I have a little room of my own now. For those of you who have been following me for a while, you know how long this has taken, and that things have not always been this pretty. I shared a few photos last night on my Instagram story and thought I would do a quick blog post to answer many of the questions I have received, all in one place.
I will share some links to where I purchased some of the items (all in Australia) - I am not sponsoring or being paid to promote these - this is a genuine space I have created for my creative time.
My room is being gradually transformed from my babies' nursery to my home office. I would love to paint the walls white, put chocolate brown hard floors down, get a new white desk and pretty light fitting. None of that will be done any time soon, but I will gradually get them done over the next few years. Things take time, I am just so happy the shelves are up.
The wallpaper that was chosen for my babies - a green gingham pattern is still up and it is nice to still look at it and remember the special memories I have created in this room. I had a bunny rabbit border up but took that down last month. For those who are ever keen to remove wallpaper, I googled many techniques and was about to spend a fortune on chemicals, when my Dad came up for a cup of coffee. He suggested soaking a microfibe cloth in warm water, applying it to a small section, and then peeling back. We did this and it worked. The first coated layer came off first, and revealed a papery second layer of paper. We soaked this again with warm water and rubbed with the cloth. It was a messier, slower process, but I had the whole border off in the time it would have taken me to go shopping for all the materials the tutorials said I needed! It also left my walls perfect, and the edge of the remaining wallpaper intact.
My cube unit came flat packed and took about 3 hours to put together. We sourced it from The Shelving Shop.
I got the teal coloured desk accessories from K.Mart.
I have used bamboo cutlery trays to house bits and bobs.
And also laundry trays.
The Rattan Style tubs also come from K.Mart
These cereal bowls from K.Mart were a steal for $2 and also great for bits and bobs.
I cannot stand clutter in general and having shelves up full of useless items makes me itch. I do like a few decorative pieces, but it has to be minimal. That being said, I wanted this shelf to be full of things that I actually use and that get my creativity flowing but in an aesthetically pleasing way.
I am no doubt going to move things around as I get used to having so much space, but for now, here is how I have things organised.
A = plastic wallets (any resource I made for the classroom is stored in these and then filed in a filing cabinet)
B = cardboard (for crafty stuff and printing posters)
C = plastic sleeves for binders (I use binders at a minimum and prefer filing)
D = stickers (I am a 1980s babe and collected as a child. I am still obsessed)
E = pencil cases (another obsession)
F = drawing station (blank sketch pads & fresh pens for when inspirations hits - I keep my used books in a wardrobe)
G = (tub with stapler, hole punch, bulldog clips - bowl with wash tapes - tin with pegs)
H = past years kikki.K diaries, kikki.K notepads
I = decorative shelf (currently 2 favourite pencil cases)
J = ink stamps (another obsession stemming from childhood)
K = inspiration shelf (currently chalkboard lightbox from K.Mart, old teacher stamp, apple ornament)
My current message is 'work hard' - my daughter saw my room and said 'Aw, I want all that'. I told her she might try working for a few decades and dreaming for a while first.
L = Laundry tray with sticky tape, duct tape. Trinket Box with bits and bobs. Tin with pencil sharpeners.
M = sticky paper (to print my own stickers and resources that require sticking)
N = 2017 books (current sketch book, week diary, notebooks)
O = clipboards, notebooks
P = phone, tub with erasers, pretty little decorative pieces to add colour
Q = plain white copy paper
R = various notebooks, largely from kikki.K and K.Mart (I have a somewhat large collection of notebooks and swap them out with a larger collection in my wardrobe for a fresh change)
S = craft paper
T = pencils, pens, markers etc + display books
U = fancy paper + gift wrapping paper (another childhood obsession was going to gift shops and eyeing al the pretty paper and Hallmark greeting cards)
V = pens, pencils, markers + bamboo tray with pretty little bits and bobs
W = kikki.K Paper Lovers Books + my favourite teacher resource books (very old and close to my heart)
X = stash of my favourite sticky notes, box of crayons, box of chalk
Y = cutlery tray with boxes and trays of drawing and shading implements
Z = ugly computer paraphernalia
! = laminating pouches
@ = notepads
# = bamboo cutlery tray with more sticky notes
$ - bamboo tray with mini notepads, quote cards and planner decorating items
Click here for a FREE printable mini banner I created to pretty-up my year planner.
Being able to create my own resources at home, in my own creative space, entirely self funded has also gifted me great freedom and time with my family. It took a while to be able to see this benefit, but once I got into my own groove I realised how much time I was saving by just having a streamlined, self-managed system that worked for me - so although there is a financial outlay from the outset (ink, paper, laminating, storage etc) - I have chosen to only focus on the benefits it brings me and my family.
Thank you so much for stopping by my page, I hope it may have inspired you to work towards your own little creative space, or reflect on how special yours already is!
- Mel x