Monday, February 1, 2010

A Girl Can Dream...

...and this, this would definitely be a dream...

This is a photo of my friend Jen's scrapbook room. You may recall this post about my fondness for her professional organizer. Can I just say that I can admit when I'm wrong? And I was wrong, big time...

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was this room. Truth be told, Jen was the one who convinced me to put my scrapbook room on our main floor four years ago when I was pregnant and getting booted out of my old scrap space. I thought she was crazy, and I told her so frequently. Sometimes, a friend can see what you can't, however. Since our "formal" living room had a garden door, I slowly grew to like the idea. It ended up being one of the best decisions I've ever made for our family. Since I work from home, my space also had to work as an office. I would highly recommend it to anyone now...

When Jen was reorganizing her basement (the old scrap area), I told her I thought she should make her scrapbook room on her main floor, in a smaller room off the formal living space. Of course, she thought I was nuts. Slowly but surely, the idea grew on her, too...

And so it began.

The following are pictures of Jen's scrap space now. I have to say, it is just perfect. She is an art teacher by profession, and once she laid her eyes on that wallpaper, she knew she had to have it. So her...

The organizing hardware and drawers are from The Container Store. The storage system she used is elfa (30% off right now!) and it is sturdy and holds everything. She has 40+ drawers in this space, along with a computer, printer, Cricut and vertical paper storage.

Hanging file folders house her alphabet stickers...
She has an entire drawer of just masking tape. Gotta love those dividers...

I love the open shelving, too. Jen has a lot of cool containers that she loved, and she's still able to use them with this system.
Every drawer is labled, and withing reach. I had to try on the new place for size and scrapped at her table, just to be sure, of course. I didn't want to leave.
She paints a lot. I love this vintage rack...
And lest you think that the rest of the house is a disaster, I give you this. (She's going to kill me for posting this--I love you Jen!)

I'm so proud of her, I can't even begin to tell you. Here are some snapshots I took of her home on a recent scrap day there...

For the record, I was wrong about painting the kitchen cabinets, too. They are so beautiful--the picture doesn't do them justice!!
I sure hope this inspires someone out there. It has done so for me. Believe me when I say that this journey of moving on after her husband's sudden death has not been easy on Jen or her children. Life does go on. She is living proof that determination, hard work and desire can motivate one to get it together.

Here's to hoping some of that motivation can rub off on me...
Thanks for sharing these with us, Jen. I love you to pieces.
(But I still can't bring myself to doing an "I love Andrea" layout quite yet. :))
For those of you who have made it to the end of this incredibly long blog post, please be sure to check out the DT Gallery here.
How's that for an inspirational Monday?

17 comments:

Debbi Tehrani said...

What an awesome room! That wallpaper is really cool. TFS!

Laina Lamb said...

OMG. Does she take boarders?
Everything is perfect. Love the wallpaper.

pickmepam said...

holy cow! that's what i call organized! as much as i like it, i think i'd make a mess of it, so why bother? i like living in caos.

jamie said...

it made for a very inspirational monday. so...must elaborate on the painted cabinets. maybe even email me. need details on that one for sure.
love her room. lots to gain here from your post.
thanks, trish!

Jewel said...

Wow, what a great post! So much inspiration. I LOVE the wallpaper and I am not a wallpaper kind of gal. The scraproom is perfection. Also, adore the painted cabinets. I am trying to convince my hubs to paint our cabinets black but he isn't going for it. I am going to have to show him this post!

Molly said...

I can just see Jen reading this post! You are very brave Trish! lol I had a great day there! Glad to see I made the picture--ha!
Need a picture of her butterflies in the frame...
Please post a picture of Andrea!

Unknown said...

ok, AMAZING!!! Is there anyway you can send me a larger pic of the kitchen? I am trying to talk my hubby into painting our black, and I think this pic would totally sell him on the idea. Love Jen's scraproom...sigh.

Trish said...

Laina, take a number.

Jamie, Jewel and Amy--I'll take pics this week and post them on Friday and try to get the details on the cabinets. They're distressed, and you can't really see that in the pics.

Molly, Andrea's pic can be seen on her website (I posted a link, just click on it.) And the butterly collage was something Ali Edwards did a while ago--you can see her post here for more info: http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2008/02/weekend-creat-2.html

Hope this helps!!

BabyBokChoy said...

Only in my dreams will I have a room like that. I feel like I'm at a point where I just admit to myself, I will never be like this, all the time/creative energy I have will go into my scrappy projects, there is only so much time and the priorities have been set. Maybe if I win the lottery, i can hire someone to organize my stuff...

Ryzmomplus2 said...

Oh my gosh! I love this room AND I love those black cabinets and yes I want my OAK kitchen cabinets painted too!

Valerie said...

It's beautiful!

Unknown said...

I LOVE IT ALL! Thanks so much for sharing this space - nice to see some decent wallpaper:)

Vanessa, Florida, USA said...

LOVE IT!!!! The organization and that awesome wallpaper totally ROCK :)

TeenaBugg38 said...

I am so totally jealous!!! I scrap where ever there are no toys laying around , or games, or "man stuff" I keep telling my fiance i NEED my own space and am trying to talk him into letting me convert the spare bedroom into my scrapping oasis.....lol...wish me luck!

Damaris said...

What a great space. Gotta tell you, all that organized goodness makes me want to scrap! Nothing like a great space to create.
Hugs,
Me

Janet said...

Wow, what a beautiful AND functional space! And such a wonderful story of healing. Having lost my mom not too long ago, I totally understand the need to clear out and reorganize the pieces of your life in order to start fresh. Thanks for sharing this great story! :-)

CS said...

I just found your blog and I am TOTALLY inspired. LOVE! I am in love! We have a reading room and office right off the entry hall with french doors and my scrapbook room should be there instead of the boring "reading room!" I can't wait to read all of your old posts so I can steal more ideas!