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As a mommy and a stamper, I am trying to find a way to combine my stamp room and my living/family room. That's a lot of rooms to combine. The problem is I own the 5x5 square Expedit unit. I LOVE this thing and not having it would take all of my storeage away, but it is huge and I only have a certain amount of wall space. So here are my options.
1. I have a very large living room which is currently acting as a craft room/ dining room. This room can be divided into a smaller stamp area and then the living room. Perfect, right?? Well, here's the snag. I can have the expedit on one wall, but it will hang out over a bend to a doorway about 7 inches. not a big obstruction, but it may bug me a bit. So, do I deal just to share the room with my kids???
2. Turn my current livingroom (which would be a dining room in the first set-up) into my craft room/ play room, but then not have the TV, couch, chairs, etc.. in there. This is ok, except my kids like to have the TV on for noise when they play. Do I just get another TV for in there???
3. Do same arrangement as #2, except NO playroom, keep the toys and TV in the livingroom and just stamp at 2am????
Any thoughts on how you would do it??? Have done it???
I keep trying to get my room situated so that I can post pictures. I have just went through this. My stamp room is a shared space off of our kitchen. Our home is 100+ years old, but in today's time, you would call it a 'hearth room' maybe. The girls and I spend a lot of time in here.
Recently, my mom was telling me that on all the HGTV shows, they talk about the importance of DEFINING your space. You can't have a room that tries to do everything. She was here to help with a garage sale, and I immediately had DH take my couch (only 2 years old) to the curb. It was sold before we could get the cushions out there. There just wasn't room for the space to work as a family room AND a stamp room.
I've brought some more filing cabinets in and am getting some more upscale bean bag chairs for my girls to watch tv. I'm going to be much happier. If you are serious about a stamping space, my advice is to pick the room that will contain your stamping space and define that room by that choice. Make everything else work around that choice, not in competition with it. It was never working for me to have the room do double-duty. It was forever a mess, had limited storage and just screamed CHAOS!
This is going to sound horrible, but it's not meant to be, but I agree with the poster before me (forgot the name real fast although it's on the tip of my tongue, but why is it necessary for your kids to have all of that stimulating background noise of the TV when you're trying to craft and they're playing? That just doesn't make sense. They can play quietly. I'm one of those horrible non-PC moms who taught my kids boundaries and likes and wants aren't the same things as needs. Again, this didn't mean to come out the wrong way.
I need a visual. Do you have the floor plan drawn up? I don't mean a fancy one I just need a layout to visualize.
Off the top of my head can you just take the dinning room for yourself? Most folks don't use the dinning room anyway. Have a corner for the kids crafts. Take out the couch and leave the tv.
I don't know what the EXpedit is either.
__________________ ************************************************************** Deborah "Imagination is more important than knowledge" ~ Albert Einstein
I am kind of thinking the same way as the poster above. My first thought was to have a "quiet activity" room. Building blocks, books, crafts, board games, etc. I have 4 kids that are homeschooled and a work at home husband. I have turned the formal dining room into a school/stamp room and it works for us for now. However, now that we have teens that are dating, we are about to change it again so that it will now be the stamp room/teen hang out room so that the teens can watch a movie with some "privacy" but not too much privacy. So I will now have a tv and game system in here. I was planning on doing it right away but my ds just broke up with his girlfriend and dd doesn't have a bf either so now there is no hurry. LOL I am a bit worried with how the new plans will work out but I did like the set up before. Good luck and keep in mind that it will change as they go through different stages.
Something I have used and it worked for me. Is I found two old Computer Desks, 1 was free and the other 1 I paid $4.00 for. And dh added some Press board to the back of them. (this way things don't fall out the back)
The Free desk is larger and I use it to stamp on and store some of my stamping stuff.
The $4.00 one is a storage unit only.
I also have a built in unit that dh built long ago. as a workbench. I also have a Peg board that holds little shelves and hooks. and a corkboard.
we just have a finished basement that was kind of a living area until we had kids and now its a playroom. i took a corner to set up my "area" and it works really well for us. my only thing is im really sensitive to lack of sunlight and theres no windows down there. i feel like im in a dungeon and it will keep me from stamping sometimes because i just dont even want to go down there. the lighting is good, just not natural. if it had a window or a slider (its not a walk out basement) i'd probably never go upstairs! good luck with whatever you decide!
Wendy that is what is keeping me from setting up in my basement. The lack of natural light and no we don't have a walk out basement either. I have 2000 square feet unused down there!! I am going to opt for a small bedroom and make that my room upstairs, just because it won't feel like a dungeon.
I like to be able to close the door too. I don't know about you ladies but leaving it all out in a living room or dining room would bother me unless it was behind cupboard doors or something.
__________________ ************************************************************** Deborah "Imagination is more important than knowledge" ~ Albert Einstein
Well, I am keeping the large expedit unit because it is wonderful! I adore it tremendously as it holds almost all of my stamping stuff. I understand where some of you are coming from on the "quiet space" and no tv deal, but that just doesn't work for us. Mainly, I want to stamp in the early evenings when DH is home and the kids watch their few programs. DH is gone most of the day and I want to spend time with him too. So combining the 2 rooms would be ideal so I can be with them and still enjoy my stamping time. If the main room were set up differently (windows, doors and fireplace in different location) this would be much easier.
Wow 2000 square feet, i could send my kids to play football in there. The whole of the downstairs of my house (it's 3 bedroomed so you can imagine the rooms aren't very big, smallest bedroom is 6.7 x 7.6 ft) was 350 square ft so i had a conservatory built which is only 12 x12 ft but is used as my crafting space/dining room and second living room.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicole's Mom
Wendy that is what is keeping me from setting up in my basement. The lack of natural light and no we don't have a walk out basement either. I have 2000 square feet unused down there!! I am going to opt for a small bedroom and make that my room upstairs, just because it won't feel like a dungeon.
I was wondering if (in your #1 above) you have to have your expedit against the wall. Would it work as a centrally placed room divider?...like with the couch on the other side? Or if you need to have a passageway, it could become a "wall" along that space...maybe hang a quilt or a huge bulletin board on the back.
It would be lots easier to make suggestions if I knew your layout. I love to do interior organization and could probably make a bunch of suggestions for different options...(I keep offering to organize for people if they would just fly me out to their home, but no takers yet...LOL!)
Can you use the Expedit unit to separate the room and define the craft area instead of pushing it up against the wall? Then, either put up mdf on one side and cover with fabric or even patterened paper (or some such decoration) so that you only access the shelf from your "craft room" side.
Does that make sense? I can picture it in my head (very much a visual learner) but am not sure it translated to the 'puter very well.
If so can you put a back on it to use as a divider or use boxes to organize your stuff nicely...thinking you could use it as a wall/divider to claim your space.
I actually have a similar thing going on of a family room turned small entertainment, media storage and bedroom. Yes VERY big space. I claimed a wall for a counter and cabinets. And used a high dresser with two filing cabinets and paper divider for my crafting area opposite the cabinet wall to form a long U shape. On the back of the dresser/filing cabinet wall I group 2 recliners and a table between them that faces the TV and music wall.
It is not ideal but 1) I am not planning on selling my home anytime soon. 2) The cabinets and counters can be added on and paint to and make an entire entertainment wall/or storage wall. 3)I picked this room as is the least public in our house and can be closed off easily so nobody has to see my mess ummm work in progress!
The other idea that I still want to do is create a long floor to ceiling curtain and place it on a hospital type rod and clipped on rings to further close of my space as a "room".
Ha maybe what we both need is some masking tape and our best Les Nesman immitation!! :mrgreen: Anyone that show?
If so can you put a back on it to use as a divider or use boxes to organize your stuff nicely...thinking you could use it as a wall/divider to claim your space.
Ha maybe what we both need is some masking tape and our best Les Nesman immitation!! :mrgreen: Anyone that show?
If so can you put a back on it to use as a divider or use boxes to organize your stuff nicely...thinking you could use it as a wall/divider to claim your space.
I actually have a similar thing going on of a family room turned small entertainment, media storage and bedroom. Yes VERY big space. I claimed a wall for a counter and cabinets. And used a high dresser with two filing cabinets and paper divider for my crafting area opposite the cabinet wall to form a long U shape. On the back of the dresser/filing cabinet wall I group 2 recliners and a table between them that faces the TV and music wall.
It is not ideal but 1) I am not planning on selling my home anytime soon. 2) The cabinets and counters can be added on and paint to and make an entire entertainment wall/or storage wall. 3)I picked this room as is the least public in our house and can be closed off easily so nobody has to see my mess ummm work in progress!
The other idea that I still want to do is create a long floor to ceiling curtain and place it on a hospital type rod and clipped on rings to further close of my space as a "room".
Ha maybe what we both need is some masking tape and our best Les Nesman immitation!! :mrgreen: Anyone that show?
yes, this is the thing I own. I have thought of making it a divider, but it doesn't have a back on it and I really don't have the $$$ right now to get one. IT is VERY VERY unstable when it isn't backed and not against a wall. I have one of these is my music studio that is backed and is used as a divider, it's great. ply but $$$ is tight right now. Maybe I'll see if we have any wood left from the studio. If I can find some, a divider would be awesome. Hmmmm, let me go think about this.
I mean, the expedit is a crafters dream. I got it for $50 on craigslist! It's the black one though. The best $50 I spent. The other issue is that I have the desk attachment for it, so it is even bigger, lol. Oh, but I do love it.
I need some stamp room help...
