SUPER excited to get this one posted ya’ll. After about a week of living in the new house we decided that this was the first room that needed to be ‘decorated’ since it is the room that not only I spend all day in, but it also houses crafts and toys for Marina as well as my shoes and bags… which take over the whole house if not wrangled.
It took me a while to figure out the cutting table (do I need to buy something new or can I DIY myself?), hang the wallpaper, and get my custom California Closet’s installed (only happened 2 weeks ago!), but now I finally feel like this space is starting to function as it was intended.
That isn’t to say the design is as originally intended. You can see my initial design post here, where I had dreams of buying a new comfy chair and a butcher block cutting table top. But then I realized I had an extra stool from our kitchen counters and plywood costs bout $15 to cut, and I realized, there were less expensive options :)
Anyway, here are a few images of the office as well as a video tour I made to walk you through my different zones, and show you how the space is organized, as well as show off some of my favorite hacks, like the custom nook for my rolling Ikea cabinet/ironing board, and my DIY pattern paper holder. Links for how to get the look are below!
Take my Video Tour!
The Atelier Reveal
While in my space I have a few more splurgy items like the screen from The Inside (also seen here in Liam’s nursery nook) and my drawer cabinet for crafts, the base of my atelier is made with Ikea furniture. I have used the basic Alex/Linnmon system for my sewing tables, and use the Alex on casters in the closet for dual use as a rolling ironing board and bead/paper/thread storage organizer. The cabinets I used as the base for my cutting table are no longer in production with Ikea, but the Havsta cabinets are about the same dimensions, and look a lot nicer in my opinion!
I already owned the clear cutting mat, so went to my local hardware store to get a piece of maple plywood cut just about an inch larger than the mat all around, and rested it on top of the two ikea cabinets. It moves a small amount, but nothing that has ever bothered me, and I like its actually easy to clean or move if I need to, but provides much more storage and durability than the regular fold away tables. I also DIY’d two leather straps and a dowel to hang my pattern paper roll, so I can easily roll the paper out create patterns and not have to roll anything away. It’s also easy for me to switch the roll into butcher paper or craft paper for my daughter to paint and draw while I work!
Inside the cabinets are most of my sewing and patternmaking books, as well as sterilite containers of notions. I have buttons, zippers, and elastic in one container, and trims organized by color in another one. You will notice that I don’t organize within each drawer, as I truly think that would take up way too much time and keep me from every organizing correctly. With my system, every thing has a spot so I know where it goes, but within that area it’s not organized.
My favorite way to illustrate this point is the 15 drawer industrial dresser I bought. Yes, I love the look, but I also love the practicality of the small drawers. The one labeled ‘tape’ has literally all of my tape… even tape measures and washi tape! I also have drawers for pom poms, wood items (for crafting), felt, stickers, stamps, and marina’s beads, yarn, paint supplies, paint, pens and embroidery thread. This cleared out my desk drawers for more true ‘office’ things, like a stapler, calculator, cords, post-its, etc.
We did pay for an in-closet organization system through California Closets, and I truly think it is the best investment you can make in your home. I have a few drawers for camera equipment and styling items, but lots of shelves for my shoes and bags, and even more for my fabric, organized by color.
The closet is where I also have my rolling ikea cabinet, fitted with an ironing board top, with a plug behind so I can easily iron and roll this back into the closet to keep from taking up space. I think it’s genius since I hate ironing, and this makes it less painful. I also store my hand made patterns in this closet, organized in plastic envelopes with a sketch, which makes it easy to find and put away.
This atelier is not very big, but has just enough zones and organization hacks to meet all of my sewing, crafting, office and momming needs, and still looks beautiful and is a serene place to work. I hope you enjoyed my Atelier reveal and tour! Please let me know if you have any questions about sourcing or organizing for your own space!
