Refresh Your Creative Space

Are you a blogger, artist, or maker? Is your workspace a help or a hindrance to your productivity? If so, the new year is a good time to refresh your creative space. By the end of 2023, my art studio was a mess. It was time for me to refresh my favorite place in the world. Everything was messy and disorganized. I couldn’t find anything when I needed it. My not-so-pretty shipping supplies were exposed and ugly, and paintings were stacked willy nilly on top of each other and against the walls.

My Inspiration

Have you seen the magazines filled with gorgeous workspaces for women? I bought a few issues of In Her Studio Magazine and was impressed. However, most of the women were a lot younger than me, dressed in ethereal clothing, and had slick, unattainable (in my mind) studios. I looked at the photos, but did nothing to adjust the area where I create. If the bar seems too high for me to reach, I am less willing to try. It reminded me of the feeling I would get when I looked at photos of perfect chidrens’ bedrooms when my kids were little. “Does this kid really live here, because it doesn’t look like a child actually lives in that room.”

Luckily, I ran across Where Women Create! The featured women were more varied in their ages and appearance, and their workshops were beautiful, yet realistic. One maker, Jane Davila, was my cup of tea. Jane’s space was larger, cleaner, and more organized than mine, and was also housed in a refabricated industrial space that she shared with other artists. However, her studio resonated with me because it was practical, clean, and attractive.

Hiding the Ugly Stuff in My Studio

I knew that I needed to put the ugly stuff in my studio in neat, uniform storage containers and organize everything. Since my studio has a French Industrial theme, I ordered two burlap (faux grain sack) curtains to hide the shipping supplies and photo albums that are stored on my bottom shelves. They coordinate with the valances on the windows as well.

So how did I get the curtains to hang neatly without a rod- I ran bungee cords through the area where a rod would normally go, then clipped the cords onto the round poles that flank my industrial shelves. The bungee cords provided the exact amount of tension I needed.

Finding the Right Storage

I took the container that once held brushes (top right) and placed my paint tubes in the slots. They fit perfectly. I taped a painting of a cozy cabin onto the front of the paint container to make it look a little nicer. I plan to change the painting for each season. All of my craft paints, brushes, and mediums fit nicely into the rolling turquoise cart next to the painting table. Now all of my supplies are pretty as well as accessible.

I ordered woven brown baskets from Amazon to house all of the small stuff.

Storing My Paintings

All of my paintings were stacked and wrapped in bubble wrap or leaned against the wall before I reorganized. If someone wanted to “shop,” I had to get everything out and place it all around the room on the ground, then put everything back afterwards.

Now the small paintings are on the top row of the left shelf, and the larger paintings are leaning nicely against the wall.

My Studio is a Multipurpose Room

My art studio is in a large loft. It is also used as a school room and bedroom for my daughter when she is home from college in the summer, and during Christmas break.

Whether it’s being used as a creative space, bedroom, or school room, I feel inspired and ready to work now that everything is clean and organized. I know that when I come up the stairs and turn the corner, my happy space is there, waiting for me.

I hope you enjoyed It’s Time to Refresh Your Creative Space.

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