BWAHAHA Oops.

You know, I was looking over my blog(s) the other day, and realized that I never actually posted finished pics of the new craft room (aka "Room of Requirement")!

Okay, so, you've seen the old version:

Which is now my bedroom:  

And my old bedroom, which in this picture is filled with stuff from the old sewing room, during the room swap. I haven't been a "hang out in my room" person since I was a teenager, and really, who needs all this room to just sleep?

At first, Sylvan and I thought we'd put our work tables in the center of the room, like this: 

Before she'd even moved in, I realized how very, very much that was NOT going to work.  My sewing machine vibrated both tables so much that she'd never have been able to work like that; and also, since all my sewing stuff was jammed up against the wall behind me, but my cutting table was on the opposite side of the room, I kept having to get up and walk around while I was working.  

So we drew up a new floor plan that worked better for both of us, with each of us with a work table against a wall, storage around, and my cutting table in the center, which is easier for me to get to without having to stand up if I don't need to, and also so that we can BOTH use the cutting table as a large, open work surface if needed: 

(made with Icovia Floor Planner) 

And here is the finished Room of Requirement, and folks, this is about as tidy as it gets.

CAUTION:  WOMEN AT WORK!

It works great.  We both love it, and we're both enjoying spending time in there crafting together.  When she moved in, we put her TV in the living room, and put my [smaller] one in the craft room, so we frequently have a movie on in the background while we work (usually a Disney animated flick; though my go-to when I'm working alone is Pride and Prejudice, in case you're wondering.  When it's just me and just music, I listen to a lot of Chinese flute, for some reason. It's calming).  

Also, in case anyone cares, and because I love paint, the colors in these rooms are: 

• Old sewing room:  Glidden's "Pale Red Dust"
• New bedroom:  Sherwin Williams' "Distance"
• Room of Requirement: Sherwin Williams' "Palladian Blue" 
• All the ceilings are Sherwin Williams' "White Clay" 

This post is also up on my house-stuff blog, which is here, if you're interested.  I've been going hell-bent-for-leather on SCA stuff for several months running now, though, so there isn't much going on over there lately.  But now that war is over, there'll be a LOT of house and garden stuff going on! 

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A Drumroll, If You Please...

THE SEWING ROOM IS FINISHED!*

(Sorry for the double-post, those of you who read both this blog and my housey blog. I just had to share! Lots!)

Yes, it's pink.  I don't know what got into me, but I love-love-love it.  So much.  I mixed the color from paints I had on hand; but it's an exact match for Glidden's "Pale Red Dust."   I left the same 8" drop around the top of the walls that I've done for the ceilings in the rest of the house.   The pendant lamp is a $6 Ikea kit with the marbled glass shade I took out of the kitchen not too long ago, and it's already proving indispensable as task-lighting.  I have it and my primary sewing machine on a surge protector under the table, so that I can sit down and turn both on with my foot at the same time. 

The sewing table, which is just painted white, and the legs black (it was gray and silver, and the whole room was basically just gray and white and half-finished), was going to be découpaged with old pattern pieces, but I decided against going that kitschy.  Because of the amount of work involved, the difficulty of un-doing it if I ended up hating it later, and also because, as my BFF pointed out, "But what if you end up making the same pair of pants over and over again by mistake?"  Heehee.  Actually, she made a great point:  I'd lose pattern pieces on it, and pins, and god knows what all else.  

One day I'd like to fill the walls of this room with my artwork, but for now there are two pieces up, my SCA AOA award, and some random stuff printed out from the internet.   

The big shelves were also painted white, the hardware black, and the whole shebang was moved low down on the wall and towards the closet.  Most of the fabric boxes have been organized into the closet itself, to make room for a bit of display, and a bit of usable space on the shelves.  

The file cabinet, which will one day go into the closet, I think, is sitting where one day there will be a pretty dressmaker's dummy in the window.  :) 

BAM.  Organization. 

Holy crap, I love this paint color.  So much.  

50-c Ikea shelf brackets, and some spare plywood bits I had laying around in the shop.  The chalkboard is a corkboard painted in black chalkboard paint, so I can use it for all kinds of things (and I do; I've had it over my sewing table for years, and I couldn't do without it).  

One of my favorite things about this room is the way the morning sun shines through the sheers.  Day or night, it's private as can be, too - there's a sheet of bubble wrap across the bottom half of the window, which insulates against the summer heat a little bit, but mainly, blocks view from outside while still letting light in - and it's invisible behind the sheers.  It's a trick I picked up from a friend a few years ago, and it works GREAT.  

*  Okay, it's not entirely finished.  I still very much want to re-cover both ironing boards, and the task chair, all of which have seen better days (rips, burn spots, etc).  I don't have the money right now for the fabrics I need, but I'm hoping in February.  :) 

Also, the ceiling isn't actually painted yet, because I'm out of the color I use for the ceilings.  Again...February. :) 

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