea for $3.00/meter.  They hide other various supplies and equipment.

Soldering area with DIY vent system.

Enamel area, casting area and kilns.

Sink with bucket system - since we don't have running water yet.  This has been such a good system I may not ever install running water.  We just drilled a hole in a plastic bucket and added a spicket.  The sink has a regular drain and drains into another bucket which we empty when full.  This system conserves a lot of water.

All of my hand tools.  Shelves from Ikea, and photos of some of my ancestors.  The top photo is my aunt who was a hat maker and the bottom shows my great grandfather who was an italian stone cutter and owned a construction company. I keep these photos near my workbench because I am inspired by their creativity and dedication.

My messy workbench.  (Tic tac cases are great for beads!)

Idea board.

One of my favorite quotes for the studio!