Beauty is
in the eye of the beholder.
Quote for
Today: "The future belongs to those who believe
in the beauty
of their dreams."
Eleanor
Roosevelt
(1884- 1962);
US writer and politician.
Got
a few hours sleep but woke up and couldn't go back sleep. Today will be short
& sweet. We got 6" to 9" of snow yesterday. It needs shoveling.
Since I do all of the grocery shopping and cooking the shopping needs to get done. I have
a stack of art that will not color itself and Cherokee is terrible at coloring.
Fortunately he can't read this so I get to keep my scalp.
To me my work area is beautiful. To some it is
"What a mess." Cherokee always
tells me "Why you not clean up? Make easy to find things. This look like
Maw Squaw's trash dump in back of tee pee." That may be but it is my trash
dump. Don't view this after you just ate. I don't want to be responsible for any
accidents.
This was my original work area. Most of it was built by me
many years ago. Why built by me you ask? Cost too much to buy furniture. I can
rub the buffalo off a nickel and send it skipping across the counter if need be. So I build things. They are usually
better built than cheap store bought furniture. There isn't enough work space to do any
of my art work. Usually pushed the wife’s stuff aside enough to have a place to
work at the dining room table. That chair with the blanket over it was terrible. If you leaned back suddenly you would be looking at the ceiling from a prone position. It would also gradually sink to the position of a kiddy chair and have to be pumped back up to an adult height.
Better, huh? I did ALL of the work in this room. Ripped up the carpet
that looked like something from a dog kennel floor, dirty spotted and dark, and
replaced it with carpet tile squares. Those drawers were kitchen cabinet bases
cut down top and bottom to accommodate a top that would be of desk height.
Everything was leveled and the two left hand bases were bolted together to
prevent any movement. The top is an 8 ft counter top from IKEA. I hauled two of them (One at a time) in my KIA Soul. It was screwed
down to the bases and leveled again. The space that would have accommodated another
drawer base was left open for a shredder.
This is my new work area. Same bases cut down
the same way, leveled and the second 6 ft IKEA counter top was installed. It makes a big difference
when it comes to doing my coloring. No maneuvering for space anymore. I put in
a few more electric outlets, electrical protectors, an overhead light, two desk lights (One with a magnifier), painted
everything with several coats of paint and whala, a nice work area. . Oh, Yeah! Notice the nice chair. No more
sudden ceiling vistas. It stays upright. No more looking at the edge of the
desk top, just the desk top. Jill calls it the man cave. I call it heaven. My
heaven.
THIS is the new work area. Humble but effective.
No one to the left. No one to the right. Wall to wall elbow room. Got to love
it. Don't know what that is in the upper right. Looks like two glowing eyes of a black cat. Creepy. Whatever it was it reflected my flash perfectly.
Hope you enjoyed the tour, short as it was. Not sure when I will get the
chance to post again since we are getting more and more snow. Hopefully
Thursday of Friday if the electric stays on. That last snow was heavy and now
they are saying there is a chance for freezing rain and more heavy snow.
Stay safe. No paper cuts. Safe footing on the ice. Blessings on all. Posting in a neighborhood near you and still LOVE
THE DETAILS.
I have work-space envy! I have a desk in the living room, and am now also taking up half the floor, much to hubby's dismay. I'm hoping he will get annoyed enough that he will finally get round to building me a conservatory to move into!
ReplyDeleteWell, I was viewing this AS I ate...but no accidents. Ha You're quite the handyman and I'm sure Jill loves having you around to do so many chores. And the cooking....that is fabulous. I think you have everything you need in that room and just the way you want it. Good work!
ReplyDeleteSounds as if the snow and ice are really piling on in your part of the country. Be careful out there.
Man cave or heaven....I'll go with heaven!! Fantastic space to work in and it's even better since you made it yourself! Love all the light you have coming in - very airy looking and bright. Also love that BIG trash can (I know.....I'm the only one that would notice something like that - but I'd love to have the space for something that big since I can fill them up in a hurry)!!!! Great space for great work!
ReplyDeleteUgh on all the snow and shoveling, etc......I know it must be pretty and would love to have just a little of it since we never see the white stuff down this way. And I also know you'd probably love to send some of yours down this way too! Stay safe.
Lynn
Any craft space is a good thing, sometimes you have to get messy to be creative.
ReplyDeleteHugs diane
Okay, this is what I get for giving suggestions! LOL! When hubby said he couldn't think of anything to post about...I said, "Show them a picture of your DESK!" "I think people like to see your work desk area." NOT THE WHOLE ROOM...Now everyone knows that we are candidates for "the Hoarders Show" Maybe we should be happy that show went off the air. Actually, Jim, I know you are braver than I am...I never showed my "before" picture of my craft area...Just the After pic. I have to admit you did a fabulous job with the changes in your area...and No one but me, Knows how much time and effort that went into that space...all the painting, and building of the desk areas...(because NOTHING came already assembled) I am proud of what you have accomplished.
ReplyDeleteHi Jim, surely enjoyed your craft room tour, and I _am Impressed_. You're also a skilled carpenter! You seem to be a man of many talents. This is a super room, and I like all the things you have built, and yes, it's going to be a lot better than anything you could have bought. I was amused at your cabinet desk. My DH did the same for me. We got 2 bathroom style vanity cabinets at a salvage store. He built mine higher, as I like to stand to stamp. Got a sale formica top from HDept and affixed it. My stamp area is in a basement which has minimal natural light, so he put a fluorescent fixture above the desk, hooked under some shelving that we put up. Now I'm thinking, I'd rather he put cabinets up there instead of the shelves (which he did suggest & I said no!). Cabinets would hide a lot of mess. You have gotten yourself a very workable, organized and neat area, that you can be very proud of, enjoy working in. I have to move stuff to stamp, can't find stuff I know I have...etc, etc. Good for you & now you must do the same for Jill! TFS
ReplyDeleteYou've created an awesome man cave and I can see why you're happy there! I once had a great leather swivel chair that plunged to kindergarten level and wouldn't rise to the occasion anymore either. I hate when that happens! You have more courage then I do because I've never shown my craft area before, after or at any point in time! My camera breaks every time I try to take a picture :)
ReplyDeleteAww Jim, your first photo reminded me of my work area (and if you go back far enough, you will find photos on my blog - about this time last year, I think) and I love a busy area. Actually as I have more supplies than space, my area is as busy as yours! Thankfully my chair is very stable!
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Maxine
Jim your space is wonderful! I too built a desk in my craft room last year. It involved a $25 door and some bookcases and increased my storage and desk surface area dramatically! Not bad for someone who uses a butter knife as a screwdriver half the time! But I am all about making do in a pinch! Lol! :). Love all you built my dear! Be careful shoveling all that snow! Snowblower?!?
ReplyDeleteI love busy areas too, a creative chaos... lol!
ReplyDeleteCool new space! Bet it helps you feel more inspired! Love the creepy haunted eyes in your glass lenses - how fun you noticed that! Hugz!
ReplyDeleteYou are way to organized and neat~! LOLOLOL
ReplyDelete