The Great Craft Room Makeover

If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you likely know that crafting is an important part of my family's character. Whether you are talking about epic group Halloween costumes that take months to pull together, elaborate mixed-media dungeon sets, hand drawn maps, or simply mini-painting, the Sporkchop household are big fans of homemade creativity. This past summer, the Wife and I decided to finally construct a dedicated space for all of these crafting endeavors. With that in mind, we embarked on the great craft room makeover.

The process began very slowly, with much argumentative SketchUping and Pinteresting of ideas. We settled on a color scheme and a few key elements without too much difficulty. Developing a satisfactory shelving arrangement proved a little more challenging. We began probably around April, but didn't really get rolling on the remodel for about a month (when our tax return finally arrived!)

I'm not sure why this post took so long to share. I think I was waiting for the room to feel "finished". Eventually I realized that I don't think it will every really be finished, as these sorts of projects are always full of ongoing tweaks and improvements.

Anyway, enjoy the images that capture the progression from junk pile to craft room!

First, the requisite "before" shot. The craft room was a collection of leftover furniture, assorted junk, and stuff we really like, but had nowhere to put.

Next, clear everything out, and sell or giveaway unwanted furniture

Now the fun begins. Testing paint colors!

We settled on a very bright green... Trust us, we know what we're doing!

With painting complete...

...Time for an IKEA run!

Assemble all the things!

Okay, here's what you've been waiting for: The end result!

The Wife's sewing and craft station on the left (pre loading of stuff)
Flat art storage on picture rails that fit behind the door when open.

Our son gets his own, toddler-sized arts and craft space.

A pegboard for tool storage

and, of course, my gaming-focused craft station!

I've got my mini paints on repurposed spice racks

Papercraft and other dungeon tile sets sharing wall shelves with boxed sets and some of my supplemental books.

Each drawer of these 3-drawer units perfectly holds a set of Kickstarted Dwarven Forge tiles.

Drawer inserts hold smaller set dressing

and the desk drawers hold basing and additional paint supplies

Oh, we even have a shelf unit for our Lego.

The white furniture against the bright green walls really helps to brighten up the room, and makes it feel less like a basement. Though it currently is back to a messier version of itself, the new setup has already proven far more useful as a workspace. Last year we turned out Halloween costumes, Christmas gifts, painted minis, baby shower presents, and are on our way to a complete sort of our Lego supply. Our former junk room is now creativity HQ.