because the before in this situation was positively shameful.
our downstairs closet has always been called the “art closet” because instead of hanging coats (which we never really need) we always stored our basic kid art supplies inside, along with their school stuff. (backpacks, etc) in various forms, such as a rolling plastic cart or an ill fitting bookshelf. the results were always a complete disaster. kids papers and backpacks and musical instruments thrown haphazardly inside, peeking out the bottom of the door even when it was shut. it drove me a little more insane each day. but, i let it sit like that for almost four years. so you can imagine how insane i really am.
i got the idea in mind to add more shelving about six months ago, and i finally had a chance to hire someone to do it two weeks ago. once the shelves were put up, the walls looked a hot mess. i realized i would have to paint the inside of the closet.
sidenote: ever since we moved here, i have wanted to paint my laundry closet a shocking, fun color, just to have a little happy surprise when i opened the doors. but i havent ever actually done that. i am too scared to move my machines. they were really hard to get in there, and even just thinking about moving them makes me feel anxiety ridden.
so, to satisfy my whole “shocking, fun color in a closet” desire, i purchased hot pink paint for the art closet.
(lowe’s : rasberry blush)
i also scurried about finding baskets and jars (target & at home) to hold all of their art supplies.
i also bought the kids all NEW art supplies. new crayons, colored pencils, markers. glue sticks, tempura paints, watercolor paper. puff balls, googly eyes, pipe cleaners. paint brushes, pencils, erasers. totally stocked them up. they needed it. we havent updated our stuff since the beginning of the the previous school year, so i didnt feel wasteful getting rid of some of the old stuff. also, after reading and being really, really inspired by this book, The Creative Family, by Amanda Blake Soule, i wanted to do as she suggested and give them good quality art supplies to create with.
i started sunday morning at 10:30, when jeff left for the gym. the kiddos were all happily occupied with club penguin (internet game) and el dorado (our favorite cartoon movie). we were all in our jammies.
they each came downstairs every so often to see what i was up to, and help. help sort things into jars. help toss out trash and recycle out the paper and plastic from the new supplies’ packaging. help fill up the shelves once i was finished painting. anna begged to help me paint, but i just couldnt quite hand it over to her, i had no tape or anything else protecting the floors, baseboards, or shelves. (but i promised her that the next painting project she could have at it. and she made me promise whatever it was, it would be pink.)
jeff came home while i was only about 1/2 way through painting. he passed and said, “pink, tara?! pink?!” and i looked at him with the eyes that mean “praise me now or lose me forever!!” and so he said, “but i like it!” and i said, “its a CLOSET man. A CLOSET. chillax!”
we finished at 4:30. we did have some breaks for lunch time and other stuff (fights, consequences, computer support), so all in all, it took me about five hours to finish. we were still in our jammies.
and here it is, in all of its care bear splendor. (thanks lisa.) :)
that green basket on the floor holds our oilcloth tablecloths that protect the table and floor from artsy messes. i bought them from a sweet woman in mexico who sells oilcloth purses out of her house and hangs them from her fence so driversby can purchase. i knocked on her front door praying she spoke at least some english so she could understand what i wanted. and she did. and she made me two in three hours, while we hung out in rosarito beach.
so if you are still reading, thank you. for some reason i really wanted to write about my process. i feel like i accomplished something huge, that has been on my to do list forever. so i feel really great today.
when i first started my blog, i did this thing called One Project A Week. (OPAW) i think once a week will be too much for me, so i am going to do one project a month. (OPAM) anyone want to join me? im going to call this project my april OPAM. and my project for may is going to be to fill the 9 20×20 frames you can barely see in the top photo with the last 7 images it needs. once i do that, i will take a photo. i could post my before on may 1st, and my after on the last day of may. you all could post on your blogs too, and link in the comments here. wouldnt that be fun? we could all goad each other into finishing.
(and guess what, i already took that before picture).
It looks awesome!! The pink is perfect and fun, great work my dear!
ah, it all looks so very pretty (thank you ikea, we love you!). i would like to join the OPAM campaign! and on a monthly basis, it seems very practical. we have an new little addition joining us this fall, so this will help me get all organized before it all becomes a mess again! and ps, i wish we could take advantage of you while you are in the slc, but, hopefully in a couple years. thanks for your inspiring work, have a really great day!
Wow! That looks awesome! That pop of color is just incredible!
Love it!
xo,
Carmen
great closet! I really like the shelves & the color! :)
Love your sweet blog. So happy to see a new entry from in my blog reader you every time you update. Love your outlook on life. Your style..your photography….and your OPAM idea. I was just standing in the middle of the house wondering which project to tackle first. I’m in :-)
I’m with you on the project a month. I’m not sure what my May project will be, but there are plenty of things to choose from! :-)
That closet looks awesome. When we moved into our house, we had lived in apartments for almost three years, and were sick of white. We wanted color! So, we put blue stripes in the living room, an orangey-yellow called ember in the kitchen with firetruck red trim, and asparagus green in the spare bedroom. In the downstairs office/library/scrap-room we went crazy-hot pink, lime green and bright purple. A different color on each wall (the fourth is floor to ceiling closet). It’s our favorite room because it’s so different and fun. It’s a great creative space, and people are always shocked when they walk in there.
Sorry for the novel. :-) All that to say that I absolutely love the pink in the closet. The world is full of beautiful colors and everyone has their own style-I love when our spaces reflect that.
I so need one project a month.
We’ve been in our house a year and things need work.
Our last two homes were major fixer uppers w/ months and months of major work.
My momentum for such things has left the building (never really entered).
But this might be the push i need.
thanks!
such a fun idea! Love the color and all the little jars. thanks for sharing.
I’m in! I’m interpreting this as “on my list forever” type projects, so the first one I’ll tackle (in May) is the quilt for my master bed. We’ve been using mismatched blankies for too long, it’s time to grow up and have a real quilt. Good luck on your 20×20 frames!!
Wow. Love it, start to finish, but really AM Jonesing a before shot. Eric probably would handle the color okay, but the part about no tape or stuff to protect the floors would surely put him in his grave. That’s why we never paint around here. The prep work takes, like, 14 hours for a 2 hour paint job. I’m still gonna show him your pictures, though :)
I love your closet so much! I just adore it. I never would have thought pink would look so great but wow, it really does. I am up for the OPAM, but I think I will start in May. Thanks for sharing!
i love this!! love it, love it, love it!!
you inspire me in so many different ways, girl!
I’m gonna do it to our art closet too.
What a cool fun thing. :)
Oh…I’m game that sounds like fun the OPAW ….i’m w/ you a once a week project would be too much…too funny about the laundry room – that is what I want to do as well….not i got to find me a closet for art supplies…have you seen this room too – she did a fun job as well in her art closet…. http://pamgarrison.typepad.com/pamgarrison/2008/02/ode-to-alicia-o.html
love your photos!!!
absolutely love it! you have inspired me to do some home improvements too! thanks tara!
Dear TW- I so would like for you to come and do this to my hall closet (AKA: Craft hell). Thanks for the bit of inspiration. I now need to get busy and make this MAY OPAM! Oh, where do you get those great frames?
I love this!! my front closet is in desperate need of a makeover like this. my favorite part is the pink walls…i never would have thought of that! i’ve always wanted to paint one of my rooms orange and could never muster up the courage…i could definitely do the closet orange! thanks for the inspiration!! …and i’m up for the OPAM challenge!
tara. LOVE the pink (although i’m not notoriously a pink-lover myself).
where’d you get the frames?? my best guess is IKEA….but I WANT THEM!!! (okay. i won’t steal yours. you just gotta tell me where you got ’em!)
thanks. in advance, i mean ;)
i LOVE your blog. seriously, LOVE!
Great job Tara – love the color. I love those bold colors along with your cool baskets.
LOVE IT! I love your style! Dying to ask how your photos are mounted…the photos that we see to the right of the closet! Is that on matboard or like a 1/2in canvas??? Thanks! Keep up the amazing work!
this is inspiring! I am joining you for OPAI-think I can do 1 a month.
I’m so in on this. I have a list going of projects here and there that keeps getting longer and longer. Thanks for giving me a goal and an idea to hold me to it! Love your blog and photography!
Tara,
Long-time follower of your work, first-time poster … but your closet project inspired me to post MY weekend project which was putting the finishing touches on my new den! I wish I had a before picture (again, as you noted) because this room was majorly boring before a new coat of paint, several IKEA purchases and a few etsy purchases mixed in:
http://gailwernerphotography.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-new-favorite-spot-in-house.html
Thanks for sharing your projects in addition to your great photography – you are so stinkin’ creative!
the pink is definitely a happy surprise!
i was going to ask to see the arrangement of frames! so i’m looking forward to the after photo. :)
It’s about time you got those 19 3/4 x 19 3/4 frames filled!!!
I lurk on your blog ALL THE TIME! Love your photos and find them very inspirational. Something about this wonderful tidy closet inspired me by surprise. Makes me want to freshen up and tidy all the little forgotten spaces in my house.
I remember your OPAWs. I actually did it with you for awhile. good kick in the pants. I’m totally going to play along. I’m counting reorganizing my pantry yesterday as April’s. lol
I so love that art closet!! My son is only 17 months old, but I think I’m going to order that book right now too (already have it on my wishlist!!). I want him to have the same access to arts and crafts like you offer to your kiddos!!
I love the idea of OPAM! You couldn’t have posted on a better day for me – all I’ve been thinking about today is finding time for all those little things that need doing but keep getting ignored. Hmmm… what to do for May? Maybe I’ll finally finish my daughter’s room or the plantings in front of the house… Thanks for the inspiration!
it looks great! i think it’s wonderful to have little pockets of fun in the house. OPAM sounds like a great idea.
(oh, and LOL at the “praise me now or lose me forever” look!)
how fun is this?! i’m in for the opam thing. i can handle that and i have a few projects on my to-do list. let’s do it!
Tara, you never cease to amaze and inspire me. whether it is your photography, inspirational words or tidbits from your life. I love your blog, it is definatly one of my daily visits. I will be joining you on your one project a month. Again thanks for just being you!!
It’s PERFECT!!! I love it…love it I tell you…hehe! And I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO was checking out that picture of Drew on the wall before I even saw your OPAM thing. Love the idea and can’t wait to see the finished project. Once Again……..You inspire me girl!
that is awesome! what a great idea to store art supplies. we actually did paint our laundry room a bold color. the room is red and the appliances are white. i know, red isn’t that shocking, but its a bold color for us since the rest of our house is neutral. alot of people thought we were crazy for soing that, but its kinda fun.
I can’t tell if I’m inspired or jealous! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your closet. The color os perfect and the art supplies all organized and simply… oh, how I want that closet!
I love it… OPAM… I can probably handle that, and God knows… I’ve got projects!
I’m going to add that book to my summer reads, and designate a cupboard in our home for art (since we haven’t an extra closet kicking around… we do need our coats here in VT ;)
awesome job! the pink is so unexpected just love it, the baskets, jars, oil cloth are perfect. excellent idea to buy all new art supplies (recently looked at “the creative family book on amazon). your kids are just going to love it, so easy for them to be creative.
i will totally join in one project a month!
I love your closet! I am with you on the OPAM. It sounds better than OPAW anyway. My skirt I just finished will count as my April. Love the closet! I am in the process of turning our kitchen’s pantry into a great art/fabric closet with stuff organized and labeled and not just thrown in.
I love this! I have been doing lots of organizing in our house lately and this totally inspires me to break out some wild colours for the closets. Especially when I’m too afraid to do it on the main walls. And, I like the OPAM idea. I’ll have to think about that one.
so STINKING cute Tara! you have totally inspired me to take on my kid’s art cupboard (not as big as your closet, before summer, so the kiddos will have lots of art stuff when school gets out!!! Thanks!!
Where did you get the 20×20 frames? I LOVE those!!
Your closet turned out so cute! It’s so fun to look at!
R
oh, the fabulous-ness. i LOVE it. awesome. and, such a genius of an idea OPAM…i think i’ll try this. it’s so easy to get caught up in life stuff. and so many to-do lists with nothing ever really getting done. isn’t it amazing how accomplished we feel after doing something like this? so done, i’m on it…off to figure out which project i’ll start next! ;). -c
ok – i’m so in. very inspired by your productivity!! and can i ask you how/where you did the prints on the wall that is peeking in your first photo (drew, i think). I’d love to do that but can’t fathom how to hang them on the wall! thanks sweets and your new blog and website are eye candy (josie loves her feet on one of the faqs pages).
Great Idea! Unfortunately, my before pics might land me on Oprah’s clutter or hoarders shows! I would love to get one project a month done though.
Tara, what an awesome idea!! I need something to get me motivated for all the little projects that we have around our house. I am an RN and my husband is in the army. We have four kids (his and mine), and we rush EVERY single weekend, picking up and dropping off kids. I am hoping this will get me off of my tush and start working on some projects. Our house is 110 years old, and although it was remodeled before we bought it, there are tons of little things that need to be done. On top of the empty walls that are screaming for attention, and of course all the other little projects that I have going!! You have me motivated!! I am off to plan my May project! Thanks for the idea!! ~Stacee~
a photo a day.. a project a month.. i might need a calendar..LOL LOVE the cupboard.. (ROTFL at – praise me now or lose me forever.. I am SO using that!) I LOVE the idea of over the top fun colours in the cupboard…(and jeff.. it COULD be a feature wall..LOL) … I was going to start with a herb garden (easy project i was getting too).. but.. my big.. I NEED TO DO IT project would be a photo of all three of us.. there isnt a single one! so.. thats me… a family photo.
Tara, I LOVE that colour :) I’ve been planning something along the same lines – I want vibrant colours on the inside of my kitchen cabinets, so that when I open a door I get ZINGED with happiness. We’ve only been here 3 1/2 years, so I guess I still have time, eh? Now let’s see how long your cupboard can stay looking that tidy LOL.
fantastic!!
love the color
and the OPAM idea.
we’ll be moving on may 1st so this will give me incentive
to paint the new house…rust orange is NOT going to match my couch!!
LOL
:)
Awesome awesome idea:)