Craft Room Reveal!

Then:

Rick and I moved into our new house in July of last year. It was kind of a weird time to move–pandemic shutdowns having semi-recently just begun and social upheaval sparking in the cities–but a fantastic opportunity to settle ourselves into a quiet suburban split-level on a generous lot. Being office drones meant we were suddenly able to work from home, and working from home meant we actually got to enjoy our new space!

It was baked into our decision to buy the house that the downstairs main room would make a pretty healthy craft studio. When we first moved in, though, it also became one of the catch-all areas for boxes (and bookshelves) with which we didn’t quite know what else to do.

I was more interested in fixing up the room, once I had a go-ahead, so I didn’t leave myself with much in the way of “before” pictures. I can tell you, though, that the room went through about three different shuffles before I finally figured out what I really wanted to do with it. Between the three different pictures I was able to dig up here, you might notice that my “cutting table” – actually just a panel of Homasote precariously balanced atop a mess of other furniture and things – is never in the same place or orientation.

I did manage to get the place looking decent a few times between move-in day and the beginning of my true remodeling efforts. I’m particularly pleased with this shot of the cutting table situated in front of a couple bookcases and a dress form. But looks aren’t everything. It didn’t take much for the precarious balance I’d sometimes achieved to topple over into another insurmountable series of messes.

Eventually, we moved three or four bookcases from the basement up to the living-room, which freed up a goodly amount of both floor and wall space, and opened up a lot of potential in the room.

Then, at last, I decided I needed to build myself a real craft table. Something sturdy and reasonably level. The biggest issue I’d been having with the table was actually that I really liked to sit on top of it, but it lacked a poignant amount of structural integrity.

True to form, one crafty decision led to another, and another, until what I really had on my hands wasn’t the assembly of one table; it was the recreation of an entire room’s form and function.

Now:

I did it! This is a space I can work (and play) in!

I put a lot of energy into designing the cutting table. I thought long and hard about how many drawers I wanted, and what other kinds of storage space I might need for which specific materials. I calculated budgets and drew sketches. I thought about the structure of the table: how I would build it, what materials I would use to make it, and what form it would take.

Eventually, I realized that the simplest solution was probably the right one. I reused furniture and materials I already had. Pretty much all that went into it was an MDF board, some furring strip, a handful of finishing nails, and (of course) the paint.

Any storage deficiencies I might have encountered by abandoning my more complex plans could be easily maneuvered with the addition of a great big slatwall feature! I love having everything arrayed where I can see it. Unceremoniously hanging a tool on a hook at eye-level keeps me way more organized than unceremoniously plopping something in a drawer would ever allow.

Nearly every surface in my new and improved space is a different height. I wanted the work table, or craft bar, to be counter height, so I measured the height of the island in our kitchen as a guideline.

The cutting table is closer to standard table height, partly by coincidence (since I used existing drawer units for the base), and partly because I like to sit on top of it (which is easier to do at table height than it is at counter height).

My computer desk is even taller than the craft bar. The monitor fits nicely between the room’s two ground-level windows, and I wanted to be able to easily look away from my monitor at the outside world.

I like the variety offered by all of these different work spaces. I find that bopping around to another table, chair, and elevation helps to keep my mind fresh. Even though the whole of my scenery doesn’t change by moving a few feet here or there across the room, my perspective is able to shift enough with each delineated space to keep the inner cobwebs at bay.

It wasn’t wholly intentional, but the computer station is located centrally enough in the room that I can watch shows or listen to podcasts from anywhere in the room!

What’s better than a cozy library corner to devise new ideas, do research, and make plans? (Nothing; that’s what.)

The round table is a hand-me-down, usurped from my dad’s garage, and originally owned by my grandmother (great-grandmother?). Tucked in this corner, it reminds me of the round library table my friends and I met at after lunch in high school. We blew through our math homework together, read books, watched shows, made art, and generally enjoyed ourselves before heading back to class.

Having the couch here reminds me of composition classes in community college. To write my essays, I’d hole up in a corner of the library with a blanket in a comfy chair, scattering my books out on the table in front of me and my computer in my lap.

A lot of elements in my craft room were modeled after good memories. Parts of the cutting table setup were inspired by my high school art studio and the costume shop I briefly inhabited during a semester in private college. I have a full-body dress form because of that costume shop, too–they called theirs “Leggy”.

The tall computer desk is reminiscent of another library excursion, and those window-facing cafè bar tables–you know the ones.

The idea to use slatwall spawned from my work experience, when I used to hang displays at the book store, or stock notions at the fabric store. Slatwall is a boon to retail establishments, and it seems to work just as well–if not better–at home.

Built with some feel-good inspiration and my own two hands, it’s hard to resist going down there now. I imagine the oncoming spring weather will prove to be more alluring, but I’m excited to have this cozy space to work in when the weather isn’t juuust right!