apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Love it, and the last picture answered my question about lighting.

Where are the paisley stamps/stencils (?) from?

Very nice!

fabulous!

LOVE IT!

I'm totally inspired!

Just WOW! Soooo lovely!!!

I'm not sure I'm convinced how much crafting could be done at such a small table, but this is still really great!

great job!!

oh my word. I need Esther's help!

That is the Eliza Doolittle of closet makeovers.

I hope she doesn't want to move her elbows at all while she's sitting in that tiny closet on that hard stool. It is very pretty though.

Awesome!

W - O -W !

This is so cute. How did you do the gilded stencils? Is there special paint for that?

I would take the door off to increase the sense of space, unless it's important that it's hidden most of the time.

I do think it's charming but I'm not quite buying that she can unroll wrapping paper on that tiny tabletop...

im absolutely infatuated...

I really like this...well done!

reactions to this item have sparked some self-reflection. i must admit: a lot of times i can be a bitchy little naysayer, always finding the potential problems or pointing out flaws. but this is beautiful! what a wonderful job! and so why would anyone feel compelled to critique the transformation of space from something not only ugly but also *inefficient* to something beautiful, practical, and well-designed (in terms of usage)?

so um, i think you'll be fine in terms of elbow space. i don't flail about wildly when i'm decoupaging or making fine cuts with an xacto knife--do you?

anyways, lovely lovely work. would you mid sharing how you measured and cut the tabletop and shelves to get them to fit so neatly?

Yah, I was going to ask about how you measured and cut the tabletop and shelves so perfectly too! I think the space looks great and is the perfect spot to have moments of creativeness! Also, I'm definitely stealing the idea of covering the ikea magnet strips with wrapping paper... why didn't I think of that??

Great job!!

Awesome! I especially like the magnet strips.

great job esther. really nice.

I heart the pink edging! what a nice surprise.

Genius.

Very nice!

This is fabulous. Even if you can't do big things in the space, you can do small projects or just find a clear area to take care of bills or correspondence.

This is the sort of thing I'd dearly love to see more of on AT. Someone has taken a small space and really made it shine.

Hello, this is Esther.

Thanks for checking out my "craft" closet. It is indeed quite small, and I must confess that I don't roll out wrapping paper, sew, or do anything else in it that requires a bit of elbow space. But, it is a great place to compose snail mail on pretty stationary. So maybe i should re-name it my "writting nook".

To answer some of your questions:

1. The stencil came from StencilKingdom.com after looking through lots of different websites.

Stencilsearch.com was very useful. It allows users to tailor their search based on a specific design, or style.

2. I found special paint for stencils, which felt like finger paint and/or shoe polish. It comes in all colors, and I barely used 1/3 of one pot. I ordered my equipment from walltowallstencils.com. It's the paint they call "cremes." The application on the wall was a piece of cake.

3. The shelves were already in there when I moved in. But for the desk top, I cut out a piece of carboard (multiple times) so that it fit in the closet, and used it as a pattern that I took to Cliff's on Castro, where they custom cut a piece of medium density fiberboard based on the pattern.

By the way:
spray glue to adhere the wrapping paper to the Ikea magnet strips = no mess & a smooth surface

Thanks again for the compliments!

- Esther

excellent! and yes, take the door off!

replace it with a fabulous, thick, rich curtain and tie back you love.

enjoy!

I just did this myself, last month. Maybe there's a craft closet meme sweeping the nation?

Mine is much more pastiche and not nearly as beautiful and elegant as Esther's, though. In case you're interested, here are some pictures:

Before, ugh: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jupiterooos/2719859964/

Long view: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jupiterooos/2719860354/

Closeup 1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jupiterooos/2719859060/

Closeup 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jupiterooos/2719859476/

I took off the door and hung a curtain, seen in these pics, but I took it off because it was pointless.

Esther, You are an inspiration. I am a home organizer and am always trying to get my clients to transform small 'junk' spaces into dedicated, useful, ones. Every single client has trouble picturing the final product, so your space will now be an example for future clients. Love the idea of covering the magnetic strips!

Esther. You're a freaking genius. I want you to be mayor.

Hang 12 tops or bottoms using one Hanger. If you suffer from a small closet and need more space and want to stay organized than check out the HankyTankyHanger.

Thanks