Apartment Rearranging and My New Craft Corner!

At the beginning of the week I was very tempted to move down the hall to a larger 2 bedroom apartment. To make a long story short, I felt as if my apartment manager was pressuring me into making a decision too quickly. With the increase in rent, I just felt I couldn't move at this time. So I told her I couldn't right now. At first I was frustrated and sad because I'd like to have a bit more room, and my plan was to devote the 2nd room to painting, crafting, and writing.

But at the same time, I really do like my little apartment. On Monday night I was sitting on my couch and the thought came to me..."Why don't you rearrange your apartment?" So I called my mom, told her my idea of moving things around, and she came over straight away to help redesign my space. We sat down over a BLT supper and came up with the new floor plan and she helped me lug everything around. (Thanks Mom!) And now it is like living in a new apartment without spending the extra money each month.

Here's a couple of pictures of what my apartment looked like before. The first picture is how I used to set up for painting. (It worked OK but was a bit smooshy.) The 2nd shot is of my desk and dining table in my dining area. I would use my dining table for my easel but always wished for a bit more room...



I had a bit of blank space on the wall where my couch is. This is shown in the 1st picture. So I thought...how about move my bookshelf there? Here are before and after pictures. I ended up moving my couch down and moving my chair across the room so we could fit my bookshelf on the wall.



So now I had a blank space in my living room where my bookshelf used to be. That is where I moved my desk that was in my kitchen. Here's a shot of my living room now....



Here's the best part! Here's what my kitchen/dining room looked like after the desk was moved. I was seeing all sorts of visions in my head for my new crafting area! Just enough room to get a folding table to put against the wall by my microwave cart!



On Thursday night, with the help of Tickpuppy's larger vehicle and his muscles, we went to Lowe's and I bought a folding table. (Thanks again Tickpuppy!) It fit perfectly in my corner.



Today I set up my table full of my sketching and watercolor materials and easily lost track of time sketching in my Moleskine. (Will post sketch a bit later.) I also played around with my watercolor pencils. Eventually I would like to get a bulletin board so I can post drawings and any type of little pieces of inspiration.

As you can see, I'm set! No need to spend extra right now on rent. I'm delighted with the changes I've made with my space, and this whole experience has really made me appreciate what I do I have. More isn't always better, is it? Sometimes it is best to work with what you've already got.

"What a miserable thing life is: you're living in clover, only the clover isn't good enough."

~Bertolt Brecht, Jungle of Cities, 1924