If you recall, I’ve been working on organizing Suraya’s side of the room and making it look prettier. I’ve made her a framed monogram, pillows for her bed, and a magnet board for her magnet collection. Next up was organizing her desk and space.
Suraya loves arts and crafts. Her arts and crafts supplies were in desperate need to get organized as was her desk. It completely slipped my mind to take a before picture of her desk area. The above picture I had taken when I was taking pictures of the magnet board, so I think it can do the job as the before picture;) As you can see in the picture, other than things just being thrown on top of her desk, she also had a lot going on under her desk leaving her no space for her legs. Also, what you can’t see in the picture is Susu’s desk right behind Suraya’s big bulky black chair (courtesy of her daddy) which makes a small appearance in the above picture. There is barely any space for Suraya to get in and out of her desk. See where it says “small space”… that’s all the space Suraya had to move her chair back and forth or to get in and out of her desk! I had to move Susu’s desk back to even pull that chair out! Basically, Suraya also needed some breathing space in that tiny area. Throughout the next few posts, I’ll be sharing with you the changes that I have made to Suraya’s space: organized, breathable, and of course prettier!
The first thing I decided to work on is organizing her arts and crafts supplies. I had come up with some ideas of how to organize her supplies. One of the ideas was to get crates or baskets and organize them on her desk, but since she has a small desk, I felt a bunch of crates or baskets wouldn’t leave her with much space to work on her desk. Then finally an idea struck! See in the picture above the light green box to the right of her desk? Recognize that box? Well, if not, it’s the play kitchen! As I mentioned in the play kitchen post, that kitchen has been patiently waiting for two years for someone to put it together and put it to some use. Suraya is 8… an age where she may still be interested in playing with the kitchen, but at the same time I could see her getting sick it of it quickly. So why not make some other use for it? Yup, you guessed it! I thought it would be fun to turn the kitchen into an arts and crafts supply center!
As you can see from the things that I have made for Suraya’s part of the room, the colors I went with for her are purple, aqua, and pink. So it couldn’t be more perfect that the kitchen was pink!
Glues, all sorts of tapes, scissors, and pencil sharpener went into the microwave. Writing utensils (pens & pencils), colored pencils, and miscellaneous went on the shelves behind the curtain. Construction paper, all things foam, glitter, and paint supplies went into the oven. Markers and crayons behind the stove.
Her favorite books and current read went on the top shelf with the book ends that I had made her back in February. The book ends were a thrift shop find for $1.00. Before we left the store, Suraya dropped one of the book ends and it broke. But it was an easy fix with some Gorilla glue! Originally the book ends were white and had images of Peter Rabbit which was cute… but Suraya wasn’t too fond of the images so I did a makeover over for her. A makeover that I never took pictures of until now! It’s just coincidence that I used aqua and pink for the bookends! Phew!
Also included for display were some of the things that Suraya made… clay pottery car and small bowl, painted wooden flower in vase, and the coasters she made at my craft party.
As for the sink, I left it for Suraya to use it however she wants. Every night before bedtime, Suraya likes to place a cup of water on her desk because sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night thirsty. I told her she can place her cup of water in the sink…hehe. Hey, it’s a sink after all, and it’s right next to her bed… easy reach!
There you have it… Suraya’s kitchen art supply center! What do you think?
As you can see in the second picture, I did move the desk. The desk is still there, it’s just facing the other side of the wall instead. That move not only made space for the kitchen, but also breathable space. Don’t worry, I’ll be sharing a picture of the entire space. Just be sure to come back!
shirley@housepitalitydesigns said:
I love it…you are so creative!!….I am sure she is loving it too!!…Love the colors in her room…was wondering what you will be doing with the little kitchen!
ColleenB. said:
I think it turned out pretty Awesome.
I had a feeling that you where going to be doing something like this with that kitchen set. Both had same thought.
ColleenB.
Amy @ whilewearingheels.blogspot.com said:
Brilliant. What a sweet way to ensure her kitchen be used for years to come. It’s a good thing you finally got around to putting it together :)…and I definitely agree, Suraya needs a more inspiring and organized space to create. I can’t wait to see what you do with the rest of her side of the room.
Maureen Hayes said:
Terrific idea! This saves the kitchen from her growing out of it, and it makes a nice storage center for her crafting supplies! Maybe I try buying a kitchen set to corral my own supplies?!
Karen @ Folk Haven said:
What a great use for the kitchen. And the shade of pink is just perfect! It looks great, makes her space so much more useable, and could still be used as a kitchen if the mood ever strikes her. All in all a perfect solution!
sahara said:
awesome!!, will definitely be back for the finale!!!
Vanessa @ See Vanessa Craft said:
Super cute! Thanks for linking up!
Lucy Heath (@capturebylucy) said:
I love this! I am using my son’s wooden kitchen to display some party food but will definitely think of this idea as he gets older! Brilliant!
Hani Shabbir said:
awww this is so cute.. :) Thanks for linking it up at Friday Fun Party. Have a nice weekend.
Heidi said:
Wow! A kitchen and an art center in one!
I’m hosting my first linky party “One Creative Weekend” at OneCreativeMommy.com. I’d love for you to visit and link up this idea or anything else you’d like to share.
thebeadden said:
Fantastic! Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!
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Natasha said:
what a great idea!!
would love it if you could share this on my link party – http://serenityyou.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/serenity-saturday-47.html
Jennifer Dawn said:
What a cute idea! I started a brand new link party today. I would love it if you stopped by and linked this up. :) http://thelifeofjenniferdawn.blogspot.com/2012/07/little-bird-told-me-link-party-1.html
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