new office: the big picture

It was only after we were more than halfway done that I realized I never took any "before" pictures.  So to help you with a quick visual- "before" looked like a living room, with all my sewing machines on an old dining table and some plastic storage drawers underneath.  All of my fabric was upstairs.  My shipping supplies were divided between three different rooms.  We were totally making it work, but it was not super efficient. 

 

When I started dreaming up the perfect office, my first desire was a long desk where I could have both of my machines, and the computer, and not have to constantly be sliding them around to get to what I needed.  We bought the two black desks at Ikea and placed them end to end and they are the perfect size.  Plus they each have a pretty large drawer where I can keep scissors, needles, and other necessary items.  The tall gray and white storage bins under the desk are from TJMaxx and hold pillow forms and stuffing. 

 

Aside from a place to sew, I need a lot of storage space.  Since my office is actually our living room and the first room you see when you enter our house, it was really important to me that things be stored attractively.  We bought two floating wall shelves, also from Ikea, to house my sewing books, patterns, ribbon, and scrap fabric.  I used baskets and glass containers from around the house, plus some new paper covered boxes.  The chair is from World Market and gets moved around from one desk to the other right now.  Eventually, I plan to get a stool as well, but I'm still looking for the perfect one. 

 

 My old sewing table has become the cutting table and to say that I love not having to crawl around on the floor to cut anymore would be a huge understatement.  You can see my trusty thread organizer above the cutting table, and a nice big basket underneath.  The basket houses all my shipping boxes and envelopes and is from TJMaxx. 

 

Also from TJMaxx- the cool storage ottoman.  We traded our coffee table for a storage ottoman to get more hidden storage, plus another seat if we need one.  The top is made up of two pieces that can flip over to either be plush upholstery or a hard surface. 

 

To the left of the sewing table is the new bookcase where I store most of my fabric and finished projects.  It too is from Ikea.  I promise we only made two trips.  I wanted my fabric to be out of sight, so I made curtains for the glass doors.  The drawers house my shipping supplies, embroidery supplies, and lots of other odds and ends.  We kept the sofa because I didn't want to part with it.  Also, it's nice to have a sofa in my office. 

 

On Friday, I'll share some more pictures and tell you about some of the ways I added color to the space.