When we moved into our unrenovated 1990s home, we set out on a yearlong journey to update the look and feel of every single room.

I instantly visualized turning this boring office into a colorful art studio that I could share with my two children.

See my other rooms here:

This room brings me incredible joy! Ever since I was young and broke, living in a loft apartment, I have always found a way to work an art studio into my space.

In some of my first apartments, I went without a living room to to fit in all my art supplies. Priorities, right?

Now that I have two young kids who love art, I am thrilled to share this space and make memories together. (My dress is from Sezane)

Before + After

Here’s a photo of what the room looked like when we purchased our home … and how it looks today! We were able to use the base of the existing cabinets and build on to them to bring the shelves all the way to the ceiling.

We removed the trim and reinstalled it for a professional built-in look. After that, we painted the cabinets using this method and then painted the walls to match.

I found this little easel at an estate sale and I found the chandelier on Amazon. In this room, I keep all our acrylic paints, painting supplies and all my ceramic supplies.

In the photo above, you can spy my bags of clay hiding under the desk. It’s a magical creative space. The best part is that my children and I use the space equally.

It creates a lot of messes, but it’s absolutely worth it. (Resisting the urge to insert an “it’s A Beautiful Mess” haha).

I spent a lot of time mixing and rebottling paints into squeeze bottles. A lot of people have asked me if it’s for aesthetic or functional reasons. Honestly, it’s so much of both.

I do find them so practical to use, and they are also much more beautiful than bottles of craft paint.

I collect nicer acrylic paints (and also oil paints) as well. My favorite brand for fancy acrylics are Golden and Nova Color.

Looking for budget-friendly art and drawing supplies? Click here!

They are expensive, though, and I genuinely like using craft paint for a large amount of the projects we use like stuff for Childhood Magic and art with my kids.

My wrapping station is truly my pride and joy! I have spent my ENTIRE adult life wishing for just such a perfect little gift wrap station. I love it so much. You can also see that my pottery glazes and half-done pottery is stored here.

This is all my old leftover wallpaper. Honestly, I just love it as a decoration. The patterns together make my eyes very happy!

If you have any questions about making your own art studio or the supplies I use, I’d love to chat in the comments. xx- Elsie