The Creativity Cabinet

I created a dedicated space for creative endeavors.

The addition to our house is soooo close to being done. It has been months in progress and literally down to a handful of finishing touches. But — those finishing touches are still enough that we cannot move any furniture into the new rooms yet.

Several months ago, I bought a cabinet from World Market, anticipating that I would put it into my new office. However, once my husband and I drew out the specs of the room, size proportionate (using Visio) and placed all of the planned furniture into the room, I realized it wasn’t going to fit in the way that I had hoped.

Last week, the doorway to the addition was cut into our existing kitchen. Painting and flooring are done, and I can really picture what the added space will do for our living situation. I am itching to move in, but instead have to admire it from an “almost there” distance.

So while I wait for the final pieces to come together, I moved my beautiful cabinet into the kitchen. It wasn’t where I had planned, but it makes sense. And who knows? Maybe it will end up moving again when all of this is over and we are settled. But it satisfied my need to “do something.”

I dubbed it “The Creativity Cabinet.” My kids love to do projects, and usually we end up sprawled over the kitchen table. I gathered up art supplies and art books from the scattered corners of the house: paints, crayons, markers, colored pencils, notebooks, construction paper.

We have books on drawing, books about famous artists, and coloring books. For additional inspiration, I included issues of National Geographic — which I read, in paper form, every month, but then become the source for collages or school projects. I have a few toddler coloring books, and three-ring binders to hold completed treasures.

I was so pleased with the end result, readily accessible in the center of our home. Before its completion, my older kids had been working in their basement playroom on an “art project” that involved construction paper, tape, and — to my dismay — glitter paint. At least I can hope to corral the glitter paint to a part of the house that would be easier to clean.

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