I have always wanted my own art studio, but after having kids, my dream changed. All I wanted now was a teeny tiny art studio. Somewhere I could do my own stuff without having to clear up the play dough first…
Our kids’ stuff gets EVERYWHERE. Arts and crafts, cookery bits, board games, play shopping, children’s books, bikes, scooters, etcetera, etcetera. The kids’ things have spread from their bedrooms to all the shared spaces in our home too.
As a result, we grown-ups finding it more and more frustrating when WE wanted to do something; nothing was ever to hand or easy to get started on.
But there is good news! We took a hard look at our small-to-middling Victorian terrace house. And, even bursting at the seams with stuff as it is, we were able to find spaces to annex as dedicated ‘grown-up’ areas. We even found one for each of us.
All it took was thinking about what we both needed. Then identifying a few wasted areas around the house that we could make better use of. Mostly, all it took was a little bit of reorganisation. And I promise you, if messy pack-rats like us can do it, you can too!


