i wish i had my setup SET UP

for those of you that have been reading my blog for a while you know that i have gone through some major studio transformations. that has less to do with with the fact that i have to combine my office space with my craft space and more do with the fact that i get bored easily and i move around a lot...well a lot recently.

this is what my spot looked like a couple years ago when i lived in westwood:


my apartment came with a loft area above my bedroom which worked out fine except i could never really play late at night because K was asleep, I'm not exactly a quiet crafter. Also...even though i had a spectacular view of santa monica bouelevard and plenty of light...sometimes there was too much light and that loft...despite central air and a fan, always felt hot + stuffy.

then came my studio in atlanta:


that was pure bliss. an entire room dedicated to work and play. i spent a considerable amount of time outfitting it with things i really loved. it worked...for a while anyway, until i began to feel like it was all too much. what happened to the girl who used the kitchen table as her craft desk and a few plastic tubs for all her stuff. I mean...that's how i worked it when K and I first moved in together. His place was a one bedroom cave but somehow everything fit. I mean as far as work...every conference call, video chat and billable hour takes place on or around my couch so i certainly couldn't blame that. The truth is my craft space was just a space and nothing terribly creative happened in there.

i decided that my move to seattle would be a fresh start. i filled several boxes with craft stuff and gave it to the girls at work. I gave away, sold or tossed out a ton of stuff. i knew that for the first time in almost 7 years i wouldn't have a dedicated craft area. what i would have is a 600 square foot living room. there certainly wasnt enough space in the bedroom or guestroom to do anything in either of those spaces so it would have to be the livingroom.

this is what my craft area/dining room looks like now:


I made the mistake of removing the lamp that hung above it because it was too low. now i don't have proper lighting so it sucks working if the sun isnt out. it is a complete mess right now, but to be fair, I am purging again. i'm discovering that i wasn't nearly as ruthless in atlanta as I thought i was. i know now that i just can't work well sitting at the dining table. in addition to the expedit behind the table, I occupy most of the living room coat closet. So, what to do?

i'm getting rid of a lot. i mean a LOTTTTT. my friend who owns a local art gallery/workshop studio is taking most of it and i'm giving away the rest. then I intend to buy one of these and put it to the right of the fire place in the nook that is quite larger than it looks. i will get the 47" white table top rather than the one shown because i want to put my printer on a shelf beside it. the couch works as a means of keeping the area somewhat separated and there is a shorter expedit behind the couch where i will move my more important craft supplies.


the desk can be raised to a height of 36 inches...that way i can stand (i prefer to craft standing up)and work right near the window. that will be my new smallish yet perfectly functional setup and maybe...just maybe i can start really making things again.