Welcome to Sunshine & Lew!

Sunshine Giesler
Jan 13, 2021
3 min read

Updated: Mar 1, 2021

We're so excited that you are here taking a look around. My two sons and I recently moved to Spokane, WA and I have been slowly working on making improvements to a our small craftsman bungalow. Mostly these projects have focused on function. Of course I want things to look good and I pay attention to the aesthetic details as I go, but my main goal as I work my way through this pandemic winter in our new home is to make our spaces work FOR us. Let me tell you about one of these projects that ended up having pretty dramatic results.

Hi! I’m Sunshine of Sunshine & Lew Interior Design

Office Storage Space

When I first walked through our new home with my realtor, it was in pretty bad shape. It had been a rental for years and had not been taken great care of. I knew my budget and also knew that I enjoy the physicality of working on a project so I was not daunted by things that may have deterred other buyers. I worked my way from room to room, filling in pieces of the puzzle that I couldn't know from just looking at the listing online. There were some disappointments for sure, but there were also some pleasant surprises. A room for an office with an amazing attached storage space was one such surprise.

The storage room when I first laid eyes on it.

The Project/Goal

I knew this room had AMAZING potential. The idea of having all of my work/craft/sewing supplies in one place, right next to my office sounded delightful! But obviously it needed some work. A lot of work.

My first step was to clean it all out and get it ready for painting. The main goal in painting it white was to lighten and brighten the space. I used my paint sprayer and a warm white paint (Whipped White) that I love.

I waited an hour or so between each coat of paint. Because I sprayed it, the coats were thin and dried quickly.

After the third coat, I let it dry overnight.

At this point I started pondering painting the floor. My creative juices started flowing and I imagined all sorts of delightful patterns that I could add to the space. These ideas kept me up even later into the night.

After the 4th/5th coat & a couple of coats on the floor.

I woke up (not very bright and early due to my floor fantasies) and got right to painting. Ultimately I decided it would be the sanest choice to come back to the floor design later. What I really needed to spend my time on at this point of my dwindling project weekend, was sorting through my work/craft/sewing supplies. My goal was to weed out the stuff I was no longer inspired by, while organizing the stuff in an easy to access manner. As I organized, I kept my boys in mind—‘Can I easily direct them to find what they are looking for in this space?’

I put sewing and craft supplies to the right, kids craft stuff on the trunk at the end of the room, paint & painting supplies in the cupboard, and work supplies to the left. I had picked up a few smaller containers from The Dollar Store a few weeks earlier in preparation for this project. I also purchased two sets of drawers from JoAnn during their New Year storage sale. I made new, easy-to-read labels and put them on each bin and drawer.

Tools, sewing and craft supplies on this side.

Paint in the cabinet & kids craft supplies in the lower baskets.

Interior design work supplies & reference texts here.

It was A LOT of work, but I knew it would be and had prepared myself for it. It feels SO GOOD to have it done. And in the future, if I’m itching for a project that provides more instant gratification I’ll add some color and pattern to the floor. At this point I love that it is light and bright and clean and that I can find things easily. Even Ames has been successful in his searches for items in this space!! I call that a WIN.

A few weeks ago a friend sent me this picture of a painted basement office space and told me it reminded her of my project. I’m totally on trend!!