Monday, February 20, 2012

My Beautiful Craft Closet

Throughout my life I have been a collector of stuff.  I look at something and think “you never know when this might come in handy!” Since I am a teacher without a classroom to call my own, I need to stay flexible with the resources that I own.  This translates into an enormous amount of teaching supplies that inhabit my house, and still, three years later, my parents’ basement (thank you, Mom and Dad).  Until recently these supplies were also taking up critical space in my office closet.  One day I realized that the most efficient way to use this room was to organize it so that it only housed things that I needed for my office, or my hobbies.  I wanted a space that I could enjoy, where everything had a home.  Now, with the exception of my huge children’s book collection, this is exactly what you will find in my office/craft room.

To give you some perspective, here is what my office looked like when we first viewed our house.  Yuck!

DSCF1877

After about a year of living here, my lovely husband offered to paint my office. I chose Behr’s Azure Blue because it was such a happy, vibrant colour that would pair well with black and white accents.

Over the next two years the space evolved with the addition of scrapbook storage cubes, grown-up office furniture and a pretty rug.

Despite my best efforts, the closet continued to be a dumping ground for things that did not need to be there, while many things that should have been inside the closet ended up in piles around our house.

One day over the Christmas holidays I reached my breaking point.  Everything came out of the closet, and a new craft closet was born!

I wasn’t thinking about blogging when I took on this project so here is my almost starting point:

Closet Before (Medium)

First, my husband cut two new deeper shelves to replace the previous hanging rod and narrow shelf. Then, using a variety of storage boxes and baskets, my lovely blue drawers (with a piece of foam core cut to act as a shelf on top) and a shoe organizer from Lowe’s, my closet transformed into this:

Closet After

My Beautiful Office (6)

My Beautiful Office (4)

My Beautiful Office (8)

Now, my office closet matches the functional beauty of the rest of my office.

My Beautiful Office CollageEdit

More on that another day . . .

Thanks for visiting!

 
 
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10 comments:

  1. As a retired teacher, I know what you mean about stuff. I changed positions 3x in my career, and each time, I gave away so much stuff. Still, when I retired, I had so much stuff. Two years later, I'm still getting rid of stuff. (I used the word stuff on purpose. A former principal called it plunder.) Your closet looks fantastic. You did a great job.

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    1. I'm just getting started and can't believe how much "stuff" I have accumulated! I dream of the day when it can all stay at school for more than one year at a time!

      Thanks for visiting!

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  2. Great job. We always feel better when things are neat and tidy, dont' we ;)
    Stopping by from TDC party :)
    Patty
    Our Adventures in Big Ole Texas

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  3. Hi!! I'm Amee and I found you through Decor and the Dog. :)
    I am your newsest follower...I have a similar blog layout like yours..shows we each have good taste. ;)
    I love your redo in your closet! Awesome transformation.
    I'm at www.Amee2.blogspot.com if you want to drop by sometime!

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  4. Wow, great upgrade. All of that see through storage is awesome, just perfect!!
    Karah @ thespacebetweenblog

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  5. Love this-I need one bad!!!I'm your newest follower from TDC-stop by for a visit!

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  6. Hi Claire! Visiting from I heart naptime linky party. So glad I found you - I am your newest follower. Love your craft closet makeover it looks so amazingly organized! I am a Canadian transplant currently living in Virginia. Drop by my blog sometime and say hello - luv to make new bloggy friends :)
    Heather @ settingforfour.blogspot.com

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  7. Your closet looks so neat and organized now. I find it so much more inspiring to work in my craft/sewing room when everything is in it's place to start with. Of course, things tend to go a bit astray during a project but I try to keep the mess down to a minimum. Nice job!

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  8. I just found your blog:) Love your closet organization and also saw your paint chip decorative ball post. So Adorable;) Your newest Follower Stay Fashionable! Love,Candy

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  9. I love how organized your closet is! Thank you for sharing how even small spaces can be functional and efficient! Beautiful.

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