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I was here years ago. I lost my stamping mojo about 5 years ago and boxed up a ton, sold a ton. I am big time kicking myself in the butt now! Back into stamping/mixed media with a vengeance!
Anyway, we bought a house last year with a huge partially finished basement. � of it is going to be my craft room. YAHOO! My wonderful hubby is going to be building me a huge craft table so I can work and have friends over to play with and have room for them. We have the plans, he is starting this weekend. The last decision that needs to be made is what kind of top do I want? Um… no clue. Love the look of butcher block, but how will that hold up to stamping, banging, heat, spills, etc? I always have my craft mat down and haven’t spilled anything in eons, but that only means that my first time using it I will have a major disaster lol
So I was just wondering what you would use for your craft table? Do you have one and what is the top? If you were building one, what would you use?
Thanks!!
Last edited by UnderstandBlue; 05-06-2014 at 09:03 AM..
My favorite - EVER - was a 4' x 8' sheet of particle board with Melamine on two sides that I perched atop two dressers (one at each end) in a workroom where I used to do upholstery. It was nearly indestructible, but if one side got too munged up (a technical term), I could flip it over to the pristine side. There is a roll of iron-on edging for it that I should have used, but it's still in its package, and my workroom and favorite table are long gone...
A year and a half ago when we moved closer to the city to be close to medical help, after living way out in the country for years, and bought our new house we decided I would take the master bedroom (it's quite large) and turn it into my Craft Room/Den. In it I have four different work areas..........my craft desk, work/cutter table (which I stand at), computer desk (with an area next to it that I call my "cutter station" for my electronic cutters) and a small sewing station. For my craft desk, which we constructed from 12 of my Recollections cubes, I choose to have a piece of glass cut by Lee & Cates and I love it. When I purchased my new computer desk, I also went with glass and for my "stand up work table" I chose a melamine top. The one thing I hate about the glass are the fingerprints AND the one thing I love about it is it is so easy to clean with glass cleaner...I actually love it! I actually love all of my work areas! Here are a few (not too good) photos so that you can see what I am talking about.
"Craft Desk Top" (which is about 6' wide by 29" deep):
I have a countertop for my workbench and I do like it. However to ease cleanup and avoid ink stains, I recently purchased a small sheet of plexiglass to cover my work area. I chose plexiglass rather than glass because I have a desk in my kitchen I covered plexiglass over 10 years ago and it still looks great.
__________________ Denise
"If a person who indulges in gluttony is a glutton, and a person who commits a felony is a felon, then God is an iron.�
― Spider Robinson
When you say "countertop" do you mean Formica? That would be my preference. Easy to clean and maintain, except that lighter colors may stain. My current work surface is a large cutting table from Joann (from my sewing days). Since I cover the area with newsprint, it really doesn't matter what is underneath.
__________________ Debbie "Make it work, people." - Tim Gunn My Gallery
Thank you so much ladies! So sorry I didn't respond yesterday, problem with my account. Finally straightened out (and I am back to my original user name. Awesome!).
Love all of the ideas. And honestly, I LOVE the idea of using glass. I would be concerned about breaking it though. I'm assuming that those of you that use it haven't had that issue? ;)
Thank you so much ladies! So sorry I didn't respond yesterday, problem with my account. Finally straightened out (and I am back to my original user name. Awesome!).
Love all of the ideas. And honestly, I LOVE the idea of using glass. I would be concerned about breaking it though. I'm assuming that those of you that use it haven't had that issue? ;)
Thanks for the feedback ladies!
No....but you can get scratches. That is one of the reasons that I use the large craft mat. I use a trick by Kristina Werner....I place a piece of the "non-skid" shelf liner under it and it holds in firmly in place!!! I still love my glass..lol
I vote for formica/countertop material. I got a glass top table and ended up giving it away. I hated the noise it made when I set anything metal down on it, like scissors, dies, etc.
Now I have a formica top table that I use and love it.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
No....but you can get scratches. That is one of the reasons that I use the large craft mat. I use a trick by Kristina Werner....I place a piece of the "non-skid" shelf liner under it and it holds in firmly in place!!! I still love my glass..lol
Are you talking about the Ranger craft mat that's silicone? Does it protect the shelf liner when using heat?
Are you talking about the Ranger craft mat that's silicone? Does it protect the shelf liner when using heat?
I love your work spaces.
Thank you Diane! You can see the one like I have here and yes, I use my heat guns on it and evidently it protects the shelf liner because I've had no problems with it!
And here you can see the shelf liner that I used...it's what I bought to line my kitchen shelves with and it works great!
I have to tell you, that mat doesn't go anywhere unless I pick it up and move it!!! I love Kristina for giving me that tip!!!
Has anyone shopped around for silicone sheets, like Harbor Freight or Northern Tool? Items marketed to "crafters" tend to be double the price. Just wondering.
__________________ Debbie "Make it work, people." - Tim Gunn My Gallery
Has anyone shopped around for silicone sheets, like Harbor Freight or Northern Tool? Items marketed to "crafters" tend to be double the price. Just wondering.
I hardly EVER pay full price for any of my craft supplies........I shop the sales plus I usually buy with a 40% off coupon. For instance, right now Joann has that craft mat on sale for 40% off.........so from $17.99 down to $10.79!!!
If you go with a formica top and plan to make videos apparently grey is the best color for filming.
Personally I would go with a formica (relatively cheap) and then have a section for a glass mat later if I wanted it. I'm transitory so I like to feel how a space works before committing to using a certain area in a certain way.
At the moment my craft area is backwards to how I really need to use it, but changing it would be a pain (as in I really need to work left to right, with storage/tools to my left, and I am forced to work right to left.
I was using a solid wood door for a work surface when I was doing stained glass and it was super cheap and super strong ... and flat. I would do that again if I had the space. They come with a hole in the middle for the handle, which I used for the cord to my table lamp... almost like it was made to be a craft table!
Hi, in case you are still considering glass... I use an IKEA glass table that I've had for over 10 years. To protect from scratches and other potential problems I covered the glass with a thick vinyl that is sold by the yard. Once smoothed out, the suction makes it stick snd you can't even tell there it's there.
As for tools, I use a large Fiskars cutting mat too. When the vinyl gets grungy, I simply lift, toss and replace.
I'm getting into standing for some crafting, so I was searching for a counter height table in addition and so far use an adjustable folding table from Costco. Not sure I will keep it as I prefer something a little more like furniture... Maybe out of wood. Might do the wood plus glass or plexi, we'll see.
I made due with painted particle board for 6 years. When I moved into the basement last month I bought formica...LOVE THEM. Cheaper than other stuff, you can put glass on top and it doesnt require a lot of upkeep. Cant cut on it or focus your heat gun on it...but why would you want to?
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Thank you Diane! You can see the one like I have here and yes, I use my heat guns on it and evidently it protects the shelf liner because I've had no problems with it!
And here you can see the shelf liner that I used...it's what I bought to line my kitchen shelves with and it works great!
I have to tell you, that mat doesn't go anywhere unless I pick it up and move it!!! I love Kristina for giving me that tip!!!
Yes, that's the Ranger mat I was talking about. Now need to get shelf liner!
I have a big desk in my room.. it's very heavy and sturdy. I bought it at a thrift store for $20 several years ago. One of the best buys for my craft room.
~ Pam
__________________ "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."
I figure by now you might not need suggestions anymore but I still wanted to share just in case. My husband just recently built two 8 foot long tables to fit in my 'craft/office/music/everything else in the world' room. Since we were a bit tight on money at the time we used a piece of very, very smooth plywood (I'm not sure if it was like furniture grade but it was soooo buttery smooth on top) for the tops and I put down a 4 foot piece of plexiglass to cover the section where I would be stamping to try and keep from staining the top. The plywood was really nice and he just needed to saw it in half and build a frame for both pieces. They turned out great! And I figure a little later we'll pull them out and either stain or paint them.
Wow, I was surprised to see people still sharing. Thank you all for your suggestions!!!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lenayvonne1
I figure by now you might not need suggestions anymore but I still wanted to share just in case. My husband just recently built two 8 foot long tables to fit in my 'craft/office/music/everything else in the world' room. Since we were a bit tight on money at the time we used a piece of very, very smooth plywood (I'm not sure if it was like furniture grade but it was soooo buttery smooth on top) for the tops and I put down a 4 foot piece of plexiglass to cover the section where I would be stamping to try and keep from staining the top. The plywood was really nice and he just needed to saw it in half and build a frame for both pieces. They turned out great! And I figure a little later we'll pull them out and either stain or paint them.
Oh yeah, totally still gathering ideas. Thanks!
We were talking about using wood flooring for the table top. I am so in love with that idea, but then I would need to worry about seams. Not only writing and things, but for crud getting between the slats. If DH can find one that would perfectly line up with no issues, I would be all over that idea...
Good luck with whatever you end up going with! It's so nice to get to sort of customize something for once instead of just making due with the best desk/table combo you can find.
lol That is exactly the blog that gave me the idea After researching it, I found quite a few others that did the same thing. I haven't found anyone that mentioned the durability of it though. Might have to email a few of them to ask!
I was using a solid wood door for a work surface when I was doing stained glass and it was super cheap and super strong ... and flat. I would do that again if I had the space. They come with a hole in the middle for the handle, which I used for the cord to my table lamp... almost like it was made to be a craft table!
I recently built my craft table using 2 Ikea expedit 2x2 cube units and a solid door from Lowe's that cost less than $60. The door I got didn't have a doorknob hole, it was just a solid piece of very thick wood. Going to put a coat of clear finish on it to protect from stains, paint, etc. I also use a large Fiskar's self healing work mat.
I use a glass top for mine (had it made at a local glass place) but I don't pound on it. It is great for spills or accidental mis-stamps, wipes right off.
__________________ Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
My first craft desk top was an Ikea table top--just the cheap Linnmon. There was a piece of glass (2 actually) that were left in our house by the previous owner. It appears the glass might have been doors to a media cabinet. I used one piece in the working area of that desk. I didn't care if it got scratched or not--it was FREE and kept the regular table top from getting ruined.
Just recently I decided to buy another desktop. I was going to go for the same thing, but then I found a stainless steel table top from Ikea. It's called the Sanfrid. I opted for the larger size (5' x 2.5') and I LOVE this desk top! I attached magnetic strips to a couple rulers and they are on the side of it.
I have a lot of Ikea furniture in my craft room and I bought a couple of adjustable legs for the Sandrid table top, so if I want to use it on my Expedit 2x4 cube sized storage shelf, I can.
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counter top
4 years ago DH bought me a building downtown, and it had been a countertop store, well when he moved out he left lots of nice pieces of counter top, so that has become my choice for making work stations. I love the formica. durable and sturdy...............and with sitting things under it to make your work station you can move it easily if you reconfigure the room or move..........
I use the tables that fold in half and latch shut. They have a carrying handle. Open up to 6' long. Bought at Walmart for around $60 free delivery. Can store stuff under the tables and I bought 2 cube storage units and set on the back edge of one table against the wall. The cube storage units were only about $35.00 from Walmart.
Voila, I have two 6 foot tables as work stations. I put a glass mat, and a cutting mat on there. I set up several work stations. Love it. Cheap, portable, and sturdy.
__________________ .
Keeli
Time passes, memories fade, feelings change, people leave, but HEARTS never forget.
It's funny that .. I was using the fold up type of table for 4 years (mine must have been super flimsy - or maybe I'm a brute!) ... up until I was stamping this past Easter making some spring cards ... I was using a large house-mouse stamp and I couldn't get the middle of the stamp to print on the paper. I was practically stomping on the paper trying to get it to work. Finally I took my supplies out to the kitchen table and was able to stamp without issues. The table I was using was just not strong enough for me to stamp on (maybe a little concave?). So, that's what motivated me to get an Ikea setup. Although I love the upgrade as a whole, I'm actually a little disappointed with the Ikea tabletop surface. The tabletop has a light covering of plastic (laminate?), its not the hardest surface out there. I would say that a solid wood door would be better than the Ikea tabletop. Even a traditional laminate countertop, like others suggested, would be better. Luckily, I can always take the top off and replace it with whatever I want to - it just sits on two cabinets - its not attached at all. See pic.
For those that have used doors, a question -- does a hollow door work or does it have to be solid?
I would only use a solid door. But that's just my opinion. They are heavy but extremely durable. A veneer-(luan) door can warp over time. And if you are a heavy handed stamper like me, you might not be able to get a good image if the door flexes! LOL. I use a solid wood door for my stained glass work area.
Or you could always try a hollow door and see how it is. An architectural salvage type of place would have a relatively cheap selection of doors.
Best top for a craft table?
