Crafting a Craft Room

There was a moment over this winter break when I was sitting on our craft room floor surrounded by sorted piles of sewing notions, fuse beads, and office supplies when Mike sent Michael in to deliver a grilled cheese sandwich.  I was in the zone, and he just knew that I would prefer not to go downstairs for lunch.

These weeks off of work have given me that rare luxury of time.  I could sit and stare like lunatic at the piles of supplies and furniture leftovers to envision the form and function that I want for the crafting space, not just what could work.

Prior to this break we had done the following:

• Painted the yellow walls the same Revere Pewter as the rest of the house.
• Bought a Stenstorp island and used the solid wood top to replace the island counter top in our kitchen--perfect size and reasonable price.  Bought a Linnmon table top to replace it on the craft table.
• Bought a small cabinet for the printer, office supplies, and home file storage.
• Hung our old record wall and set up the record player (the kids love coloring/crafting while listening).

This incarnation of the craft room was based on the plan of painting an old sewing cabinet that we bought at an estate sale years ago.  I was going to put my old sewing machine and supplies in it, but that plan just wasn't exciting me. 

I couldn't envision myself sitting in the tight corner I had designated for that clunky cabinet, happily sewing on my over 30-year-old hand-me-down sewing machine.

Additionally, the office supply cabinet and printer seemed out of place front and center in the craft room, and the dresser of craft supplies in the closet was constantly overflowing and jumbled.


With all my brooding (and a modest budget discovered when looking over our 2018 finances), I came up with a better plan and did the following:

• Moved the office supply cabinet into the craft room closet.

• Swapped the tall dresser that had been in the closet storing supplies with the shorter one in Sophie's room. 
• Moved the short dresser (originally the kids' changing table!) into the craft room to store fabric and sewing supplies.

• Took measurements and bought various containers for craft supplies--kids' materials on the craft table shelves (pictured below); grown-up stuff on the floating shelves that Mike will build.
•  Researched sewing machines and found a nearly new one with all pieces in original packaging that met my criteria on a swap site.  Bought it!
• Searched swap sites for a used sewing table/desk but found an affordable new one on Amazon.  On the way!
• Searched "banker's chair" on a whim on a swap site and found one.  Bought it!

There are a few projects yet to complete, but I can see my craft room coming to life.

To do:

• Set up gift wrap station above office supplies in closet.
• Make and hang floating shelves.  Craft supplies to be stored on them are already sorted and in boxes (on the floor in pic below)!

• Assemble new sewing table when it gets here. You have 10 minutes left in your two-day shipping window, Amazon!  Where are you?
• Figure out what to put on the wall above the craft table. Please let me know if you have some fun ideas!  I'm considering framing items that family members have made.

I'll keep you posted as we move further out of during and into after!