Workspace Wednesday - Rubber Room Reveal

Hello! I am excited to share my first Workspace Wednesday post! I decided to make a weekly post since I have so much to share. I think it will be easier to do a post each week showing the progress of my room makeover and how I have organized my tools and supplies. Hopefully you will find it helpful and maybe get some ideas to help get better organized along with me. If you have any questions just ask away and I'll answer them in my next installment of Workspace Wednesday.

It's been several weeks now since I took the plunge and decided it was time to makeover my workspace. Since I wanted to paint and get new carpeting, that meant everything had to be removed from the room. These were my main goals that I hoped to achieve by making over my space:

• Less clutter/better organization
• Lighter, brighter/more inspiring workspace
• Have a desk where I could stamp with a friend without having to move to the next room

This is what my room looked like from the doorway on March 25, 2012. (the day before I started packing up.) 

BEFORE

As you can see, there were large pieces of dark furniture right up to the doorway. The throw rug was concealing a large India Ink Stain on the (ugly!) carpet beneath. Here's another angle shot from just inside the door way.

BEFORE

 Here's what it looks like today...

AFTER

I just love the bright, cheery color on the walls! Since my room is downstairs and only has one window, I didn't want to go too dark. I wanted a color that was just a little lighter than Certainly Celery...I was able to find that in this color called Fresh Guacamole. I also took a piece of Pool Party card stock with me up to Home Depot and had them color match that in a 2 oz tester and repainted my peg board with that. I also bought some wood trim which I cut and painted glossy white to frame my peg board to give it a more finished look. I used the same white to paint all the trim in the room as well.

I already had 8 of the Jetmax Craft storage cubes with the white shelf on top before my room make over, but I had to purchase 9 more to complete my room. I was lucky to get them at Michael's during their 40% off sale. I now have 6 of them on the back wall with the shelf, which is right behind where I sit. This makes it easy for me to swivel around in my chair to use the computer or have more space to spread out my projects while working.

Eight more of the cubes make the base for my desk. The top of my desk is was purchased at IKEA. It is their Vika Amon table top which measures 29 1/2 x 59 inches. It is quite sturdy and has a very nice finish on it. I also purchased a clear rubbery/plastic desk mat from IKEA to help protect my work surface. Speaking of rubbery/plastic stuff...I put that waffley Rubbermaid shelf liner stuff on top of my cubes before placing the desk top onto them. (good idea Mom!) This prevents the top from slipping and I didn't have to drill into my cubes or desk top to attach any sort of brace.

Here is how I was storing my punches before. Twelve were able to fit on this decorative curtain rod and then the extras went into the wire cart below.

BEFORE

After my visit to IKEA here is how it looks now.

AFTER

I purchased 2 Bygel Rails (2.99 each), 2 Bygel Wire Baskets ($1.99 each) and 1 pack of S-Hooks (.99). For only $10.95 + tax my punches are neatly organized and right at my finger tips. The rails hold 13 of the large punches (or 12 if you have the baskets connected to them). The baskets are perfect for holding the border and smaller punches. Thanks to whoever first came up with this genius idea of using these kitchen organization rods & accessories...it really is the perfect solution for storing my punches. Now you may be wondering how I plan to store the new style punches? I got that covered too...

As you can see, I don't have that many of this style (yet!), but the Jetmax 2 Drawer Cube with dividers works perfectly. If you remove one divider, 12 will fit perfectly in the double slot space. So...I still have room to add more! ;-)

Well, I've shared one corner of my room with you now. Hope you'll come back next Wednesday to see more. I'll answer any questions I may receive then too, so don't be afraid to ask. Today I hope to label the drawers on my cubes now that I have most things where I want them. Have a great day!