enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

BEFORE

Beforephoto

AFTER

Afterphoto

Better right?

Here's what I realized : Before our "office" was a home office. Like the kind of place were you keep your computer and all your books. The place that you work in after you come home from your real job. Totally great. Except that this is my real job. Our home office needed to function as the place where our computers are stored but also as the place that I run a business out of. And for about $110 I made it do that.

I adore the new space.

BIG CHANGES :

  • bought a new peg board to hang ribbon, tools, stickers, packing tape and book cloth tape.
  • moved the tall bookcase that was filled with Paul's medicine books and my scrapbooks into our bedroom and it is now actually finishing off a extra nook we had in there nicely.
  • bought a new expedit bookcase from Ikea to take it's place.
  • bought six new storage boxes from Ikea.
  • moved my fiction/non-business books out of the horizontal bookshelf and into the closet (which became empty when I took out my sewing machine, fabric and baskets of minibooks)
  • moved the little white bookshelf over to my desk area and it now holds stuff that I need to keep within reach (mailing labels, stamps, notecards, pens, receipt box, etc.)

RESULTS :

  • SO MUCH MORE SPACE TO WORK
  • packing materials are not on the floor
  • boxes and storage cubbies for in-process projects (no more piles!)
  • better sorting and storage for my inventory and paper/envelope collection
  • easier to clean/organize and more space to grow
  • it feels so much more REAL a.k.a "this is my job space."

Office

The two bookshelves now hold almost all the "business" stuff. (You can click to enlarge and see what is what.) I filled in my pegboard a bit more and so far am loving the set up.

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On the other wall, my personal craft stuff is stored an Ikea kitchen island (I could not find a link) that I use as a desk. The boxes hold current projects (25 to do book, holiday book, fall book) as well as art supplies and rubber stamps. The three baskets on the bottom shelf hold my mini book collection.

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On top of the table is my new paper trimmer. I finally bought a "professional" paper cutter and I can't say enough good stuff about it. It was expensive, but worth it for the ridiculous amount of trimming I do.

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P and I still share a desk and a printer and that works out well. I added the little white bookshelf to the side to keep extra stuff within easy reach but not have it cluttering the table. The bulletin board right next to my computer is super helpful too.

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And that's that! Thanks for touring. Please let me know if you have any questions – I'll be answering them in the comments.

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64 responses to “office redo : complete.”

  1. creole wisdom Avatar

    I like what you did. Those expedit shelves are worth the little money they cost. I’m so glad I choose to get one for my room.

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  2. elise blaha Avatar

    right now I am planning to make the material into a book. So I dont know if I will be re-running the class again. Follow the blog to stay posted though!

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  3. Chelseabird Avatar

    Wow Elise, your workspace looks AMAZING! LOVE how you pinpointed exactly what everything is :]

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  4. fiona lynne Avatar

    Wow, the difference is great! I can imagine how much better it feels to have a space to work in that affirms “this is my job” not just this is something I do on the side.
    I don’t work from home but “home office” type storage is a major frustration for me. We have one big open plan space to live in with zero in built storage. And my husband refuses to buy ikea because everyone else we know (expat world) has ikea homes. But finding practical storage units that also look good? I’m finding that pretty hard!

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  5. Tanya Gilmartin Avatar

    wow! this looks great- and very functional! wanna do my space? heh, heh!
    I have a question about the decoration you have hanging in one of the photos to the left of your peg board- looks like a paper ball. I love it! did you make it?

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  6. Brenda Ward Avatar

    SO amazing…
    I’m going to clean and redo mine soon too…you are quite inspiring!
    Thanks so much!

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  7. Kristyn Avatar
    Kristyn

    I love your newly organized office, especially the kitchen island used as a table! I’m feeling more motivated to get started on revamping and doing some major organization to my office space now.
    Where did you get that cute dinosaur print?

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  8. elise blaha Avatar

    it came from an etsy shop over three years ago .. .sadly I dont remember which one!

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  9. elise blaha Avatar

    I did make it. It was part of a paper source window display a few years ago. Here are some photos : http://eliseblaha.typepad.com/golden/2008/04/window-shopping.html

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  10. Lindsey Avatar

    you inspire me everyday. to create, to capture the little moments, now to get organized! thanks for sharing your world!!

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  11. sophie Avatar

    Hey Elise,
    LOVE the new work space! it’s like the most wonderful place to get your craft on. i’m hoping to one day have a space like that. just amazing what you’ve done with it. question…i really love the flower ball hanging over your bookcase. where did you get it from?
    thanks!
    sophie

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  12. elise blaha Avatar

    thanks! I made the flower ball for a window display at paper source a few years ago : http://eliseblaha.typepad.com/golden/2008/04/window-shopping.html

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  13. Laminate Creasers Avatar

    I also have a space in our balcony. Do you mind if I can see your office?

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  14. Turrie Avatar
    Turrie

    how much was the 3 drawer ikea island cart? I see they have this but with two drawers for $129 CAD and i saw someone trying to sell the same as your 3 drawer one $200 used. so im curious

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