Today, I’m inviting you into my home to see where I create art and calligraphy projects, take photos, and film video courses. I hope that today’s tour of my workspace sparks ideas and inspiration for cultivating your own creative haven!
I love to get a peek at how other people live, which is probably why I appreciate Architectural Digest tours and Nancy Meyers films. I think that we all feel a bit curious about the interiors behind closed doors! Today, I’m pulling back the curtain to show you the modest sunroom where I love to get work done. I hope that you enjoy this “tour” and that it helps you brainstorm ways to make your own functional creation space!
There’s this book I love called A Place for Everything, which lived on my mother’s coffee table throughout my childhood. It’s a book about organization and how different people arrange their things. At this point, the photos in the book are an outdated 25 years old, but I still love flipping through them for ideas and inspiration. It’s fascinating to see how others infuse order into their spaces.
People often ask me for art and calligraphy organization secrets. I wish I could boast of having an impressive system to keep everything in order. The truth, however, is that my systems change according to the sorts of projects I am making and my stage of life. Today’s tour isn’t meant to show you how you should organize your art supplies. Instead, I’m inviting you into my workspace as a point of interest.
It’s easiest to give you the full sense of my workspace in a video format, which I’ve done below in a ~3 minute video.
Please note that I decided to film and take photos on a day when the room was tidy — i.e. my toddler wasn’t around. Don’t be fooled: it doesn’t always look like this. As I write, the contents of the paintbrush tin is on the floor (the toddler’s fault) and supplies are strewn about on the table (my fault). Neat is not the rule here: it’s the exception.
When I planted the seed of what would become TPK in 2012, I created art at a tiny desk in our studio apartment. We eventually moved to a larger apartment, where I worked from a big vintage executive desk in a converted spare bedroom.
Across the room, there was another desk that in theory was supposed to be my husband’s. In practice, it became the place where I took most of the photos for the TPK Blog.
In 2017, we bought our house and immediately got to work repurposing one of the spare bedrooms into an office.
Before you get the impression from my current workspace video that I’m remarkably minimalistic, note that I still have the other office. 70% of my supplies are stored there! It’s just that after we built our sunroom-turned-Lindsey’s-new-office, I slowly began migrating into my current workspace.
You can tour my other office in this 2017 article. Currently, my husband works in that room. I make an appearance every once in a while, like when I want to use my light box or print something. In general, though, I find my current space more inspiring because I love all the windows!
I feel most inspired in spaces that are full of light and functional, with a bit of wall space to display my favorite artwork. It’s nice to surround yourself with objects and ideas that make you feel good, which is why I have a pile of (now sadly defunct) Flow Magazine issues behind me at all times.
It brings me joy to store my things in containers that mean something. The Mother Earth News mug is from a college internship, the tea tin was a gift from a friend, and the vintage plastic organizer was a rural Kansas thrift store find. I love how these containers keep my supplies ready for action!
You don’t have to invest in fancy storage solutions if you don’t mind getting a bit creative. My side table is made up of two three-drawer plastic storage pieces from Walmart with planks from an old dining table placed on top. The drawers house all of my essentials, like envelopes, cardstock, and ink.
On top of the side table, you’ll find a vintage organizer that someone once used for sewing supplies. I keep nibs, watercolors, erasers, and postage stamps inside.
Behind me, there’s a wall full of roses. My single favorite thing about the transition from renter to homeowner is the fact that I can draw on the walls! It gives me so much pleasure to see this artwork every day.
If you can, it’s good to work in a room that fulfills multiple needs. For me, this room is an inspiring place to make art, and it’s a photo/video creation station. I like to put a pretty piece of patterned paper on my desk for a nice photo and video background.
After over a decade of creating projects for this website, I can tell you that a nice room or studio to make art in is just that: nice. It’s not required. You can make do with virtually any space situation — or, if you truly have no space to make things at home, work from a café! I am very grateful for the room that I have and the ample storage that my house provides for my supplies. However, I’ve made do with much less.
Take a cue from A Place for Everything: there’s always a way to organize your supplies within your current situation. I hope that today’s article helps you to brainstorm some ways that you can make your space work for you. Thanks so much for reading, and happy organizing!
Warmly,
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