Home Office or Studio

[Whyme]

I am setting up my own home office or some might call it a studio. I am so excited that at last I get my own little space. I want a space to do my cardmaking and sewing. A place where I don't have to pack up every day. At the moment I am using the dining table and it is such a pain to have to put everything away when you are in the middle of a project.
My question is apart from a table and some storage what else should have in the room?
And how can I make it look pretty and cosy instead of a sterile office look?

[Lanne]

I am a photographer and have all my work spaces within our house. I have about 1/3 of the floor space with a sep entrance etc..It includes a foyer, office and media room. Given I work 15 - 20 hours a day here sometimes ... it def has to be comfortable and personalised.. whilst being client friendly. I find sticking to our business colours (grey, white and yellow) helps to keep the space clean feeling..despite the chaos that sometimes occurs).

I think there are practical things you have to have.. but thinking outside the box can soften it. I have a extendable dining table as my main desk. I run a 30 inch cinema display and in order to sit back far enough from it to be comfortable you need something wider than a normal desk. It also gives me great length. They would make ideal sewing tables. Our packing desk is a set of 'ornate' metal legs from Ikea with a white top. It was CHEAP at $120? all up but it is slightly undersized over a normal table. Which is great for a small space! More room for comfortable things and storage. I also have a set a Alex drawers from Ikea - which you might also find useful for cardmaking and sewing as you could store projects flat...I can store 16 x 20 prints them easily. As well as all of our stationary etc.

With the office - I have just bought a wall of expedit storage from IKEA so - large items are stored in baskets on the bottom shelf and each other 'hole' has a theme or collection. Paper is stored in fabric covered binders and boxes from kikki k. All small items are stored in kitchen items - just to add some whimsy..it is subtle but does soften hard edges..

I have black metal sieves, 'milkshake glasses' and ice cream waffle cones in white china. I have ornate glass storage containers for our packing ribbons etc. Oversized coffee mugs and saucers and serving trays. And Smiggle had white metal tins at 50% off a while ago so we are well stocked on those ;)

I have a mix of photos (obviously) and other artwork and tend to have bigger pieces than lots of small ones that can look cluttered.

I buy basic simple clean lined furniture and then seek out fun storage and accessories to combine with it. Like our fork easels (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36682871&ref=sr_list_7&&ga_search_query=fork+easel&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title). Wheel and Barrow often have unusual and elegant pieces.

and then there are the truly comfort pieces. I would suggest a radio/iphone/cd player.. or small TV if you like some sort of background noise to your work. I also think it helps to have a good chair I bought Karsten for the office and LOVE it. I also have an armchair which i can easily move around between the office and the media room. It is just a soft tub chair but is comfy for guests in the office and for me in the media room AND it gives me somewhere to curl up if i have to do reading in the office. You might find it helpful for unpicking (hopefully not!) or similar tasks.

I have a few of those bookcase doors that you can put images into and have printed 20 x 40 inch panels and that softens storage ALOT. You could use a photo or your favorite fabric. (Happy to help if you want a photo enlarged etc). I find black and white images work best. Wall decals are also a great way to soften harder lines of storage and practical pieces. Birds flying overhead etc. We didn't want framed images to compete with our media screen but the wall was big and blank - so we had some custom made decals done floor to ceiling of birch tree trunks to match one of our brands' business cards. it is almost wallpaper like now and such a cool feature. It cost about $150! We also offer a removable wallpaper from client images. Super fun stuff.. and relatively inexpensive and super easy to self install. This makes an awesome feature wall! (not mine - but here is an example of its use - http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/artwork/photos-as-wallpaper-095129) Etsy is a great place to get ideas (ok and do some shopping).. www.etsy.com you might find vintage items which you could use for storage like vintage suitcases etc. I have loved every seller I have bought from on there! and the fabric choices are far better there than in most stores here.

If this link (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031517&id=1201746048&l=21ce871284) works - it is some photos of our spaces from about 3 months ago posted on facebook. Look forward to hearing all your exciting plans for a creative space!

[anastasiaC]

maybe a small shelf with your supplies or craft books that inspire.
have fun on your decor project - mine is currently a mess as i need to also sort my (spareroom) craft space...but I have ribbons and buttons in jars and other supplies in white baskets, my papers are kept flat in draws - its just a matter of not letting things get out of control so that the room is not cluttered.
what about an inspiration board
flickr has a great group that can provide inspiration
http://www.flickr.com/groups/inspirationboards/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/craftrooms/

have fun!

[Angela]

Cardmaking and scrapbooking is my hobby and business so I also have a craftroom/office/studio. How you store things can also give your room some personality. My room is pretty small so I don't have that much scope for that sort of thing but here's one example where I have my punches and ribbons stored on my wall (going vertical gives you so much more room): http://www.angelasargeant.com/blog/stampin-up/ribbon-storage/ - not a great pic as it only shows a very small part.. I have another three rods up like that one and one of them is twice the length.

This is my favourite blog for storage and if you scroll down a bit you'll see how other ladies have used their storage to add personality to their craft rooms: http://craftystorage.blogspot.com/ - the December 2, 2009 post is a good example as is October 26th, 2009.

I keep all my A4 cardstock in a filing cabinet and then I've used magnets on the filing cabinet to hold up cards and other items that inspire me.

Hope this helps

[Susie]

Theres so many lovely boxes and jars that can be used for storage, Ikea seems to be the best for the cheaper larger pieces of furniture, used for workrooms and offices. I have a large pink shelving unit that i keep all my bolts of fabric stored on and i use glass cookie jars to keep buttons in and jugs for pens and rulers, .

My office looks out onto our back deck and beyond into the bush, so its nice an calm. I have utilized old unwanted storage from other rooms to store paper etc and brightly coloured ring binders to store important paper and receipts etc. These look great all lined up on a bookshelf.

I also have a small 2 seater sofa in my office, which is great for sitting in away from the pc and reading and relaxing at lunchtime. Like many of us I work from home, and having a pleasant area makes life all more enjoyable.

I hope you get some great ideas from all these comments, i know i have, im off to ikea sometime this week to copy Angelas ribbon storage idea.

[Julie-Ann]

So many great ideas ladies - how fantastic. I may have to do a little sprucing of my space with some of these suggestions. It can be difficult to make a home office look personal. Thanks for all the great posts:D

[abeachcottage]

IKEA has great glass storage jars for low prices...

also think out of the box for the shelving - doesn't have to cost a heap

I recently came across a great pic in a book of a piece of garden trellis that had been painted and put on wall, hooks then added at every two or so 'crosses' of the trellis and craft tools hung on it...easy and accessible :-)

sarah