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Hello! I am in desperate need of suggestions and hope that you wonderful stampers can help me out. My "stamping room" is the attic of our small house. The attic measures about 11 foot wide, 16 feet long. The 11 foot wide walls have a 5 foot wide chimney duct in the middle of one, and two windows on the other and the stairway on the other. The 16 foot long walls are flat walls that are 39 inches high from the floor up which then slant upwards and meet in the center. The tallest point in the very middle is 7 foot high. I'm only 5'3" tall, so the height doesn't really bother me. IT'S THE SLANTED WALLS THAT ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY. I have NO clue how to arrange the room for storage for my stamps, stamping supplies, scrapbooking supplies, beading supplies, etc. Everything is in plastic boxes which are everywhere. AND please don't suggest moving to another room of the house, because there aren't any - we have a very small house....kitchen/dining room combination and living room on the first floor, and 2 small bedrooms and small bathroom on second floor. And then there's the attic. Anyone with suggestions and ideas PLEASE PLEASE post them! I need all the help I can get as I'm ready to commit hari-kari. Thanks!!
__________________ Leeci ------------------------------------------------------------------- God sometimes lets life turn you upside down so you can learn to live right side up.
What about an island in the centre with lots of storage incorporated into it? That would be your desktop/workspace. Then as much wall space as you have on the flat walls could be dedicated to shelving. The sloped walls are definitely a challenge, but could you install a rail system like the one from IKEA (I think it's called Bygel) where you could hang various containers from the rail, or make your own clip it up, or hang your punches from it????
I am having a bit of trouble picturing it too (I am a visual person)...hope some of these ideas make sense. Have you done a gallery search to check out the stamping spaces there for ideas?
Good luck!!! Sounds like it could be a really nice space to work in!
__________________ Alanna
"It's all fun and games until someone loses an eyelet..." Gallery & Blog
Last edited by al_silver2; 07-16-2008 at 06:13 PM..
Reason: clarified what I said
Sounds like your best bet is to have things that don't go up the walls. You can't use anything above 39" tall for storage, unless you put it in the middle of the room. Put inspiration on the walls, not storage.
The secret to making a room like yours work is to put furnishings, storage, etc along the short walls, leaving the center of the room open for you to walk. If you put your tables in the center, then you will have to bend over to walk around them.
Put your work centers along the wall. I worked out the geometry and math, and if you put a work surface that is 36 inches deep along one wall, and place your storage under the front of that surface (yes, there will be space behind it) you will be able to walk up to your table without hitting your head. You can sit down to work and be totally comfortable.
On the other side of the room you might consider a 24 inch deep "closet" for storage. Yes, you would have to bend over a little bit...the front of that closet would be 4 foot 7 inches high or thereabouts.
To get an idea of what I am talking about, take a look at Martha Stewart's craft room...it is pretty much just like yours. It's a bit wider and a steeper roof that gives her a flat section but the same general idea. Her work spaces are along the wall.
The secret to making a room like yours work is to put furnishings, storage, etc along the short walls, leaving the center of the room open for you to walk. If you put your tables in the center, then you will have to bend over to walk around them.
Put your work centers along the wall. I worked out the geometry and math, and if you put a work surface that is 36 inches deep along one wall, and place your storage under the front of that surface (yes, there will be space behind it) you will be able to walk up to your table without hitting your head. You can sit down to work and be totally comfortable.
On the other side of the room you might consider a 24 inch deep "closet" for storage. Yes, you would have to bend over a little bit...the front of that closet would be 4 foot 7 inches high or thereabouts.
To get an idea of what I am talking about, take a look at Martha Stewart's craft room...it is pretty much just like yours. It's a bit wider and a steeper roof that gives her a flat section but the same general idea. Her work spaces are along the wall.
Hope that gives you some ideas...!
Now that's a good point about bashing your head trying to walk around the center table!!! Now that I can see how Martha's room is set up, that totally makes sense...I am sooo not able to visualize anything just from reading about it :rolleyes:
__________________ Alanna
"It's all fun and games until someone loses an eyelet..." Gallery & Blog
I have a room like that too that I use. I use the bottom half of the walls for shorter storage-bookshelves and those rubbermaid large 3 and 4 drawer rolling units.
Then, on the sloped walls, I have hung cork boards and even used some rolled cork on the sloped walls as 'wall paper'. Not all over the room--just over my table/desk area. It would be overwhelming if it were on every surface. BUt the cork boards and rolled cork walls are a great place to post my calendar of when swaps are due, inspirational ideas for cards, scrapbook pages, etc. Just some thoughts. Hope that helps!
Sam
Goals for 2015 50 scrapbook pages/50 cards---progress 35/50 cards Complete my daughter's wedding scrapbook album Spend more time enjoying my friends and not so much time obsessing on work!!!
I work in a similar space, only much smaller. I put my desk right against the slope and have short storage==rubbermaid rolling carts, an old cassette tape holder for my inks, an old kitchen cupboard that lies on the floor, and then on my flat wall, my DH built me shelves to hold more. One of my rolling carts goes under the table where the drawers still are very accessible, and I keep my cutter and stamp scrubber on that. And thats all I get--two walls, directly behind my back when I sit at my table is our stair well. But I love my cozy space, it sure beats the basement where I did work. I just keep the air conditioner on!
If you have an IKEA in your area I'd suggest to go there. The railings Alanna mentioned are very handy. I hang all of my punches from them. They also have little wire baskets that I keep my little punches in and some other things. My craft room is in a smaller sized room in my basement. I took the room dimensions to IKEA and they helped me customize some cabinets.
I got something similar to this: http://www.dekdevelopment.net to hold my ink pads and reinkers. I also got a ribbon holder and hung that on the wall. It saves space and makes it easy for me to see what my ribbon supply is like. HTH
I want to thank everyone for their helpful suggestions! I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to thank you sooner, but I have been having some health issues and just haven't had the time. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to get up there in that attic and get back to organizing and stamping. I sure do miss it!! Thanks again!
__________________ Leeci ------------------------------------------------------------------- God sometimes lets life turn you upside down so you can learn to live right side up.
Just wanted to say that I hope you are feeling better....{hugs}
Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeciW
I want to thank everyone for their helpful suggestions! I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to thank you sooner, but I have been having some health issues and just haven't had the time. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to get up there in that attic and get back to organizing and stamping. I sure do miss it!! Thanks again!
If you have the time, look in my gallery..I have the same set up as you, but only half the attic, we put up a wall right before the chimney so I would have some storage space. I have an area in the middle for 6 people...it is a 4x8 sheet of plywood on legs so you have some idea of space.
let me know if you have any other questions.
I will third IKEA. They are based in Europe where spaces are small so they specialize in making small spaces work! You can even bring in a drawing or measurements along with your needs and they will help you create a room! HTH!
help me with my room - I'm desperate!
