Green Mamma’s Room

Two weeks from now marks our one year anniversary in our home. Sold to us as a 3 bedroom home, we anticipated turning our home’s third bedroom, currently a loft, into a room for one of our children. For the first 6 months, the loft served as a sitting space where we stored books, a rocking chair, and my hope chest. When I decided that I wanted to learn to sew, we moved an old folding table upstairs (left behind by the previous owners in our laundry room). To create a crafting table, I spruced up the folding table with a rustic tablecloth made from yellow and purple floral fabrics and covered it with a clear piece of vinyl (to catch spills and messes from crafting).

Sadly, my sewing ambitions suffered over this past year because of my desire to write, mother, take photos, and be with people. I do hope, however, to sew. For now though, my machine rests in a prominent place so that one of these days, when the time and right project come along, a humming sewing machine will be heard (and not just a singing Annabelle).

I packed up my folding table, rolled up the vinyl (it makes a fine crafting mat for projects with Annabelle), and repurposed my yellow and purple fabrics as table and desk covers.

Then I found a desk on Freecycle that needed someone new to love it. I painted it white and purple, borrowing leftover paint from the color scheme used in Annabelle’s room (it really is too bad that I failed to capture a before photo of the desk). I added new hardware to the drawers and asked my husband to sand down the warped wooden sides of the drawers.

A few days later on a weekly trip to the Goodwill, I noticed a white chair that seemed to be waiting for me. $10 later it was in the hatchback of my station wagon and on its way to my writing space. At home, I topped it off with a yellow seat cushion.

Together, the found desk and chair make a perfect pair. I placed my new work station by the window in our loft so that I may see the trees when I write.

I reorganized my idea board by posting cards with ideas to inspire my writing: parenting, the environment, breastfeeding, gardening, journaling, collage, spirituality, education, and photography. My totem images include a photograph of my father from his service in Vietnam (what a handsome dad I had. He looks like James Dean), the cover of Rolling Stone featuring Barack Obama, and a photograph of my husband and me in Peru.

The best part about my writing room’s new layout with the small desk is that it opens up the space for play and crafting on the floor. Later this week I will post photos of a new art project that Annabelle and I worked on here one night.

So this is my writing space. Where I spend my time. Just thought I’d give you a little glimpse into my world . . .