We are in the middle of our winter here in Edmonton. There are roughly three more months of cold and snow left to get through. It’s such a long time and usually by January or February, some of us start to feel antsy. It’s a great time to work on the inside of your home. We spend so much more time in our homes during the winter months. Organizing and refreshing our spaces can make our homes that much more restful and retreat-like. Reclaiming Home offers a service called Room Redesign that is perfect for this kind of thing. I come to your home for the day and we refresh one of your spaces, usually using only what you already own.
Earlier this month I had the chance to work with Sylvia on her office/craft room. Sylvia is a crafting queen and has a ton of supplies for all the scrapbooking, card making, and sewing that she does. Not to mention the fact that she is spearheading a new non-profit thrift store! Her space was overwhelming her instead of giving her the room and ability to work and play. So we spent one day together editing, changing the layout, and styling the room into a functional, beautiful space just for her. I think this craft room redesign turned out to look amazing and the space is so much more functional.
Before we took this picture there were also four very large black tote boxes full of more craft supplies on the floor. The first order of business was to remove anything that didn’t need to be in the room and anything that was on the floor.
Sylvia is a creative person and she has so many treasures she has collected over the years. We made her display shelves both beautiful and functional so she could enjoy them to the fullest. This helped us make room to get things off the floor. She really wanted to make sure that the open shelving was pretty. So we went through the items that were important to display and then edited the rest. We added some pretty and functional file folders to the other things she wanted to display. They added much-needed storage for her supplies.
Removing one shelving unit from the space really helped us with the layout of the room. It was being used to display pretty things and lacked storage potential. The desk was forced to float in the middle of a smaller space. By moving the shelving unit out we were able to make her desk into a peninsula against one wall. This created a clean walkway all around the desk, giving access to all the shelving units.
By moving the items that were on the floor to a dresser we really opened up the room. We also utilized the top of the shelving units to display some of the items she had on the unit we removed. By moving the desk to this wall Sylvia is still able to look out her window, and the room feels much larger.
Sylvia already had these two matching narrow shelving units in the space. They hold many items she needs ready access to. So we placed them side-by-side to create a very narrow console feel. Then we did a command centre gallery style wall above it. We removed the one shelf she had in the room, and it will find a new home in Sylvia’s new thrift store. Sylvia spent time organizing the closet before I came to the house, and I hung the curtain higher up in the closet so that it was much cleaner and calmer looking. We put items there that she doesn’t need access to often, so the curtain can stay closed.
This is phase two for this room. When they bought the house it looked like this.
This craft room redesign was a lot of hard work. Sylvia was really great to work with and I think her new craft room looks amazing!
When I have the opportunity to design a whole new room, with new furniture, paint, and some renovations, it is always wonderful to see radical transformation. I also love showing projects like this. Seeing the HUGE impact a simple redesign can have on a space. Having someone come alongside you and help you reimagine your home with the things you already own can transform a room in a single day. The fact that you are using what you already have is also a major plus for your wallet and the environment. Do you have a space in your home that you need help with? Have you taken on any organizing or refreshing projects this winter?
My passion is to help you create a beautiful home no matter your stage of life or budget. Everyone should have a home they love. For more design inspiration and before & afters be sure to visit my Instagram page @reclaiminghomedecorating.
