Creating my happy place for next to nothing

I have been wanting to have a place that I can call my own.  A happy place that is filled with my wrapping supplies, paint, sewing projects, etc.  I don't need a large space or a room dedicated to it, and I contemplated using part of a room, or even a spot in the master bedroom, and then it dawned on me!  We have a narrow walk-in closet in the back room upstairs that just had some junk thrown in it.  The space is long enough for me to lay down in it, but not wide enough for me to stretch out my arms or anything.  Here are some pictures of the BEFORE...

 

I then decided it would be perfect to add a "countertop" or "desk" in the space and for it to fit on top of the bottom "ledge" that already existed.  This can be cut at any local home depot or Lowe's.

 

I painted the walls with left over paint from my downstairs living room in Benjamin Moore's Owl Gray and the wood trim white.

 

 

I built this simple Martha Stewart bookcase to house all of my miscellaneous items from tissue paper, gift bags, cards, paint supplies, boxes, etc. Oh and I'm loving that window in my new closet-craft-office! Not so claustrophobic after all.

 

Here are a few pics of the AFTER...

 

I wallpapered the back wall with a cute dragonfly print I found on Etsy. The framed print is also from Etsy from Elizabeth Mayville.  I went to Home Depot and had a 3/4" dowel cut to the length I needed to stretch the width of the closet and now my ribbon is very accessible!  I  love that I can store my sewing machine at arms reach and easily grab it when needed.  (I'm still debating what to do with the actual rod at the top. Cover in dragonfly print or paint white? What do you think?)

 

I researched a couple ideas on Pinterest to get my creative juices flowing. I loved the idea of storing my colorful wrapping paper all together where it could be seen and easily accessed.  This was also done by using a pre-cut dowel from Home Depot and old curtain rod brackets.  Homegoods came through with the pretty grayish baskets on the top shelf.  This is where all of my sewing fabric is stored.

 

Here is a view from outside the closet.  It truly is just a closet!! Do you love that gold stool? I worked on that last weekend...you can view that tutorial here.  The whole closet transformation was pretty cheap. $35 for bookcase, $3 for dowels, $15 for wallpaper, $20 for framed print, $25 for baskets, and the rest was leftovers from other projects.

 

One more Before and After recap:

 

 

 

Now I can wrap a present, sketch a picture, dabble in my water colors or just admire the fall weather out my window!  The next closet transformation awaits me....