Big Kid Drawing Station
With the change from home school to attending school, came changes in how we use our space. My kids' interest in art got kick-started by going to school. They see what other kids their age can draw and are inspired to try. Chandler's even checked out How to Draw books from the school library! The result is that much of play time at home is spent coloring or drawing or cutting their pictures out. At the moment, toys are taking a backseat to art supplies, which I find exciting.
No longer needing a classroom, I kept their desk to use as a drawing table. Then I realized they'd outgrown it. They'd struggle to squeeze their knees under it. So I sold it, along with the sweet little school chairs. Right when I was in danger of shedding a tear, I saw how much space it freed up! So nice. I gave them the "desk" -- which is more of a kitchen cart that I'd taught from and bought a second stool so they could draw there at the same time. This is Fred; three dollar Fred. He's wonderful.
If you noticed the flooring, we did NOT get new flooring in our guest room. It's still carpeted for the cozy, we-don't-feel-as-bad-about-stuffing-our-guests-in-the-basement-that-way effect. After a couple months of the kids asking to take art supplies up to their rooms, I moved the whole shebang to Chandler's. To make room, we took out his bookcase (which I have big plans for elsewhere) and put the books in his closet. You can see the rest of his room, as it was before, here.
Obviously, I don't feel a need to keep lots of books on hand, since we read library books most of the time. But he does have lots of photo albums from the days when I'd scrap my absolute favorite photos and put the other ones I loved in regular albums. This system's phasing out with a switch to photo books, but these will stay housed the way they are.
We brought the bulletin board up from the school room and still have our twirly-color-dispenser. It's a Pampered Chef utensil organizer, but my aversion to cooking had me seeing a whole array of non-food-related possibilities. This is by far my favorite. With the varying heights, it's perfect for everything from crayons to rulers.
So now our guest room's only function is to house our guests, unless I get an oil painting going. I've got a few things to get figured out in there, but it feels good to have our space working so nicely for us. My projects tend to have babies as I start to think outside the boxes of "what I've always done" and ultimately, after all the shuffling and reworking, I'm succeeding at having less overall. Which, as a minimalist, is very pleasing and as a tired mama, is absolutely necessary!
No longer needing a classroom, I kept their desk to use as a drawing table. Then I realized they'd outgrown it. They'd struggle to squeeze their knees under it. So I sold it, along with the sweet little school chairs. Right when I was in danger of shedding a tear, I saw how much space it freed up! So nice. I gave them the "desk" -- which is more of a kitchen cart that I'd taught from and bought a second stool so they could draw there at the same time. This is Fred; three dollar Fred. He's wonderful.
If you noticed the flooring, we did NOT get new flooring in our guest room. It's still carpeted for the cozy, we-don't-feel-as-bad-about-stuffing-our-guests-in-the-basement-that-way effect. After a couple months of the kids asking to take art supplies up to their rooms, I moved the whole shebang to Chandler's. To make room, we took out his bookcase (which I have big plans for elsewhere) and put the books in his closet. You can see the rest of his room, as it was before, here.
Obviously, I don't feel a need to keep lots of books on hand, since we read library books most of the time. But he does have lots of photo albums from the days when I'd scrap my absolute favorite photos and put the other ones I loved in regular albums. This system's phasing out with a switch to photo books, but these will stay housed the way they are.
Here's how their drawing station looks now...
We brought the bulletin board up from the school room and still have our twirly-color-dispenser. It's a Pampered Chef utensil organizer, but my aversion to cooking had me seeing a whole array of non-food-related possibilities. This is by far my favorite. With the varying heights, it's perfect for everything from crayons to rulers.
So now our guest room's only function is to house our guests, unless I get an oil painting going. I've got a few things to get figured out in there, but it feels good to have our space working so nicely for us. My projects tend to have babies as I start to think outside the boxes of "what I've always done" and ultimately, after all the shuffling and reworking, I'm succeeding at having less overall. Which, as a minimalist, is very pleasing and as a tired mama, is absolutely necessary!
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