Studio Organization

The studio has been in a state of flux since the move-in, a year ago. I've been arranging and re-arranging for most of that time but never quite got it together. With company coming this week, I finally made some serious progress.

Here is a clockwise tour of the room.

The door to the room is to the left, opposite the window.  An old desk has been re-purposed as a worktable.  It is in a good position, near the window, and with a couple of adjustable lamps and the ceiling light, there is all the light I need. The room is carpeted, but the Roomba keeps it relatively tidy. 

Moving around the room in a clockwise direction, this is the view from the doorway. I have a stool stashed out of sight that I use when working on the house. This U-shaped works pace is user friendly. (The luggage rack is awaiting the arrival of my guest. It is not usually in the room.)

The house in progress, the Beacon Hill is sitting on a piece of corrugated cardboard. It slides easily on the table, so the house can be turned around with no fuss. Beneath the table are tubs holding bits and pieces of the BH -- stairs, roof sections, electrical components, etc., that are completed and ready for installation. One tub  holds landscape materials. The egg crate holds moldings and other strip wood. The table under the TV is actually a drafting table, but it is most useful as a flat surface holding a couple of kits. It is a place to put components to one side while glue dries. The tub below holds fabric.

The door leads to the closet. The 6" shelves above the table hold furnishings and accessories, mainly for the Beacon Hill. Below the table, along with a couple storage boxes,  is a lid from a cardboard banker's box that holds materials that can be moved to the desk when needed and tucked away when not needed. I've been mostly sanding and prepping components, so it holds emery boards, gesso, stain, brushes, Exacto knives, etc. The door to the room is immediately to the right of the shelves.

The closet is organized with plastic drawer units from Walmart. The space to the right is 48" wide and holds two units. The bit of pink plastic is part of the second unit. These are not totally useful. Heavier items, like paint, tend to cause the unit to sag, which makes the drawers stick. I'm considering removing the upper shelf and replacing the draw units with wire shelving. The drawers would be stored on the shelves, easy to get to their contents. A couple of the drawers hold bits and pieces of the Beacon Hill, things like windows, shutters, trim, etc., organized and labeled in plastic bags. One drawer holds the bits that were punched out of the sheets; the other holds the bits that have been sanded. 

Shelves and tubs in the garage hold power tools and a makeshift spray booth, a re-purposed large cardboard box. It is still a work in progress. I'd like to add pegboard above the worktable and perhaps get a proper wooden work bench with a vice, but for now the makeshift arrangement suffices. The only power tool in the studio is the pistol-grip Dremel.

Organizing the Craft Room

Truth be told, I've been avoiding the craft room because it is so cluttered and disorganized. Adding the purchases from the Atlanta mini show was the last straw. It is a small bedroom, but has lovely bright light from a window as well as overhead and task lighting. My sister came over to brainstorm with me and pointed out that there is a nice wall just begging for some shelving. Here are some before photos.

This photo shows the doorway to the hall, the blank wall, and the doorway to the closet.

The worktable (an old desk) is in the foreground. There is a drafting table under the wall-mounted tv, with a couple of kit boxes on it. Not sure what is in the boxes under the table. 

Moving counterclockwise around the room, this shows more clutter. Actually, this picture makes it look nearly organized. It doesn't reflect the cluttered feel of standing there in real life. 

Inside the closet. Lots of nice drawers for storage, some of them labeled but not necessarily containing what its label promises, some empty. This will be a challenge in itself. Some items, like the beginning stash of egg cartons on the shelf and some large tools, can go out to the garage as soon as I get the last two sets of shelves assembled out there.

The first order of business was going to Home Depot for the components for the new shelves -- two wall brackets, four 4-foot shelves, eight shelf brackets, and some toggle bolts. Came home, moved the table and boxes away from the wall. Grabbed the wall brackets to check placement of the holes and realized I'd accidentally picked up two different brands, one Rubbermaid, one Closetmaid. Same length, different configuration. I blame the general messiness of Home Depot's bins. Anyway, back to the store to exchange one. 

Back home, measured the wall for placement of the top toggle bolt, and went out to the garage to get the power drill. After in intense search, the drill was not to be found. I have a feeling I know where it went. In preparing for the move last summer, I donated several tool boxes filled with art supplies to a local school. I think the tool box with the drill in it was inadvertently included. I ordered a hand drill and assorted bits from Amazon, but then borrowed a cordless power drill from my sister, who reminded me that I can shop their well supplied garage any time I need a tool.

Without a level, I relied on the Laws of Gravity to help hang the wall brackets. I fastened the top hole with a toggle bolt but did not pull it up snug. I let it hang down, perfectly vertical, and marked the other holes. Voila! The wall brackets were in place. The rest of the project went quickly. The shelves don't need to be very far apart, so I could add a fifth one at the bottom. The two mini drawer units are for tiny accessories, one for the Beacon Hill and one for the Pierce. That's landscaping items on the second shelf. They may be moved to the top shelf, as there is quite a long way to go before either of those buildings needs landscaping.

The goal for the shelves is display of furniture and accessories for houses in progress. If they are easily seen, I won't be as likely to buy duplicates. Walmart has some roughly shoebox sized storage containers made of clear plastic, which will be a good way to organize by room while mitigating dust. The organizing continues!

Bathroom nearly finished

Since the bathroom is the smallest room in the house and easy to reach, I started there with the interior decorating. The wallpaper is left over from a real life bath. The wainscoting, pieces of real life paneling, was painted white and a decorative quarter-round trim added. The doors were installed. The flooring is a piece of foam shelf liner. It has a nice texture. The bathroom fixtures are Reutter Porcelain. Can you believe I won them in a grab bag from Hobby Builders Supply? One handle on the sink had popped loose, as had the drain plug and chain in the tub. Both were easily glued back on after this photo was taken. I think there should be a corner shelf in the back right corner with towels, etc. This is both the bath for the apartment and the necessary room for the shop. There will, of course, be wall hangings. Not sure about a rug.

Not wanting you to think I'm working in total chaos, I took this photo after a minor clean-up in the craft area. There's a way to go, but at least I can find most things now.
And here's the houseboat with a skirt to hide the boxes stored beneath. In this picture you can see the wonderful Mardi Gras wall hanging done by the ever-so-talented Deb of Deb's Minis. And how appropriate, for today is Mardi Gras. Laissez le bon ton roulez!

New Year's Resolutions ... Really!

More exercise and better display for minis ... those were the resolutions. I know it's now mid-February, but sometimes one needs to ponder before acting. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! We have a TV room in the basement, adjacent to my craft area. It wasn't functioning very well. I'll spare you the before photos, but here is the result of my efforts with major help from friend NJ. (Thank you, dear heart!)

The problem of how to view both sides of the houseboat was solved by putting it here, in the entry to the room, and screening it with a light screen that can be moved for viewing. A white extension cord isn't obvious on the white bricks of the fireplace and provides power for the boat. Now that the boat is where it can be seen easily, I need to do a major dusting. Not looking forward to that ... all of those little 1:24 accessories ... ugh. Two bookcases that were not holding much but junk are stacked and now serve as display for some of Lloyd's mini sculptures and ceramics. It faced the basement stairs, so is the first thing seen when coming down. Nice. (A light green skirt has been added to the boat table. Finishes it nicely and provides hidden storage for minis-in-waiting.) The exercise part is the Gazelle, pulled out of storage and recommissioned. Putting the sofa at an angle made room in the corner where the Mardi Gras float used to be. Marie Laveau's Creole cottage can be seen from both sides and also is near an outlet so it can be plugged in for viewing.

The Mardi Gras float did a 90-degree turn and slid down the wall to another corner. To the left, out of the picture, is the TV and a white brick fireplace wall. The pictures need to be moved, but I'll leave that up to Lloyd. We've been enjoying the Olympics in this now cozy area.

I didn't show you what the TV area looked like before, but this is what my craft area looked like when we finished up the TV room. It took me a whole day to gather up courage to face it. I'm pleased to report that improvements have been made. It is still in dire need of a deep cleaning and reorganization. I'm telling myself that will happen with the quilt shop is finished and all of its bits and pieces can be cleared away.

When the bulk of the debris had been dealt with, I was able to work on the quilt shop. The ground floor will be covered with linoleum left over from our real kitchen. It will be held in place with double-stick tape so it can be taken up if someone ever wants to turn this back into a residence. I was surprised to discover that it cuts easily with a pair of scissors. In the photo below, the front room (at left) has been done. The original house had a shag carpet cut in one piece that made a very nice template for the linoleum. I'm preparing to make a template for the dining room. That worked out well. The ugly part was making the template for the kitchen (behind the dining room). I'm not looking forward to wallpapering the kitchen. Three of the four walls can't be seen from this view -- the only access -- but they can be seen through the windows. Here is the lino cut and in place. It's not stuck down yet. The inside needs one more coat of paint on the walls before it goes in permanently. At the moment the pieces are lying flat with weights on top to remove the slight curl that can be seen here. I want them as flat as possible before taping them down so as not to have to use much tape. The front edge will be covered with a quarter round trim. The section inside the front door had to be cut out in order for the door to open. Those edges will also be finished with quarter round trim and the open area will be painted -- faux flagstone or something to resemble a sturdy entryway flooring. The door is original and opens inward. I don't want to mess with taking it off its hinge to trim away the bottom. The shag carpet was also cut away.