I got in and did some measurements of my studio-to-be yesterday, producing a far better floor plan. I then took my furniture measurements and spent several happy hours dragging, rotating, etc. my virtual furniture, until I came up with this (click for the large version):
The hard part was fitting in the storage shelf: it occupies a hefty 2×4 footprint AND needs at least two feet clear in front, so I can get the storage boxes in and out. I’m seriously considering banishing it to the garage, but am worried about moths getting into the yarn. I have a 200-pound stash, about a hundred pounds of which is silk or cashmere. Moths would be very, very expensive (and frustrating!). I do have everything sealed in plastic bags in see-through plastic boxes, but the plastic tubs don’t seal air-tight and the air-tight ones I’ve seen have all been opaque, which makes finding yarns a LOT harder. If anyone knows of a source for large, clear plastic tubs with a tight seal, please let me know!
I’m also considering putting in a slightly smaller bookcase where the dress form is now (the space is only 33″, so my 36″ bookcases won’t fit there) and moving the dress form to directly behind the other door. This would put it in my working space, instead of at the other side of the room.
But on the whole, I’m happy with this layout – now I just have to see whether my measurements were accurate! The arrangement is tight enough that a few inches will make a huge difference, so once the furniture is in the room, I’ll have to rearrange it physically before I really know whether it works.
Next on the hit parade will be laying out the weaving studio – but I think I will leave that until after we close escrow, currently scheduled for May 4. (But may happen sooner, if the tenant moves out early.)
Meanwhile, I have discovered Scrivener, an amazing writing tool that I think will be very helpful for the book. I had been getting bogged down because the book was getting too long for me to keep track of everything in it, which led to procrastination, frustration, and a definite risk of abandoning the project altogether. Then someone pointed me at Scrivener, and it’s wonderful! It lets you write in chunks and keeps a summary of each chunk in a “card”. You can drag and drop the “cards” on the noteboard to reorganize the pieces. And lots of other cool, cool stuff. This is awesome! And it’s only $40.
Here’s a screenshot. You can check out the full program here.
Hi Tien, What if you use a Foodsaver to seal the yarns before putting them into the bins? That way they are visible but protected from bugs, etc. Bags are very reasonable on eBay, even though they are super expensive at the stores. You can get them in all sizes and quantities as well, Mary
I use these water tight boxes with locking handles from the Container Store. They come in reasonable sizes, are semi-transparent so you can see the contents, the lids lock into place with the black handles, and the seal locks out both air and water. The plastic isn’t truly clear, it’s kind of a milky translucent, but it’s good enough that I can take a box and flip it back and forth to see what’s in it without opening it, and I can even read larger yarn labels through it.
Thanks for the pointer to Scrivener. I’ll have to check it out.
Oh, and my kid has these which are absolutely wonderful and the lids are nearly strong enough to sit on. I lust after them, but they’re too big for the space I have.