Monday 14 June 2010

What you've all been waiting for...






Remember this?

The hall of our new house, that lead into the dining room.

2.5m x 4.4m - not very big - but big enough for a little desk & a book cabinet.

With a lovely double french door leading out to the carport.

This was the only space possible to be converted into a scrapbook nook for myself, that would also have to double-up as a computer work-station for myself & the 2 younger kids. Could it be done?

It took weeks, which rolled into months, in preparatory work as I made appointment after appointment {most of which weren't kept initially, as is the Durban way...} until I had 6 quotes & chose the cheapest {who also happened to be the person I had the most faith in}, who could then only fit the units a month after quoting. Above, to the right, is the internal door that leads into the dining room. I had 2 fitted cupboards installed to keep all my clutter out of sight {albums/off-the-page blanks/ephemera/memorabilia/etc}. There is space above the right-hand-side cupboard to store baskets of stuff/my wheelie tote {hadn't put it up there yet}, as I couldn't go any higher with the cupboards due to the window/french-door lintel. I did have to relocate the alarm "eye" as it wouldn't have been effective with items placed directly in front of it. {you can see it's been moved from the corner of the wall to the side of the door now}.

Above - the next cupboard {on the left-hand-side} with the air-conditioner above it {removed it from our last house & had it re-installed here} so nothing can be placed in front of it whilst it is operating {9 months of the year for me!}. Turning the corner to the window-side you can see the apple-green gingham blinds I had made, my sewing-machine & desk lamp & my work table. I had this installed at standing-height {90cm - same as kitchen work surfaces - as I always stand whilst working}.

A bit more of the work-surface on show here. All the tool/embellishment containers are going to have their own shelf to the left of the counter-top but I am still waiting for this to be installed. {A narrow - 12cm - shelf unit with 6 shelves - attached to the fitted cupboard you're about to see in the next photo. So my work surface will be clear of all that to make way for projects in progress.

The left-hand-side of my work surface. That blank white wall you see is where all the containers around the edge of my counter top will be stacked.

The 3rd fitted cupboard. The first 2 are pretty narrow {dictated by the available space before the window) so I made this one the same depth as the work surface. The internal shelves are closer together than standard, so that all my baskets & containers fit in snugly & I can fit more in that way. You can't see it at all but the units are foiled melamine with a wood-grain finish that is very nice. Standard melamine would have been cheaper but here it comes out a grey shade & I wanted pure white {I know because I had a couple of toiletry cabinets made for our main bathroom & they are most definitely "newsprint" {off-white}, but look okay in there as it's all cream & white anyhoo...

I need to smarten up all that stuff on the top of the cupboard. {SOME of my mountainous collection of offcuts & some pre-prepared page-kits that I'm sure I'll want to change by now...} Yes, the beautiful french door has disappeared! It had to go unfortunately. With a lovely big window already I needed the space more than I needed the light, so I had a builder block up the door {from the inside only} with a "dry-wall" that can fairly easily be removed if future owners want to open the door up again. From the outside the door is still visible but you just see a solid white expanse behind it & I have made a trellis, painted it white & hung it over the door to disguise it further. Now I just need to plant up some pretty pots with some climber plants for it.

Turneing the corner we're looking at the corner opposite the wide fitted cupboard now {above}. This work surface is sitting height {76cm} in order to provide a work-station for the computer/phone/printer/scanner/silhouette {stored on top of the computer tower}. In the corner I have placed my spare cutting mat, a couple more tool/adhesive boxes & a perspex paper rack {used to store my plain cardstock}. I had a couple of shelving units installed at kitchen top-unit height ABOVE the computer work surface in order to provide some open storage. {12 rectangular cubbies}.

To the right of the computer area I had 10 narrow drawers installed for keeping all my stickers, alphas, embellishments, etc sorted nicely. Each drawer houses exactly 2 fishing-tackle type divided embellishment containers perfectly {height-wise} with a space at the side for sticker sheets, etc. All the drawers are on runners with wide stainless steel handles so are easy to grip & pull-out like a dream!

On top of the shelving unit I have some magazine holders housing my folder files {containing sketches, etc}, some MORE baskets of off-cuts & my basket of rubber stamps. {My acrylic ones are in the drawers}. This is by no means final & as I start actually utilising the room on a regular basis so I'll shuffle things around to suit my purpose.

'Scuze the different light in all these photographs. I took all these shots at night. Despite it being school holidays here Chelsea has winter school {which starts at crack of dawn & ends slap bang in the middle of the morning} then extra Afrikaans lessons {compulsory for all her class} followed by extra maths lessons {she's in her final year so these 5 weeks are not really considered a holiday for them} nor me as I am still running her back & forth & the other kids also have plans that I need to accomodate, so taking photos during the day just doesn't seem to be happening much at the moment.

The units presently contain a mish-mash of different items. Computer related stuff, phone-books, scrapbooking books, photography stuff, disks, half my flower collection {that really needs to join the other half in the cupboard}, tubs of ribbon & tonnes of stationery {with the occasional duck thrown in for good measure}.

Below - my workstation under the window opposite the computer has another 12 drawers - plus 18 paper racks on each side {pretty much full already I'm ashamed to say...} I finally found a white "bucket" chair - at Boardmans - but couldn't find a white monitor {bar the Mac one at R10 000 here - about 5 - 10 times the price of all the others} but did manage a Mac keyboard & cordless mouse, so altogether things are looking pretty snazzy! Just waiting for the shelf to be installed & getting some quotes on wood laminate flooring. Have a tester pot of apple-green due to hit the walls any time now {only need a tiny bit as there is not much wall space left LOL} then I'm good to go!

There was a time {a long time - but pre-blog} where I was a scrapping machine & finished AT LEAST a layout a day. Now I feel like "The Retired Scrapper" would be a more appropriate name for my blog. Needless to say I am sooooooooo behind... but I am not discouraged. This year I have had to take control of our house-hunt, move & renovation & now that that's mostly completed {well the decor is a work in progress} I am looking forward to stepping back into scrapbooking - expect a come-back soon!





16 comments:

Vicki said...

WOW what a transformation - that was definitely worth waiting for. Just love your drawer units. No wonder you can't wait to get back into your scrapping. LOL.

topkatnz said...

WOW is right - you have loads of space now - can't wait to see all you new creations! heehee'the retired scrapper' now needs to come out of retirement!!LOL

Jessy Christopher said...

Beautiful transformation!! I love how you work with every corner you have!! The colors orange, yellow and green go really well with the white. I so wanna come over to play but too bad we are too far away :( Can't wait to see your new layouts for sure :)

p/s: love the little owlie *wink*

Bernadine said...

Helen it looks fantastic... Can I hire you to design my scrapping room one day when I own my own home? I love the ideas of the draws.

CathQuillScrap said...

Love your new space... hope you have MANY creative hours spent there.

Stefanie said...

Looks really great, hope you'll enjoy many happy hours creating there.

Diana said...

OK this is all very exciting but I must confess I can't quite wrap my arms around the space in its entirety. Maybe when you finish painting and installing the last shelves you can take some more photos so I can get a better idea of the space in its entirety.
The different bits and pieces are fab though. Love the orange and green. So nice.
And you are soooo lucky to have this space, and to be able to have built it just to your custom specs.

Kirsty said...

Looks awesome! You are so organised! Wanna come and organise my kids play-room??? It'll be a challenge...x

Lynette Jacobs said...

Looks great Helen...you are going to love spending time here;-D

Jenny in Durbs said...

Wow & again wow its gorgeous & organised & wonderful - Wow. Enjoy many happy hours there.

Ella Swan said...

Aaaah thanks friends...it sure is purdy I agree...it is a dream come true for me & a pure blessing from the Lord 'tis all. It has been my wish on every roast-chicken wish-bone, every shooting star & every birthday candle for many years so is a dream come true for me to finally get it & DH's "thank you" for the house renos that are still driving me to insanity! Jessy I would be in my element if we could be scrapping buddies in there believe me...but we are not really far away thanks to our pc's...so close!! And Bernie, you know you can call on my ANY time to help you out! To find someone here prepared to do those drawers was NOT easy becuse they are only 7cm {just under 3"} INTERNAL measurement & it is not standard here, and anything not standard is waaaay to challenging for Durban "craftsmen" as it requires a brain & they are in short supply amongst the workforce...but I persisted until someone would make me what I wanted! I forgot to mention that those beautiful drawer units are mine forever 'cos I had them made separately before being fitted, so I could unscrew them from the countertops if {or should I way when...} we move house one day {not too soon I hope believe me!}. I am SO TIRED of sorting out scrapbooking supplies that I am never doing it again - which is why I paid a bit extra to have those drawers made separate to the counters see?! Kirsty the beauty of it is I can stuff everything in any which way & it remains looking immaculate - ha! Diana - so sorry I didn't make it clear - I really tried, which is why I waffled on so much, because I know that some people are like me & want to know every detail. I am always like that, especially when it comes to scrap spaces! Basically, I took the photos starting at the internal door & working around the room in an anti-clockwise direction, but then confused you all by adding that picture of the drawers & paper-racks that I should have put after the photos of the workmats under the blinds - 'cos I'm dumb like that!!! Will try & stand at the door & get it all in but my lens ain't too good for that ;-D

Shayne said...

Stunning scrap space Helen. Love the vibrancy of the room. Perfect to spend many happy hours scrapping. And to answer your question - i simply bought a photo album (400photo) from CLicks for my POTD. Each refill is split into 4 6x4 pics size, so it's perfect. I just want to recover it. And yes, Haover is halfway betw CT & Jhb - you and stf both had me very confused with your comments!

Michelle Ramsay said...

Oh, Helen your scraproom is stunning. I am sure you are going to have many happy hours creating in it. It is so practically designed and I really love the bright orange and green colours. You have really done a fantastic job and I think your plan of having the draws done separately is a fantastic idea. Happy creating!

un apres-midi d'octobre said...

what a scraproom, i am in love!!!!lol

tania said...

LOVE,LOVE this!! you are one lucky girl!! the colours are beautiful:) enjoy your room Helen and I cannot wait to see your new creations,created in that room!!

Susanne said...

What a wonderful space to create in. Congrats on the transformation. You did good!