Our new work/play space in the loft

reveal...

Summer is nearly over....Boy does time fly!! We are on our usual "last of the summer" break in Norway at the moment...its becoming a bit of a tradition! And we'll be here until the penultimate day before its time for Little Miss Moo to get back to school!!

Its a good thing then, that we managed to finish turning our messy ,dumping ground of a loft into a work and play space, where LMM can sit and do her homework and play with her friends..... and where I can retreat to do my projects and blogging....saving our "new" kitchen from the mess of my creativity!!

So, here's what the Loft used to look like!!

It really was a mess!!

It took me, and my little "helper" 2 days to clear the mess and get all our stuff organised in the eaves....

With that done, it was a case of giving our damp damaged walls a lick of paint (more on that later...), and lay down some new flooring,( I chose to put down cork tiles, as I wanted a floor I didn't have to be too precious about...this is after all supposed to be a functional work space...besides : they were cheap!!) before I could implement my new work space design....

....and I hope you'll agree:  The transformation is quite remarkable!!

It is now a very functional space where we can all spend time: For both work and play!!

I made the double desk going all along the far wall from a piece of laminate panel from  Wickes and some Oddvald trestles from IKEA, and it's perfect for the space!! Little Miss Moo can sit and do her homework whilst I do my blogging work, allowing us to spend time together at the same time as we can get on with our own stuff!! 

...and its also perfect for when little Miss Moo has friends around, as there is plenty of space for everyone to sit and do some drawing or crafts...

And keeping all our craft and art supply's handy in an IKEA Raskog trolley is a great way to promote creativity! 

If you like the "I will survive" plant basket, I will share the stencil template with you all soon!

I love how the painted brick wall turned out....and on one side of the desk, I've created a little collage of inspiring pictures and some black and white family pics...I love the "Don't grow up...it's a trap" washi tape from Tiger...

I've also, true to my plan of introducing some more plants into our home, added a couple of succulents (they are easy to keep!) I've made the paper plant pots myself, and will show you how in my next post!!

I've used my jazzed up natural basket from Bodie and Fou as a bin...I just placed a cheap paper waste basket inside!

I used a couple of Ribba picture ledge's from IKEA to display some art work, above the desk.

And on the other side, I've created the perfect spot to sit and do my blogging!

I've used my new House Doctor vases to house my pencils and brushes, and my new faded clipboard from An Artful life studio to display current projects...The textured wall hanging is an easy DIY I will show you very soon!

Also note Little Miss Moo's artwork, proudly displayed on the picture ledge above!

The Ranarp spotlights are also from IKEA, and I love the hint of industrial feel to them! 

The space underneath the trestles is perfect for my hoards of interior magazines...I've simply screwed a piece of wood to the base to create a shelf there!

And the old filing cabinet has also had a makeover with some DIY stencils, that I will share with you all very soon!

I purchased this futon on e-bay for £20....

...creating a nice place to relax with a magazine and a cup of coffee!

The "side-table" is just a big storage basket with a tray placed on top, making it  very functional, as I can simply carry my refreshments up to the loft on the tray, and place it on top of the basket, which also obviously provides useful storage for odds and sods...

Here's the view from the other side of the room, with my old upcycled bedside tables, now used as storage for papers and other office essentials, like the printer...and of course my DIY wire mesh display wall where I can hang up inspirational pictures  to create my mood boards !

I already had the wicker storage baskets, and as luck would have it, they were a perfect fit for the bedside tables! 

The origami paper table lamp was a bargain in the sales from habitat.

And of course, Arthur - the plant ,fits perfectly in this spot to add a lush touch of green!!

Already this "new" room in our house is improving our lives...We spent most of the time up in the loft in the few days we had before flying to Norway....Little Miss Moo would just disappear up there and I'd find her getting creative with either drawing ...or in this case: some balls of wool:

And that in itself means that I can get on with my own stuff as she now knows where all her art supplies are, and that she can go upstairs when she feels like it, and get creative!!

This is possibly the best improvement I've made to our house so far!!

Its a fun and creative space, a retreat where we can get messy (both LMM and me!!) without having to pack everything away at the end of the day!!

And it also looks great...I hope you'll agree!!

Just goes to show, with a little effort, a small amount of £'s and a bit of imagination, using the spaces in your home to it's full potential will improve your lives, as well as your home!!

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