The Chalkboard Office-creating a workspace that works!
The Chalkboard Office
"A creative workspace that works"
This is a story of a dysfunctional office space that was transformed into a creative multifunctional room for the whole family.
I have a room designated as "office" in my house that was really the last place I wanted to actually use as a work space. One of the main reasons was because it was really drab. The walls are an off-white and the ceiling and trim are a taupe color. At least there was some color with the taupe trim and cottage doors but it lacked any imagination. On top of the walls being cream, I had an off-white desk and a cream bookcase in the room. It was a lot of cream people! I also had an arm chair that didn't really serve any function, but could never find a good spot in my home. so into the office it went.
My teenage daughter is the artist in the family. We have lots of craft supplies, paints, brushes, and all things artsy like crayons, glue, glitter, scissors, paper, etc. You get the idea! We have lots of stuff! Now, normally I would consider myself a pretty organized person, but this office was so neglected and unorganized that I hated working in there; let alone going in to organize it. I usually pulled my laptop out to the kitchen and worked at the bar. I knew that something had to be done and it needed to start with the wall color.
I must have agonized over color choices for weeks. I just couldn't decide what to do! Then it came to me.....why not paint the wall with the off white desk a dark color so that the desk stands out. It was then that I decided on painting that wall a black chalkboard. Here is what the room looked like before and after!
After painting the wall, I decided the room needed some color and painted the bookcase a soft blue.
To add some accents of the same blue I painted a large frame and made this chalkboard sign with one of my favorite quotes, "If you can dream it, you can do it" by Walt Disney.
Another favorite quote of mine by Albert Einstein is "Creativity is your intelligence having fun". I took that quote and printed it out on cream cardstock, cut it out and glued it onto a canvas that I also painted the same blue as the bookcase.
After the room looked pretty, it was time to organize all the bins and art stuff. I pulled this black bar table, that my husband and I had built, out of the kitchen to use for a good work table for our projects. The table is perfect in this space, even if that means I will need to find another table for the kitchen soon! :)
As it all started to come together I realized I wanted to create a space where my daughter could display her artwork. I could draw some chalk frames on the wall that she could put her favorite pieces at the time and still change it out just by pulling them off and replacing them. I used ticky tac to stick the artwork to the wall. If you have never used this stuff it is nice for just this idea, because it doesn't stain the wall and it pulls off of paper easily. We made a cute chalk banner at the top of the area that reads...."le peintre", which means "the painter" in french.
It was really fun to create this space for her. Not only do I have a functional and pretty office now but Emily has a special area for her artwork, a bookcase that houses all things arts & crafts and a work table and space to get our projects done!
So what do you think of this space?
I showed you three walls out of the 4 so far. I'm still working on the other one for Emily, but it is going to be a wall space for her music, so stay tuned..........
