{Room Ideas}

I have been dying for a new, put-together crafting room for a while now. Actually, for a whole put-together house! *wink* We keep putting everything off while we rent until we move into our own house so we could be sure everything fits for that space, and so all the nice furniture doesn't get dented, dinged and scratched while we move from place to place. I guess that's the smart thing to do, right? Well, I have become pretty disfunctional in my crafting room. I mean, there is plenty of surface space and it works okay, but there is just no storage! Everything is all over my desk! I have a large "L" shaped desk and still end up working on like a 6"x6" square of it because it gets so covered with stuff that I can't work! Not to mention that I am dying to give it some character but have been trying to make it work with things that we already have. Urg!

Well, I've decided - no more! Much to the chagrin of my husband, I'm sure! I have decided to try to sell as much stuff as I can from my room - furniture, unwanted stamps, unneeded accessories, etc, and am going to put that money to good use in my new room! Yes! I am so excited! When I shared this idea with the Hubby, he supported me, but I think he's a bit anxious and nervous about it all. I think he's afraid there is going to be furniture and stamping stuff all over the house until this all gets straightened out. I'm hoping not, though - hoping being the key word here - no promises! *wink*

Anyway, I have been searching everywhere for pictures of crafting studios. After much webpage and soul searching, I have finally decided what decor I want in my room. I'm not sure if it actually has a name though. It is sort of vintage, shabby chic, old world - ya know, old! hahaha Anyway, with furniture that is mostly clean lines. I don't like furniture that is too ornate. Besides, I want to have lots of fun knick-knacks and trinkets and such, so I don't want the furniture to take away from all the fun stuff! I really want to fill the room with pieces and items that I LOVE so it'll be a really inspirational place for me. The color scheme, in Stampin' Up colors, will be Old Olive, Perfect Plum, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White. I'm debating if I want to add in some So Saffron. When we eventually move into our real house and can paint the walls, I want them to be Perfect Plum, so the accents in the room will mostly be Old Olive. I've already found some fabulous Old Olive glass urn/vase things that are just the right shade! I also purchased some vintage style trunks from Michaels. They were on sale for 40% off - Score! I think I'm going to keep my Big Shot accessories in one, though I haven't figured out what to do with the other one just yet.

I also think I have narrowed down a few furniture pieces that I want to buy.

First up:

The Madison Office Collection from Target

I have seen many stampers and scrappers with these in their room. They all love that desk! This baby is 29Hx64Wx30D" - talk about depth! I have it pictured here with the matching organizer thing for the desktop. I would love to have that, but so far, I can't find it on Target's website. Maybe it is discontinued? Oh, that would be terrible! I hope they're just out of stock or something. When I actually get around to buying, I'll have to give them a call! Anyway, the chair is a bit pricey, but I'm not sure that I'll find something else that looks as good with this collection. I guess we'll have to see.

I also think I'll need 2 other pieces. Something for my laptop and printer and then another workstation that can hold my Xyron, Big Shot, and maybe even a small station for unmounting my stamps.

My first idea for a space for my computer was an armoire.

I fell in love with this one in one room that I saw (labeled "Peach and Olive" over on the side bar). I think that it may be my one exception to all white furniture because it is just so darn cute! Besides, it may just be the right shade of green. I also like that the keyboard drawer is sort of hidden (since I have a laptop, I don't need a keyboard drawer). I also adore the shutter design on the front and the distressed feel to it. I think it'll add a vintagy touch. But, at nearly $2,000, it too is also out of my price range.

This one is closer to the budget. It has the shutter detail that I liked and it is already white, but it isn't as tall as the lovely green one above.

This one also has the nice shutter details on the front, but is a lot smaller than the previous two, which I guess could be good that it is narrower?

But, seeing as how a laptop doesn't require that much space, and my printer is pretty compact, I tried thinking of other options. I thought of one of those old fashioned secretary desks with a hutch! I found some pieces on an Amish furniture website that are basically the shape that I want, though they are WAY too expensive to consider for my room. Also, they are pictured here in stained wood, but I would want them white to match the above Target furniture. I want all the furniture pieces to be white to "pop" off the eventual Perfect Plum walls that I will have.


This secretary looks like it would have lots of storage space! I bet I could put my laptop and printer on the inside and have plenty of drawers for other goodies!


But, this one may be able to fit in more places since it is narrower. Maybe I could even put some stamp sets in the top glass section?

I looked at a few other sites for secretary desks with hutches, but I haven't found an affordable one yet. I like the secretary desks better than the armoires, but I think the armoires are going to be the more affordable option.

Anyway, the other piece I was looking at would be my sort of "tool" or work station. I need to to have a flat surface for my Xyron and Big Shot and some more cupboards to hide my other stuff.
This buffet table would have plenty of space for all my gadgets! I think the work surface would fit everything comfortably, though probably not room for an unmounting station. And, it looks like it would look nice next to the secretary desk above!

This piece is also roomy, comes already white and definitely looks like it would go well with the Target furniture! I had originally wanted the top hutch to have doors, but I can totally see all my stamps stacked side-by-side on these shelves! Ikea, of course, has a decent price on this, but I am having a hard time imagining putting it all together!

A piece that I would LOVE to have, though don't know if I can find or afford is some sort of apothecary cabinet or library card cabinet.


This one is an apothecary drawer look-a-like that is actually made to store DVDs or CDS, which would actually be kinda cool. But, the really ones have tiny drawers that I have seen people fill with embellishments by color, stored alphabet embellishments, etc. A piece like this would definitely add the vintage feel but also has nice, clean lines!

Anyway, these are the ideas that I have floating around in my head right now. It's going to take a lot more searching and the selling of some other stuff before I get to go any further! If you have an comments or opinions, I'd love to hear them! :D