A New Studio, A New Direction

As promised, I'm pleased to post photos of my new studio, completely organized following our recent house move. The spring cleaning that accompanied this project was very beneficial. All over Blogland I've been seeing others doing the same - reevaluating priorities in the studio and the subsequent purge that follows. Before this most recent move, I'd been collecting all sorts of arts and craft supplies, just in case, someday, I might need those supplies to create something wonderful, and ended up with too many boxes of too many things that really were just taking up valuable space.

So, you remember that when I started my new studio space looked something like this

Going in too many directions without a central focus, I didn't even know where to begin. I've changed that. I've really taken a good hard look at all the things cluttering up my studio and in so doing have been able to put my finger on what direction I really want to go. All those bits and pieces that haven't been put to any useful purpose in years are now going, going, gone. And I've ended up with something more like this

I truly do love order, despite my slobbish tendencies.

I also love the view out the new studio windows. Although just a small courtyard, it really gives me a wonderful, warm feeling. And on a sunny day, I have a small table and chairs to sit and enjoy a break from my studio work.

I did buy some new pieces of furniture but not everything is new. And I kept much of the organizational supplies that I already had (i.e. storage boxes). What I tried to do though, when it came to the storage boxes, was to maintain some symmetry with them. I didn't like boxes of every shape and size just scattered about the room.

And by really editing the supplies that I knew I wanted to keep for specific needs my shelves don't feel overcrowded now.

Three of Ikea's Aneboda dressers (two back to back and one at the end) fit my former work surface perfectly and were much cheaper than buying a brand new work island. And the storage they provide is more than I could have hoped for with any other type of island.

And even with all the purging I managed to keep some of my favorite collectibles to display in the studio.

If you've got photos of your own studio to share, please feel free to leave a link in the comments.