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We have lived in our new location for over a year now and I have spent most of my time trying to figure out who I was going to hire to build a “craft island” for the center of my studio. It is a pretty big space but it really wasn’t “usable space” without storage and a table top area to craft on.  I used to use this room for my office but recently I decided that everyone here in our office needed a large work surface to mock up samples and prepare project kits if needed.  Not to mention….I was trying to scrapbook on a small tabletop and getting frustrated every step of the way.

So…the story begins….

About 4 weeks ago I was surfing the internet looking for antique wooden flat files (for our internal office use) when I stumbled upon this set on CraigsList. Literally this was the exact photo the seller had posted and I knew right away it might be able to work as the center island for my studio.  If you aren’t familiar with flat files they actually stack one on top of each other in sections so I knew this furniture piece was in 5 sections (1 top, 3 file sections and 1 base.)  This one is actually 48″ wide so it is bigger than most which are 36″ wide. Anyway…the price was LOW and I made an offer and guess what….it was MINE.

Now…for those of you who don’t believe in sanding and painting oak furniture then please STOP READING right now…because I didn’t buy this piece for it’s natural wood allure. Nope…I knew we could sand it and then paint it black to match the rest of my studio. As it turns out when we stacked up the base, 1 drawer section and the top section it ended up being the perfect counter top height which is what I wanted since I stand when I scrap. I was ecstatic!

So we started the transformation process and I thought it would be fun to share the photos here on my blog.

BEFORE:

AND AFTER….

We actually spray painted the handles too; originally I was going to replace them but it turns out they are an odd size that you can’t find anymore…

These bar stools aren’t really for my use; but if someone wants to come in and chat while I scrap they are totally welcome…(or maybe they will even scrap with me)

That wall is bare but maybe just maybe I can move my alphabets in here…

And…as if by some small miracle…my letter tray fits in the top drawers perfectly.  That was a nice surprise actually and will allow me to access all my small bits and baubles quickly.

These top drawers are the perfect drawer depth for ink pads…

This is on the wall opposite my mirror and is another project I am working on. We finally added chicken wire to the frame this week and now all I have to do is fill it with projects. I also have magazines and books in the nearby file racks for inspiration when I need it!

And yes…I still have this oversized hutch that also functions very well for storage.  I decided this week to move my paper up above and also added the center tray for all my scraps and things I need to file or find a home for.

So..that is the wrap up of my new and almost complete craft studio. Now I just need a large black craft mat and I can keep it on top of my new center island / flat file desk so I won’t have to worry about getting it messy…

For those of you who are worrying about all of my alphabets…have no fear…they are now in my walk in closet (attached to this room) and they are still hanging on those same IKEA rods! I am even thinking about moving them out to my open wall by the window…hmmmm…that could work.

Hope you enjoyed the tour…sorry for the long winded / photo heavy blog post…

Rebecca

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