ADDITIONS TO MY NEW SHELF UNIT IN THE STUDIO
I recently bought a metal shelf unit to go in front of the window in my studio, so that I could create a new work area – my “clean” desk for drawing, watercolour painting and calligraphy. My original main work area is now dedicated the “messy” work – mixed media, acrylics, gel media, glue, inking etc. I attached a peg board behind the new shelf unit, and filled the shelves on the right with drawing materials.
I quickly discovered that although the shelves on the right are very useful and hold a lot, they are difficult to manage. There are not enough shelves, so everything is stacked up, and it’s hard to access what I want.
I couldn’t think how I could add additional shelves. If I could find some sort of stacking trays, I was sure that would be the answer. There are any number of stacking office trays online, and most of them will hold A4 sized paper. A lot of them are open along one long side so they were too wide to fit on my shelves.
Eventually I found a set of four fine metal mesh trays that stack, and would just fit in the shelves, with two trays each on the middle two shelves. Amazon also had the same set, “used,” with a damaged box, with quite a good reduction, so I opted for these. They are perfectly fine, and come with a small tray that is supposed to sit on top of the unit, and a mesh container that hooks on the side.
Here is my set-up now.
It is brilliant. I can now store things more methodically, and access them more easily. I’ve put some of the smaller items in larger boxes. The little container hooks on the side of one tray, and I’ve put paint brushes in it. The small metal tray that is supposed to sit on top would no longer fit, of course, but I found a couple of spare pegboard attachments that you can rest small shelves on, and attached them under the paper towel unit. The metal shelf was sliding all over the place, so to keep it more secure, I wrapped rubber bands around the metal bars and it sits quite securely enough now. You can see the red tips of the bars in front of the metal tray, which now holds some calligraphy inks and pens.
Here’s a closer look at the trays on the shelves.
They do stick out a bit beyond the front of the shelves, but this isn’t a problem – I can get more stuff on them! One reason I liked this set is that they have no projections at the sides. They fit very well on the shelves. Perhaps they would have looked nicer in white, but black was the only colour available, and I’m very satisfied with how it looks.
Here’s a closer view of the little shelf.
Since it doesn’t go to the back of the supports, I was able to slot it in quite nicely, close below the little plastic bins, and still have access to everything. I’ve got another of the supports over the other side of the pegboard, to hang rolls of tape on.
This is an extremely satisfactory solution to the problem, and a great improvement to my new shelf unit.
The studio is always a work in progress as I work on different things, so I don’t suppose it will ever be “complete,” but I’m doing pretty well with my grand clear-out without too much more to do now. After that, I shall tackle the office area which is in serious need of a massive clear-out.
