Friday, August 12, 2011

38 Basement Progress - A "Pinteresting" Studio

I thought today I would share with you the new blank slate that will be my future IHeart Organizing studio!

Shut the front door!  What did I say?  Yep, I am making myself a STUDIO!  Wahoo right?  A place to craft, blog, design, dream, expand... ahhh, I am SO EXCITED!

Sure, our cloffice is a great place to pay bills, write up a quick post and journal.  But it was all done as a temporary solution while we lived upstairs, since we lost our original office space last year in the flooding of the lower level.

When it comes down to it, I miss having a large space to spread out my crafting supplies and let my creative juices flow.  Plus, I have mentioned a gazillion times that have giant dreams of expanding my Etsy shop with all sorts of organizing goodies, and I definitely need more space for that!

I already shared some of the changes we have made to the lower level during the refinishing process.  We added pretty shelving and painted out our laundry room and tore out a wall in our master bedroom closet.  Why not make lemonaid from lemons, and turn the lower level into a space that functions fantastically for all of us!?  So we are, and that means switching up the layout and how we use the spaces.

I have big plans to figure out how to use floorplanner.com, and get a floor plan of our entire home created for you very soon... so hang in there as I try to explain the updates.

Back to the studio.  It once was actually our uber awesome playroom!


It was REALLY narrow for a playroom.  Loved everything about the room, but it just didn't offer a ton of room to really spread out with toys and train tracks and blocks... so the playroom is being relocated also.  To a larger, brighter area of the lower level {more on that in an upcoming post as well}.

It made much more sense for me to make my own playroom in this space instead....


Such a BLANK slate.

As you can see, we painted the green walls a gray blue.  It's Behr's Prelude, and yes, this gray blue paint color scheme I keep choosing seems to be a phase...


The doorway you see unfinished there?  That is storage under our stairs that is begging to be finished!  Or maybe I am the one doing the begging... did you read that hubster?

I have our old game table to use as a craft table.  That makes me super giddy!


And the wall above it is screaming for something fun!  A gallery of kids artwork and mug shots perhaps?


And the desk is great for our old computer tower {oh, it's so nice to have a full size screen again, working off of a laptop upstairs to create spreadsheets was a smidge of a nightmare}, however, it's lacking in all of the storage that I am needing...


Speaking of storage...


More will be a necessity for this space to really function well!

Budget?  Yeah, I have like zero...

So what does one do when they have a great blank slate and very little budget?

Why go to Pinterest of course!  So I did, and look what I found!!


How great would some art in the form of paint chips be?  I can't wait to take the idea and make it my own!

And a wall of pretty hooks to hang my camera and cardigan and office tote?  Yes please!

OK, so how am I going to add all that fantastic storage flanking each side of my desk, on a budget?  That will absolutely be a challenge!

But I could totally create a pin board out of an embroidery hoop, make some pretty floral art out of paper, drill out a piece of wood to hold pencils and pens and recover a drum shade for a statement ceiling fixture!

And some pegboard of some sort could be great for storing all of my wrapping and crafting supplies!

Were you wondering in the pics above why there was no door for under the stairs?  Well, that's because we are in major debate.  Open in and you take away oodles of storage space.  Open out and you crash into my desk.  Wouldn't a sliding barn door be magical?  I think so too!


Can you see it yet?

So how do I find a rug on a budget?   That's always my biggest challenge.  This space is begging for a huge area rug for my cold toes.  Or wait, maybe that's me again...

And the built ins surrounding the desk.  That idea is never cheap but that's what modifying inexpensive bookshelves is for right?

I can't wait to get started!  It's going to be SO much fun!  In fact, I am probably starting a pinterest inspired project right now.....

38 comments:

  1. Love the color you chose for the walls. We are in the process of semi-finishing our basements to make the space usable. I can't wait to have a spot to spread out too!

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  2. You make me giggle - I love your humor, your creativity, your outlook and the way you write. I do believe you are my most favorite blog to read right now! :) Happy desiging!

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  3. Hey Jen- do you have freecycle? Start haunting it. Also, is there anything in your house that could leave via Craigslist? Written to any home shows on HGTV recently? Can you cull the toys down and snag some of the shelving from the playroom? You are so inventive..............have at it!

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  4. My friend has found a bunch of large rugs at Overstock.com for a good price. Good luck with the room I'm excited to see what you do with it!

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  5. And the list never seems to get shorter... I read the new Honey-Do item! I would love to add it to the list :)

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  6. I recently purchased a 6x9 indoor/outdoor Martha Stewart rug from HomeDepot.com for less than $150 and I love it! :)

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  7. You could make a rug from a drop cloth if you're not picky about the texture. Plus you design and paint it the exact colors you want.

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  8. Are you familiar with Ana White's Knock Off Wood? She has a ton of free, easy to follow furniture plans including shelving. Her site is worth checking out! :)

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  9. Love the plans! You could totally snag some old knobs from various second hand stores and maybe splurge on one knob for an accent piece. And, the paint chip art will look fantastic. Barn door, heck yes! Can't wait to see what you do to the space. :)

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  10. Can't wait to see what else you do with the space

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  11. Why oh why are rugs to hard to find. Loving your blank space.

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  12. On pinterest of all places, I found a pin where you buy a plain boring rug from ikea, stencil in a design and paint it. The link to it is: http://pudel-design.blogspot.com/2011/05/carpet-reveal.html

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  13. I can't wait to see the finished product. Also, I'm totally jealous. I wish I could have a craft room but we don't have the space at the moment. What is that spiral bound book on the desk? Is that your home journal? It looks neat.

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  14. I am totally looking forward to what you do! Have fun!

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  15. I made some embroidery hoop wall art just the other day.. so simple, fun, and cheap! And the best thing about them is that you can change out the fabric really easily if you decide you want a different color scheme.. good luck!

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  16. I can see it I can see it! Can't wait to see what you come up with :)

    Coley @
    www.whatyoumakeit-coley.blogspot.com

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  17. I know your studio will be AMAZING!! What happened to the orange colored rug you switched out in your laundry room? It was awfully cute! Check out this blog, for more studio inspiration, not mine, but it is gorgeous! ( I wish it was!) :)

    http://carlyrobertson.typepad.com/perfectly_pretty/home-tour.html

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  18. Jen! You mentioned looking for a reasonablly priced area rug - have you tried Urban Outfitters? Their rugs are usually pretty reasonable and very unique :). Now that I think about it, you might have been the one to share about them on your blog...? I ordered from them a few weeks ago and am loving my new UO rug!

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  19. This is so exciting! I cant wait to see what you do with this space. I laughed to myself when you said,"So how do I find a rug on a budget?"
    At Target 2 weeks ago I grabbed a $129 area rug for my living room, beautiful soft shag like/sheepskin like rug. Clear as mud? lol well the scan never took or she didn't scan it and I wasn't charged. While I am a mostly honest person, I didnt realize it till I went to toss out the receipt yesterday. eeek!!

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  20. Look'in good! I can't believe you get an entire studio . . . so jealous!! It's already looking cute! I can't wait to see the rest! We need to do our "Craft room" (it's a closet, did I mention I'm super jealous) can't wait to see what you do!
    ~Ashli

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  21. Jen, I am looking forward to your details on the barn door. I love this look. I have been unable to find hardware that isn't horribly expensive. Can't wait to see what you find! Keep up the great work girlfriend.

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  22. All over Pinterest are ideas for stenciling rugs. You can do it on the cheap. Good luck, and I LOVE the barn door.

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  23. I love it already... cannot wait to see what you put on the walls... we are starting with a blank canvas from the dirt up... we are about to build our own home and cannot wait to use some inspiring ideas!!!

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  24. You should take a look at An Inch of Gray. She just redid her daughter's room and made a free rug! She got rugs samples and taped them together from the back- looks like the Flor rugs. Just an idea!

    http://aninchofgray.blogspot.com/2011/08/almost-free-decorating-ideas.html

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  25. Have you thought about a plain run from Ikea and then stencil and paint? That would be budget friendly.

    Also, love your Erin Condren planner! I am in love with mine and I love all her products!

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  26. Loving your studio space. I would give anything to have a space that is all mine. Can't wait to see it come together.

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  27. Oh, I am so glad I came across your blog! I am enjoying all of the wonderful tips and ideas.

    Now is the perfect time to be looking for rugs! With back-to-school sales in full swing, there are rugs on sale everywhere. Plus, if you shop in a department store, and happen to have discount coupons, your purchase is even cheaper. One other option...yard sales. Buy a rug from someone you know, though. You don't need any unwanted "critters" in your home!

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  28. I love that color. I think I will have to check that one out for our master bedroom!

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  29. I LOVE your blog and how you organize things!

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  30. It's exciting to watch you put your dreams in place.

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  31. Oh wow I just stumbled across your blog from pintrest. I have exactly the same camera bag (yes same colour!) and a nearly identical handbag (seriously - same blue and white with brown handles and detailing, except my pattern is flowers instead of paisley) sitting side-by-side in my living room. I think this means I have to add you to my reader! :)

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  32. I can sense that you are a well organized person. It's nice reading your post.

    Cassy from Beginner Free Guitar Lessons

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  33. I bet you're going to create something amazing. I like the board with the different knobs. Why not get carpet squares and create a simple patch work design. It could even just be grey, white and dark grey. Well you know what I mean...you're an expect at picking great color combos. :) This way if you want to change things it's easy to do. I don't think they are too expensive. Have fun!!!

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  34. LOVE!!! I cannot wait to see how you transform this space!!

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  35. If you don't end up doing a barn door, you could probably do full-length curtains (kind of treat it like a window). I'm sure you could find a way to integrate it into your space and still have plenty of storage space under the stairs.

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  36. I got a 6x9 rug at Big Lots for 30 dollars! its great!

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  37. not sure you would see this since it is posted so late. A pocket door would be amazing there takes up ZERO space. and about a rug get carpet squares that way tou can get diffrent colors and when you feel a change just rearrange them. Also any stains buy one of the many running around your house and up it goes and a new one can be introduced.

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