Craft Room Update!

The work on our spare bedroom conversion to a craft room continues.  To give you some idea of what the room looked like before all the work began, I thought I'd post a couple of before shots.  It was your typical small, spare room with a bed, messy computer station, and various pieces of furniture that were really way too big for the room.  But, as I said before, we helped out someone in need and donated the furniture.  This freed up the room to be made into what I'd always wanted; a craft room!

In the first picture you can see the soft color of the accent wall.  It is very soothing.  My husband bought some birch plywood and made some very long, sturdy work tables.  He also added some pretty trim and plenty of powerstrips for my crafting equipment!  You can click on each picture for a bigger, more detailed view.   The tv/dvd player is hung from the ceiling to save space.  It's not hooked up yet in these pics.

  I loved the accent wall so much that I decided this weekend to add a stripe of the same color around the room.  I really like how that turned out.  With the white trim, it really makes it pop!  One little project I had my husband do is drill a tiny hole in my yardstick so I could hang it up!  I am always needing this inexpensive supply!  I plan to add some jute string to hang it from but I can't find any of my craft supplies right now.  I will be organizing them soon when I get containers for everything!

We decided to move our computer into the craft room after some debate.  It really made sense to do this since I do some digital scrapbooking; and having a computer and printer in the same work space would be very convenient.  It used up some of my workspace, but I think I'll still have plenty!

I couldn't wait to bring in my Cricut Expression.  I was so excited to finally have a "home" for it!  We will be adding shelves on the walls next, and a pegboard.  I plan to paint big polka dots in the accent color on the pegboard (to continue the color theme).  I also want to add a magnetic board for small magnetic containers (see pic to the right) to store small embellishments like buttons, brads, etc.  I have some of these on my refrigerator and love them! I have been seeing some really cool subway art on some very creative ladies' blogs.  I have plans to incorporate some of these in my room decor.  And, of course, I plan to use my Cricut to make some creative themed wall quotes. 

We still want to put a fabric skirt under the table to hide cords and table legs.  I want to use burlap but my husband isn't real crazy about the idea.  I assured him I'd wash the burlap to cut down on that rustic smell.  He said it wasn't that, that made him hesitate.  He just didn't like the look of burlap.  We are still discussing this.  It's his room too and I want his input!  I had some other ideas like maybe using an aqua gingham fabric or crisp white fabric.  He said he could install inexpensive curtain rods under the table to hang cafe length curtains from so we could open the curtains to store stuff if we needed to and then close it to hide what's underneath.  What do you think?  Whatever I use, I plan to also use it to make a valance for the room's one window.  I want to make sure lots of light comes in.

Remember the inspiration picture I posted in an earlier post?  I still want to have him build the island work station you see in that picture.  I loved the bookshelves on the ends.  How handy would that be for craft books?!  And, perhaps some of that wall cabinetry you see in the picture.  One thing a craft room must have is lots of storage!  We will be adding to the room as we go.  I'll be sure and post some future pictures so you can see the progress.  For now, I am thrilled with what we have done!  I now have a beautiful place to create and spend time creating with my husband!