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I have a new craft room, BUT I don't know how to design it efficiently.
It is 14 ft wide x 16 ft long. I have no closets. I would really appreciate ideas and especially pictures of your craft rooms. I am having a really hard time trying to figure out how to lay it out efficiently.
First of all, congratulations on your new craft room! There are lots of pictures floating around here. You might get quite a bit of inspiration with the Ikea catalog. I just got their new catalog in the mail a week or so ago and love all the ideas in it. It's giving me the itch to do something with my craft room.
There is a whole gallery just for craft spaces. I agree IKEA is great for ideas as well as Pottery Barn.
Think vertical wall space. Work with what you have first. I spent quite a bit of money on organizing items that didn't work out.
To start planning, think how you want to store your stuff. What stuff do you have: a computer, TV, radio? Do you want a stamp surface and a work surface or an all-in-one work surface?
Do you have a cricut or big shot (or the equivalent) that will need space to go. I use mine much more when it is out in the open ready to go.
Do you want a counter height work space or do you always want to sit at a desk?
Do you have friends that craft with you or kids? Maybe a central island you can all sit at?
I am super excited for you (can you tell?) and I love to organize. I share my smallish room with my DH. We could have our own rooms, but we like to be together, so I make do. I am super lucky because my Dad is awesome at building stuff. He made me some stamp pad holders out of scrap wood that mount on the wall (love it, but also have the turning stamp pad holder from SU-which I hate and is now collecting dust). He also made me a counter height storage unit with a bunch of drawers (got the idea from IKEA and used a cabinet he had originally made that was similar to a scrap box I saw at a convention years ago). So a lot of repurposing, which is good on the budget and the environment.
I have 2 pics in my gallery, which I must update, since I added a shelf on the wall and moved some stuff since then.
My room is similar to what you describe. I was able to get the white shelving that you assemble yourself in various sizes to fit well (with some adjustments) along one wall. I have the same white finished boards along the top for baskets, bins, ets. I also have white peg boards above a couple of refurbished desks. I wish I have space for more. Make sure to get some good lighting. I have couple of little Ott lights that I can not live without Good luck. Enjoy!
Congrats on getting a scrap room! I finished off a smaller bedroom when my son left for University last year and it truly is my haven for happiness! The one piece of advice I have for you is to first decide where in the room, how big and the shape of scrap table you want. That was perhaps the biggest mistake I made. I finally got it worked out though and love it. A piece of melamine shelving and/or a table from Ikea was only 24" wide at best. I ended up deciding that I didn't like my back to the door and that I'm obviously a scrapper who needs wide open spaces! So of course that impacted the type of storage I used and where. You will only truly know what embellishments, inks, stamps and tools you use most after you sit down at the scrap table. These are the things you tend you reach for most. I suggest portable storage - I fell in love with Jetmax storage cubes because you can configure anything anywhere. After you decide where you want to have your work area then you can figure out storage and all the pretty things on the walls that double as display/storage. Hope this helps. Just remember your craft table is the largest fixture in the room and you should start there. Good luck and have soooo much fun doing it!
Ha,ha! Long weekend frazzles! I eventually settled with a piece of melamine that was 4 X 8 ft and had it cut down to 42" X 62" and finished the edges as well. I really do like huge surfaces. Guess I kind of forgot that in the previous message. I meant to say that the shelving and the table from Ikea was not wide enough. Happy Weekend and Scrappin' everybody!
Subbing. My rooms 12 x 12' . I need room for my scrapbooking sales, my personal scrapbooking supplies, my stampscape supplies, & my stamping supplies. Whew! I do way too much, LOL.
I cannot upload pics, sorry, but I have some general advice and suggestions
Think about what heights you want to craft at. Do you stand when you cut paper or stamp? Sit when you color? I find I do both and appreciate having differing counters to use.
I had super good luck with repurposed/hand me down storage options- I got some discontinued kitchen cabinets (also look for people remodeling, they often curb stuff) and actually flipped them upside down and used them for the kids' toys when they were small. That way the top became the bottom (and the kickplate corralled wayward trucks), and I didn't need to get a counter to put across the top, or bolt them to the wall so they wouldn't topple on the tiny toes. When they got bigger, I moved several in an L shape in my son's room and bought a stock counter length that they cut for me in the store to make a great desk for him. I had a corner cabinet that was taller than the leg parts, so the counter top just butted up to the edge- no fancy mitering required.
I also use the cheap 3 shelf bookshelves as desk supports in another kids' room. He has a plywood desktop covered with a piece of tile board, which acts like a white board. It's about $12 for a 4x8 piece and they'll cut it for you at Lowe's.
Check out back to school furniture to see if cubes or bookshelves will work for you.
I have used cast off "cheap" desks in the dining room/study room that is now my craft room whenever a family member or neighbor upgraded- each kid had a homework space, and now that they hang in their rooms and have their own laptops, mom has a desk dedicated for cricuting, one for stamp storage, one for computers and printers and faxes, and one for wrapping and large projects. I have the dining room table (yeah, we ate in there about 3 times in 22 years LOL) up against the window and it is my main work table with rolling carts underneath and plastic drawers on top. Two wall cabinets sit on the floor, and since they're higher, they hold the paper cutters and scorers on top so I can stand at them.
So my room can actually look like a room, if I need it to- and all the furniture has futures if I get tired of it.
That said, if I had a million dollars, I'd have all the Martha Stewart crafting storage furniture stuff in a hot minute!
i am about to start redoing my room as well. i started with the martha stewart craft furniture but when i started drawing it out i decided it was not going to work for what i wanted. 1. no corner piece to make use of that space and 2. the pieces are all different heights so you can't just mix and match them all together. to get the most storage out of the space i have i really need to do kitchen cabinets. however to get cabinets that really do what i want may be cost prohibitive. i am thinking of venturing to lowe's...i do ALOT of crafting - not just papercrafting but sewing, clay, dollhouses, crochet, embroidery - so what i need is storage and lots of it. i am also thinking that i will do an island in the middle so i have one huge work area for large things like cutting fabric and i could also go back to doing classes. we plan on being here for the long haul so i want to do something really nice. it helps that hubby is sick of seeing my stuff spread all over the house - dollhouse construction in the formal dining room, fabric cutting on his pool table...
I have 2 different work tables, both from IKEA and both have adjustable legs. Sometimes I want to stand, sometimes I want to sit. I also have an area with my big rotary cutter so when I want to do a lot of cutting I don't have to clear space. I finally had my room the way I wanted it and we moved, urghhhhh, my new space does not have a closet so I lost all my built in shelves that housed my odds and ends and things I didn't need to have right at hand. Now I am trying to figure out how to make it work in a smaller space.
On a funny note, when I was packing up the house I started with my scraproom and stuff that I wouldn't need before we moved (um, yeah, like I ended up having time to play, lol) and as I packed a box I put it in our sons room which was right next door so I would have more room to move around. About 15 LARGE boxes in my husband asked when I was going to start packing, he had no idea where I had been putting everything. The downside, he now realizes how much stuff I really have....opps! :rolleyes:
Everyone has given some great advice here! One thing I might add...do not scrimp on just plain ole workspace! You can never have enough space to spread out your projects. I have a limited amount due to the smallness of my room and it is a pain in the butt every single day. I also love the Jetmax storage you can get at Micheals or Hobby Lobby. They can be rearranged at will as your needs change.
Thank you for some really great ideas!
I did come across Mary Fish's craft room and it is amazing! I wish she could come to my home and design my room.
I have a very small space, but LOVE IKEA. I started with the plain white tables/desks and several different heights/sizes of Billy bookcases. I just recently reconfigured everything (since my daughter wanted a desk in her room and got one of my tables), and I love it! I agree that starting with the table is a great idea. Then, you can work from there to see what storage will work best. Other great advice that I have heard is to go up ... lots of storage on high book cases! Also, I did all of the furniture white, so that I could accent it with whatever colour I liked (right now that is orange). Have fun deciding!
Need Design Ideas for New Craft Room
