Small Space

My current master bedroom is smaller than my childhood bedroom. My college dorms have all been larger than my current apartment.  The house I rented alone in Georgia before we got married was bigger than the apartment we rent now.  We have tasted the sweetness of comfortable, affordable housing and California demands we forget it. I crave square footage like your dieting friend craves pizza.

Taking up sewing as a hobby in California has been a challenge. Sewing and the accumulation of material goods goes hand in hand. The fabric stash. The notions. The projects in progress.  I have spent hours feeding my square footage addiction by gorging on craft room porn and fabric stashes that ooze material indulgence. 

I discovered this fall that my fabric collection was growing rather than shrinking. At Christmas I received fantastic gifts of new fabric, estate sale fabric lots, and notions that made my heart sing! My plastic tote storage strategy was failing. I couldn't quickly access the fabrics and the totes were choking the closet they occupied. I pulled everything out and piled it up so I could get an idea of how much there was.  After explaining my dilemma to Quentin he agreed to help me find a solution at the Long Beach Antique Market. 

We found these great metal drawers that were perfect for my application. I think we spent $160 for 12 drawers. The drawers lock together in an earthquake friendly fashion, they are visually on trend, and the footprint of these drawers is far less than the plastic tubs!  After we got these home I realized they were manufactured in Akron, Ohio (my childhood hometown)!

If I ever reach a sewing state of minimalism, the boxes can easily be repurposed in our home. Quentin sanded the green units, finished them with gray paint, and I lined them with some magnolia wallpaper.

It took me a week to purge useless material, wash, iron, fold, and load the fabric into the drawers and the result is perfect and astonishingly better for our space! Can you believe that massive pile fit in these drawers?!

My hobby must stay contained by these drawers or I'll face a painful purge.  I'm excited by some beautiful projects I have in the works for 2015!