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Come behind the scenes at The Hungary Buddha Eats the World for a #CraftRoomTour and see Chrissy's den in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
My den really shows my personality, with color and travel mementos and a little bit of whimsy . In college, my room was plastered with posters and pictures and flags and anything, and they took up every inch of wall space! I never carried that aesthetic into my adult living spaces because it just seemed a little childish. With this room, since it's dedicated creative space, I've given it more leeway than the rest of the house. It's really turned out to be my happy place!
Tell us about your space
This room is a probably around 9 x 7, is just off my main living room and is enclosed by two french doors, which I love. When I moved into my condo, this room was a HUGE plus! To have a dedicated area for food photography was a dream come true; I don't have to set up and break down equipment every time I need to shoot a recipe. It has great natural light, which is what I prefer for photos.
What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
This room was my favorite room to decorate because I could step out of the grey/blue color scheme that really permeates the rest of the house to give it a little more of my personality. The dark teal split color design on the wall is a little more out there, the wall art is a little more fun and quirky, reminding me of where I've been and the adventures I've had. This year's vision board is displayed prominently as the blotter on my desk as a constant reminder of where I want to go. Plus, since I painted that line perfectly straight by myself, it's become a huge source of pride! The one eye sore is the cat tree for my little furball, Crawley, but since he makes this house a home, it had to be a space where we would both be comfortable.
How do you keep organized?
My little kitchen cart stores all of my props, linens, and backgrounds, which saves me time and energy and keeps me from searching the whole house for what I need for any given recipe. Because I have a writing style desk without drawers, I found a cute rolling cart with wheels that matches the vibe of the room perfectly and there I store odds and ends, pens and planners, and that milk bottle that holds a little something for a rainy day.
Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
I put everything in the same place, and I use various boxes and baskets to keep certain things separate. Linens and placemats are in one box, glasses and baubles in another. I've gotten to the point where I realized that I kept going back to the same props over and over again, which is actually curbed my old habit to buy every cute dish that I see.
Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
I have a few! Years ago I attended a food blogger conference at Disney World, and won a scavenger hunt, and my prize was a "mouse-ker," a huge Mickey trophy that I keep displayed on my desk. I'm a huge Disney fan, so every time I look at it it makes me happy, and I remember how much fun I had winning it! Next, my friend and I trekked to Everest Base Camp and while we were there, we both remarked on how neither of us would get a postcard from Nepal, since we were together! She sent me one, in our traditional postcard writing style. It's framed on my wall, and serves as a reminder of all the crazy places we've been and all awesome things we've done together. Finally, I impulsively bought the wire bicycles that are on my wall because I love biking, and the three biking vacations that I've been on have been among my favorite. All of these things just make me smile.
How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
Each year my friend and I make vision boards, so that serves as broad inspiration for the whole year. For specifics, as unoriginal as it sounds, I use a Google sheet!
Where do you look for inspiration?
Literally everywhere! Since recipes are my thing, I am always on the lookout for new foods to try and new ways to make them. Inspiration is everywhere: Food & Wine, airline magazines, novels, TV shows or movies, food I've eaten on vacation, food I've eaten out at home, food I've eaten at a friend's house, cookbooks, grandma recipes that I can connive out of my friends - I'm shameless!
If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
I love my den, but my dream would be to have a kitchen where I could cook and shoot simultaneously; beautiful cabinets, a large butcher block or marble top island, gas stove, with a photography set up and appropriate lighting hanging overhead. I'm not sure that will ever be possible in my current condo, but a girl can dream, right?
Whose craft room would you love to explore? Send us a message!
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