Where and how do you do your best work?

[heidiiiii]

The majority of my supplies are in the diningroom. But I mostly work in the livingroom on a tv table. I put something on that is basically background noise. I usually do all my work in the later mornings. No one to bother me at that time. Once the house is hopping with people I start to lose track of what I am doing. Waiting for the day when I can take over one of the bedrooms upstairs!

[Rhonda from the Bluegrass]

Well, I TRY to make myself work in my official studio . . . BUT, since I not only do dollhouses, but beadwork and polymer clay, I don't really have enough room in there. So, even though I am single & live in a 2-story, 3-bedroom house (plus 2 1/2 car garage), I tend to have all my stuff spread all over the house. Also, my garage is jam packed with supplies (I barely manage to keep my van in there). I hope that this Spring I can afford to totally re-do my garage - streamline it with large rubbermaid containers and remove shelving to make more room. Then, I plan to set up an official workshop area with my power tools. I've either got to do something for more room in here, or I've got to move to a bigger house! Also, I am going to try to revamp my living room - I've got one huge wall that currently has shelves for movies and cd's. I plan to move all that stuff somewhere else and turn it in to a dollhouse display area only. Wish me luck . . . I'm going to need it!

[Tilly Wants Cake]

I do best when I start working early, but I can go 30 hours without stopping if I'm in the zone!

I like to have DVDs on in the background - no commercials, I already know the story so I don't have to pay attention, and the computer can play them for me. When my husband is just hanging around, I'll work on a folding table near him. This weekend he'll be out of town, though, so I'm sure I'm going to thoroughly take over the art studio/computer room. The trouble with that, though, is that it's too easy to roll the chair over and check my email.

[Selkie]

While I don't have much time to actually "DO" much anymore -- I actually have plenty of room - although it's always a HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE mess everywhere !!!!!!!!!! I always have at least a dozen or more projects going at a time. It's always a disaster area. I HAVE to keep it contained in my official working rooms b'cuz it isn't safe to have out where little fingers might get into dangerous (for them) supplies.

I'm a night owl by nature and find the solace of the midnight hours the most productive. Unfortunately that doesn't work well with the 3 little ones that are living with me now. They get up far too early for that kind of personal play anymore. I'll get back to it all when they are older. Til then, I just peck away at the littler things I can do with them.

I have an art studio complete with several easels, drafting table, work tables, wall cupboards, counter, lots of different kinds of shelves, a drying rack for artwork on the wall, toolboxes and printing equipment, clay area, oil, acrylic and pastel areas, glass painting area, a walk-in closet with more shelves and an old, old, old kitchen sink with the old fashioned back splash and deep well. There are tons of boxes, baskets, and bins on top of the cupboards and under the tables storing all kinds of junk. The kids have their own child sized easel and trunk of art supplies in there too. The doors all have clear over-the-door shoe hangers on them to hold even more small item supplies for easy retrieval.

Then I have a craft/sewing room (one of the bedrooms) where I have all my sewing, craft, weaving stuff set up, pegboards on the wall to hold thread holders and rows of ribbon, supplies, etc., sets of cheap plastic drawers holding sewing and dollhouse things all sorted by type (like elastic, lace, fasteners, glues, etc.) They are underneath two long tables (one for cutting and one for dollhouses), plus a 2 desk type items one for the sewing machine and one for the overlock/serger (tub style bins underneath of sewing and dh supplies), plus adjustable shelves on two walls, a little love seat and a tv, dvd, vcr (that way the kiddos can be under supervision while I'm doing something).

In the hall between the two rooms and at the top of the back stairs (old house with 2 sets of stairs) sits my unfinished Garfield b'cuz I can't get it thru the doorways of either room so it's adrift in the middle. Poor planning on my part ... oh well ...

I also have what might be called a walk in closet (I call it the cave) where I have a little personal office set up for myself (computer, book shelves, storage bins, lg stacking flat files for paper storage, etc. It's off the art studio on the other side. It's actually an attic space of one of the attached out buildings we have. No windows.

In the regular upstairs attic, I store all my floral arranging supplies on a little wall that I rigged up with chicken wire to slip the stems thru and then attached a clear vinyl curtain over it to keep them dust free. All the banners I make are stored hanging up there too as well as all my zillions of bins of cloth and weaving supplies.

Oh, and I do have a wood working shop underneath my "cave" where I do all the messy sawing and sanding and such. I have to share that with other folks in the family though. So there is softball, camping, hiking and skiiing equipemnet in there to - NONE of which I would ever think of using !!!! Can you tell what bent "I" am and "they" are?

So, if someone would just invent a time stretching machine so I could have more time, I'd be all set. Anyone out there figured that out yet?

[Rosie Rabbit]

What an interesting poll! I have no work space to speak of except the "dining room" table, which isn't in an actual dining room, just a corner of the living room. Everything's stashed in boxes, cartons, and bags that move from place to place and get hidden in closets when the house-cleaners come. Right now there's a gas station on the dining room table, a bungalow on the coffee table, and a log cabin kit under the armoire.

I like to play "cozy" dvds when I'm doing projects-- something I've seen before so I don't have to pay attention, something with lots of interesting interiors, like the old Peter Wimsey mysteries or a movie like Laura.

[Corwin]

My work room is in the gallery, I reorganized it, now it's small and next to the furnace, I too work best at night and with 60s/70s music on, My stations also plays 80's I don't' care for them to much but they are bearable if they played rapp i would have to switch. (No offense)

[havanaholly]

I build in my workshop off the bedroom, and I work during the day because I have north light and the artificial light sucks. I sculpt in the kitchen, since I bake clay on the back porch, and I stitch in front of the TV.

[Anna]

Hmmm, interesting.... Give me any open space and I am game LOL, I am a night owl by nature so that works well as inpiration, but then again I am easily up in the mornings as well so really anytime works great, just need to get the chores out of the way first and then that thing called work bit other than that, I can mini anywhere LOL.

Hugs

[Audra]

I have a mini room that has 3 houses in there. It has a small walk in closet where I added shelving to store minis (and xmas presents - kids won't look there). I tend to build/work in the living room. I have a smaller under the bed tote that stores whatever mini thing I am doing, with a piece of cardboard on the top. I sit on the floor and work away right there. My family does not complain, well, not to me anyway! I work best in the morning and day. I don't have to be to work until 9, so I will do little things before work also.