Creating your own Workshop Part 4 - searching for inspiration

Welcome to  the Workshop Series brought to you by

 Funky Junk Interiors and Mustard Seed Creations!

 Today Miss Mustard Seed is leading Part 4 of her decorative painting seminar. She's going to show you how to blend colours to create amazing highlights and details. This week your painting comes to life so don't miss it!

First, let's get started with Funky Junk's series,

Creating your own Workshop

Entire series to date  HERE

1. Pick your spot.

2. Purge

3. Determine your needs.

4. Search for inspiration and ideas

5. Develop your plan

6. Go shopping

7. Install

Part 4: Searching for inspiration and ideas
(sorry for audio issues, still on the learn here)

(watch larger version on Vimeo)

Honestly, shopping for inspiration for workshops is exactly like decorating your home. If you're looking for creative solutions without high costs, do as you do for your livingroom. Visiting your nearest thrift (to help support a good cause) will only lead you to a unique setup. How cool is that?

Ideas for setups and storage can be found anywhere. Internet, magazines, friend's shops, books, thrift stores, you name it. As you can see by the video, I didn't have the best of luck finding realistic garage type solutions online, however if you have some good net inspiration, feel free to share the link with your comment. :)

However, for crafters/sewers?!? My first workshop post HERE covered that quite nicely in one fell swoop! (Lucky you!)

When figuring out what I wanted for my own workshop, I personally have found the best garage type  inspiration looking through woodworking magazines. Great ideas? Ohhhh yeah. However, those types of setups will cost you some investment money.

So this is what I suggest. Before taking the financial plunge for the ultimate, consider what YOU already have FIRST. The price is free. Shop around your place and consider:

1. Work surfaces

2. Containers

3. Space saving ideas

4. Adding your own flair

Here. Allow me to show you what I mean.

1. Work surfaces

old metal ironing board

Got one of these kicking around? Fabulous short order table top for most anything in a pinch. Lightweight, collapsible, compact, adjustable height, what more could you desire? This is my old one, which are sold cheap in any thrift.

ladders and boards

If you need a quick temporary shelving system for all your stuff, boards and ladders will get you there. An instant portable workbench even way out in the middle of your lawn.

I'll admit, I inspired myself with that ladder idea so this is what I did yesterday at work! Sure beat lugging a heavy table around for such a short required timespan. Collapsible sawhorses are another good fix for this one.

collapsible table

Need something a little more permanent but not so permanent? Folding tables clean up well, collapse, are sturdy, and come in a variety of sizes. I get mine from Costco.

a whatever base with a whatever top #1

This dresser serves many purposes in my eyes. Other than the obvious storage, the top has a very unusual wide overhang which is perfect for clamping things down.

But add a couple of shelving boards on top, you now have a long and narrow worktable right smack dab in the middle of a single car garage, with still enough room to walk around.

a whatever base with a whatever top #2

This is an old cupboard in which I found two.  Picture a board across the top and you have a customized workstation that can go virtually anywhere. All 3 pieces were $10 from the thrift.

2. Storage

I prefer my storage to be mobile whenever possible. This makes bringing the items to your given project more efficient.

buckets and containers

Doesn't get much simpler than this. I hoard yogurt containers and their lids for paint too.

boxes, totes, tool boxes

This is how I store screws, nails etc IN my cupboards. When you need something, you take out the whole box. I  prefer a simple cardboard box with screws in their original containers so you know the size and type they are.

 

baskets and totes of any kind

Working on the run? When working on a project that's not in the workshop, I like trays or totes. They're easy to transport and keep everything in it's place, even when placed in the middle of a kitchen table. When the project is done, everything goes back to it's orginal home.

3. Space saving  ideas

high shelving

Utilize unused space and think up. See how high this shelf is? There's enough space for 2 cans high, which clears head room for the work station directly below.

cans staggered

Here the cans are staggered to increase space efficiency.

layering storage

The wood storage is layered vertically behind a work table, yet all is still very accessible. Two for the price of one!

Originality

Just remember, most anything with cubbies or shelves or a top can be a productive part of your workshop. I am personally using a chicken coop (in which MMS has seen) of all things to store some tools! I think I need to leave my funky surprise for the final reveal. How devious is that?!? :)

Have I convinced you that you don't need anything too special to set up your workshop? Think function first, and the rest will follow.

ME - "So Miss Mustard Seed, do you have any tips on what you use in your workshop that is very effective and has cost you very little? How about something totally outside of the box original?

MMS - ""Our workshop is a mess right now and I'm afraid it's going to stay that way until we get some warmer temperatures here. (I can't believe how green your grass is! And you're in Canada? The frozen north?)

ME - "We don't have real winters in Canada's banana belt. Just pretend ones that last one day. I guess I overlooked that small detail when implementing this creating a workshop idea. Oops!

MMS - "One solution we've implemented in our workshop was using cinderblocks and boards for shelving. We needed a lot of shelving for all of my paint, sand paper, equipment, etc. Shelving can be expensive, but boards and cinderblocks are cheap. It's sturdy and provides loads of storage."

"I also look for cabinets, shelving, pegboard, and work surfaces whenever I'm out at yardsales. I've found a $5.00 vintage kitchen cabinet that's perfect for hardware storage, a $5.00 plastic shelving unit, and $2.50 sheets of pegboard (with the UVA emblem...go Hoos!) We were also fortunate enough to have 3 work benches convey when we purchased our house, so we have a pretty nice set up." 

ME - "Ahhh I remember cinder blocks! I created a shelving unit out of them at a previous workplace. My fav part was how easy it was to customize to the required size in a jiffy!"

MMS - "By the way, Donna, I love the ironing board idea and your chicken coop.Very clever!"

Next time:

#5. Developing your plan

Now's the time to move your dreams into action! I'll take you on a tour of my own garage and show you how I've developed my own plan, while pointing out the pros and cons to what I have on the go. (my setup is NOT perfect which is real life, no?)

I'll go over:

- tips to consider when mounting permanent fixtures, such as cabinets
- lighting quirks
- easy way to mount anything to drywall, no matter how heavy the object is

Homework

1.  Look for inspiration and ideas

a) Shop at home first, and gather up:

storage solutions

containers

table tops

bases

b) Seek other sources for inspiration

magazines

friends' workshop

internet

books

thrift stores

c) Consider:

1. Unusual and quick work surfaces

2. Mobile containers

3. Space saving ideas

4. Adding your own flair

Your turn!

In comments, let's hear...

*Where are you at with your own workshop progress this week?

*What do you have right at home already that would be the perfect candidate for your new setup?

*Are you wishing upon stars for something awesome to get in particular?

If you have an update or  inspirational link to share, feel free with your comment. We'd love to peek. :)

After your comments, head on over to Mustard Seed Creations. We're getting really fancy with that paint now. :)

 
<center><a href="http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Funky Junk's Workshop Series" src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/signmakergirl/fjiworkshop150.jpg"/></a></center> We're nearly done! Will you be ready?