I’m almost too embarrassed to show the before pictures of what was going on in my kitchen, but I’m going to display them in this post, in hopes of helping the greater good! I’m sure that some of you out there can surely commiserate with me, but hopefully you’ll find this post inspirational if you have an art supply area of your own that needs a little overhaul!
Here’s the scoop, folks! We have had a small kids IKEA table with four chairs in our kitchen/breakfast nook for several years now. On it sat a box filled with markers, pencils, glue sticks, papers, etc. The kids have always gravitated to this area, as it’s a great spot for them to color and draw while I’m in the kitchen cooking in the evenings. It all started out innocently enough, but over the years, this art supply center became the bane of my existence each time I glanced at it as I walked by.
The table had become a catch-all for all the kids’ stuff—discarded party favors, slime, markers without caps, papers that had already been colored on, etc. You get the picture. When we had guests over I tried to organize it as best I could but it was still an eyesore, not to mention it really wasn’t functioning as an art table any more because it was so filled up with stuff that the kids didn’t have anywhere to sit and do art! Trust me when I say that I cleaned up this table before I took the before pics, and it still doesn’t look very good!
Finally, last week, I decided I had had enough and knew I had to re-think this art supply area. One of the things I knew needed to happen was I needed to get rid of the table! (Side note: I actually moved the table outside because my kids are into excessive slime making and I’ve banned slime from inside the house, but that’s a story for another day!)
The table sat in an area that is actually a secondary passthrough from our breakfast nook to our dining room. After thinking about how best to handle this situation, I decided that I wanted to get the art supplies off the table and onto the walls so that I could reclaim that passthrough into my dining room!
With a small plan (but not a clear picture) in mind, I headed over to The Container Store to see if any type of organizational items “spoke to me.”
Farmhouse Magnetic Chalkboard | Perch Shelfy | Poppin Softie Grip Organizer
14″ Aqua Mighty Magnetic Strips | Acrylic Pencil Cups
And, boy oh boy, did I find some great stuff! I had the BEST time designing and implementing our new art supply wall thanks to the wonder of of magnetic boards, containers, shelves and a little elbow grease!
Teal Stumpy Container | Bitsy Container
The best part about these magnetic boards, strips, and systems is that they are completely movable and interchangeable depending on your needs! Have a lot of markers and pens? Add another pencil cup! Have a ton of papers? Add another paper holder! The possibilities are endless.
Farmhouse Magnetic Chalkboard | Perch Shelfy | Teal Stumpy Container | Bitsy Container
I even added a little magnetic bud vase to the board since my kids pick flowers for me on the walk home from school, and I now have a designated spot for their flowers!
The best part about this whole thing is that my kids were SO excited to see what I had done with their messy art table! They do their art and projects at the kitchen table, get the items they need from the art supply wall, and then everything goes back to its home when they are finished. So far, it’s been working out beautifully. They can find and access everything they need easily!
I used two walls (actually the sides of two different cabinets) in my kitchen on either side of the passthrough. I love that this space, which was previously unused, now is used for something practical, functional, and aesthetically pleasing! Hooray for organization and taking my kitchen back!
Perch Shelfy | 14″ Aqua Mighty Magnetic Strips | Acrylic Pencil Cups | Stainless Steel Wall Pocket
I found this cursive wood cut-out “create” in the Target dollar bin to finish off my completed art supply wall!
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