Project Nook

I've always fantasized about having a little in-home project studio, the kind of place where I could corral and display all of my brushes, papers, tools and fabrics in one organized, easy to access spot. I envisioned it composed of all these creative workstations, media on one end, my ever-growing library of magazines at another and somewhere in there, an uncluttered worktable where I could scatter materials about and not have to worry about cleaning up my mess in time for dinner. I thought should I ever be so lucky, it would have a little bit of Martha's sensibility and Tenka Gammelgaard's creative edge.

Our little Holtwood House has afforded us many luxuries, including at long last, a little space for me to create. I've been slowly working on my "studio" of sorts and recently turned what would otherwise have been a deep spare closet into one of those work-stations I had always dreamed about.

We had installed the shelves a couple of months back and for a time, housed all of those magazines I'd collected beneath them. But in the end, I felt that I wasn't taking full advantage of this precious little area (not quite a walk-in closet, not quite a standard either) and so the idea for the "project nook" was born.

We had a spare piece of pegboard sitting in the garage that just needed a little trim and paint. When we bought the house, the old workbench area in the garage had come outfitted with some old metal do-dads and hooks that I just took a spray can to and turned shiny gold. Bottles are now all corralled into black hanging baskets- my only additional purchase for this project. I even sprayed my old wooden thread rack black and hung it up on the pegboard to keep the work surface clutter free. Drawers below hold invitation papers, fabric remnants, studs and pins.

Land of Nod

Because it was intended as a closet, it is not currently powered. Perhaps we'll install a permanent outlet or some recessed lighting. For now, I've got my eye on this inexpensive little pretty that I'm planning to clip to one of the shelves and shine a little much needed light down from above.

Professional chefs like to advise nervous novice cooks to start first with an organized work surface- mise-en-place- or everything in place. For so many years I've had stuff piled into bins in the garage and randomly tossed into office drawers that were becoming more and more difficult to close (and honestly, very easy to ignore). I felt stifled, unorganized and a little frustrated. I'd waste so much time starting and stopping a project to find that one bottle of paint or glue that I needed. It feels so good to have it all organized now in one place, one happy, little, shiny, black and gold place.

Update! Hey guys... I'm also over at Bijou and Boheme today sharing my Style in 7. Can somebody pinch me please? Christine's blog is one of my absolute favorite (and daily!) reads. Please hop on over and check it out...