Create the Perfect Craft Area in Your Home
May 30, 2008 by Loretta
Filed under General Crafts, Project Ideas & Articles
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People enjoy crafts of all kinds. Some take up little space; some take up a lot. Some crafts need very few supplies, and some require enough to fill a cabinet or more. Whatever the crafts, if there is more than one person in the family, creating the perfect craft area in your home is probably something you all only dream about.
Crafts like sewing require quite a bit of space. You need to have a sewing machine, ironing board and iron, an easily accessible space for notions, and space to store fabric and patterns. Dad and the kids have their own crafts. Wouldn’t it be great to have one room where all of this could be located?
Begin by deciding which room you will turn into a craft room or if you will have to add one to your home. If you have a room to use, measure it and draw the room to scale on graph paper. Measure each piece of furniture that will go into the room and transfer those to the same scale size; cut out each piece so you can try different room arrangements without having to move heavy furniture.
One recommendation would be to divide the room into zones. If someone is interested in painting, they will want to have access to direct sunlight. Sunlight wouldn’t be so important to someone who was scrapbooking or putting together models. Create a painting zone nearest the windows.
Be sure to have plenty of overhead as well as task lighting in the room. Each task requires lighting for close tasks as well as something more general. Lamps that can be adjusted for specific tasks would be a good idea. Do you have enough wall outlets or do you need to add more?
Work space will probably be a premium concern. Someone who sews would need a place for the machine as well as space to spread out fabric when cutting out patterns. Of course, that area could be used by someone scrapbooking, as long as they weren’t trying to do so at the same time. The longer the flat surface, the better it would be. If it were long enough, it might be able to accommodate two crafts at one time.
Seating would be another area to consider. Comfortable chairs are a must, especially if you’re sitting for long periods of time. However, you don’t want to get lounge chairs. Something that is ergonomic and practical would be best. You want to be comfortable while working on your craft, but not so comfortable you fall asleep. Good quality office-style chairs will probably do nicely.
The final component is where to store everything. How much of the supplies needed for each craft can be stored on shelves rather than in cabinets on the floor? Peg boards, wall-mounted organizers, and multiple shelved units could store a good amount of things. What about putting strips of metal along the walls near each work area? These would be a handy place to hold scissors, little jars to hold beads or buttons, and more. The options are limitless if you think about it.
Crafts are an important part of our lives. They help us relax and give us a creative outlet. They help us to dream. If they’re so important to us, why is it we don’t enjoy doing them more often? Having a great space designated just for crafts might be the answer your whole family is looking for. Think about the benefits, and then create the perfect craft area for your home.
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Maybe that’s why I lack motivation. I don’t have my own craft space. Every time I want to do crafts I have to dig them, then spend some time doing them and then have to put everything away. Maybe if I didn’t have to go through this process each and every time I go to craft, I would get more done.
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My problem is similar to Kim. I don’t have a separate room exclusively for crafts. I am a lecturer by profession, but crafts are my passion. Oh! I so wish to have my own craft corner.
You make some good points about crafting. Maybe I should take the time and set up an area for my wife and I to craft things together. I would be a good way to spend some quality time together.
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This implies a lot of planning, which normally takes the back seat if you have space pressure.
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.
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