Scrapbook Studio Tour: Part I

My studio reno is complete!

Well, almost.  There are still some things to finished, like painting the door threshold and adding the latches to keep the doors closed.  Not to mention the trim and painting that needs to be done on the outside of the room.  But everything has a place (with room to grow!) and it's tidy.

And relatively dust-free.  Prior to the photography session, Gary changed a few light bulbs that were burnt out and the drop ceiling tiles make for some dusty surfaces when all is said and done.

But I'm so happy that it's clean and clutter free that dust is not even remotely bothering me right now! :)

So... would you like a tour?!?

Today I'll give you the basic tour of Befores and Afters, and then on the next few Tuesdays,  I will show you the details, to save you from photo-heavy posts.  You can click on the photos to see in a larger size.

(In the event that you are not a long-time reader, you can see the week-by-week progress on the studio on the Studio Tour page).  

Initially, the studio had a single door.  However, the light switch was BEHIND the door, so I'd have to walk right into the room and reach around the door to turn the light on!  Also, you'll notice that in this and the following before photos, there is no ceiling... We had a leak from our master bath above, which prompted the renovation!

BEFORE:

Door of studio from inside (before)

AFTER:

French doors of studio from outside (after)

BEFORE:
This was the north wall of the studio.  You can see the single door (and light switch behind!).  To the left of the door is a small closet nestled under the stairs, with an Ivar rack from Ikea for storage.  A wire rack to the left of the door held my trimmers and various supplies.  The printer and scanner were on top of a lateral filing cabinet, for household paperwork and filing.

North wall of studio (before)

AFTER:
The lateral filing cabinet was moved into the closet and we added shelves to the ceiling over it.  Both French doors open fully, which is why that wall leading into the closet is now bare.  I gave up the wall space in order to be able to open up my studio to our family room that sits outside of it.

Northeast corner of studio (after)

BEFORE:

This was the right hand (west) wall, as you walk into the studio.  The conference and bar tables were leftovers from renovations at Gary's former workplace.  The rolling multi-drawer cart which held various supplies has now found a home in the kids' toy room.

West wall of studio (before)

AFTER:
The west wall is now covered with Bygel rails from Ikea that hold the majority of my punches.  I put them up high so that I could add more rails as my obsession collection grew.  To the right of the rails is my magnetic board that holds my dies, as featured in my Tuesdays With The Team post on the Canadian Scrapbooker blog.  As you can see, I've added a few more since that post... ;)

Southwest corner of studio (after)

BEFORE:  

The back (south) wall had a custom-made Skribblz Art vinyl transfer on the right side that Katrina made for me.  I was so sad to tear it down (but wait until you see the new one!  keep going...)

Southwest corner of studio (before)

The left side of the back wall held a huge white board that I used for my To Do lists for Just Cre8, but more often than not, it contained Aili's drawings.  There was minimal shelving on the walls, over a custom L-shaped desk that Gary built for me.

Southeast corner of studio (before)

AFTER:

The back (south) wall now holds a 4x2 and a 5x5 Expedit shelving unit.  The worktable is a custom cut piece of tinted tempered glass on top of two 2x2 Expedite shelves on casters.

South wall of studio (after)

I love that the French doors open up this room enough that I only had to take ONE photo to capture both corners! :)

BEFORE:
The north side of the studio had the L part of the L-shaped desk, where my computer monitors sat.  The magnetic board on the wall to the right of the monitors is the one that was repurposed for my dies!

Northeast corner of studio (before)

AFTER: 

We ripped down the custom L-shaped desk and in its' place added more Expedite furniture - a desk combination and next to it, another 2x2.  Of course, the pièce de résistance is the incredible Skribblz Art vinyl transfer on which Katrina and I collaborated.  I knew which quote I wanted to use and that I wanted it overlapping a swirly thingie (why, yes, it IS a technical term...).  She came up with this:

Northeast corner of studio (after)

Southeast corner of studio (after)

The quote is by Allyson Jones and was on a card that my cousin sent to me while I was in college - that's how big an impression it made on me!  I know it doesn't have anything to do with crafty business but it's pretty much how I think Life works and so it's something that I figured I needed to see every day to remind me...

"If I could wish for my life to be perfect, it would be tempting, but I would have to decline, for Life would no longer teach me anything."

So there it is... I'm so happy with it!  Check back next "Tour" Tuesday and I will share more details and close-ups! (ETA:  Click here for Part II)

Cheers,

P/S:  Don't forget about the following challenges on my blog (deadlines in brackets):
It's a Sketchy Challenge (Sept 30/12)
Leave Your Legacy (Nov 30/12)