Craft Room Project

My new craft room has evolved over a long time.

First it was going to be a shower room, but after finding out that the plumbing and waste pipes that were on the other side of the house would be a big job to connect up to, we decided against the idea.

So for a while it was a large cupboard filled with stuff we didn't know what to do with.

Then one day we decided to make it into a small home office.

It had a boxed area at one end. This was to allow height to the staircase below.

My husband used this alcove to make a built in bookcase with wooden doors to keep it looking neat and streamlined.

Next we used a kitchen base unit and screwed on some nice metal legs and had a piece of counter-top cut to size to make a desk area.

And so that room was used as an office area for a lot of years.

When Natalie and I started up our business 'Miles By Design', I had been making everything on my dining room table.

Natalie's polymer clay only needs a very small area and is quick to put away. But as I am working with material and often use my sewing machine, it was very annoying having to keep setting things up, sometimes just for a couple of lines of stitching.

When I was making something that took longer it was stuck on the table for a few days, and I always felt that I was rushing to finish and put it all away.

So one day whilst moaning to Natalie that I wished I had a dedicated work area, she came up with the idea of adapting our home office into a craft room.

Instead of fixing up lots of shelves over the desk area I decided to find a bookcase that would be wide enough to fit in the recess and deep enough for my sewing machine to fit on the bottom.

This means that it would be out of the way when not in use and I would have an area in front to craft on.

I found a bookcase that fitted the requirements in Argos, but it was too tall. However after talking to my husband he said we could cut it down, which we did.

He fixed a batten to the side and drilled through the bookcase into the wall with strong raw plugs & long screws so that it would be very secure and not fall on me (Awh he must really care!)

The next item that I bought was a lovely cream office chair from staples.

Natalie and I then had a great morning going around Home Bargains & The Range, buying pretty glass jars and metal tins to store all my bits and bobs in.

It then took me a couple of days sorting out all the bits and pieces to put in the jars.

Not sure what to do with all my ribbon spools I saw a bathroom caddy in B&M Store and used wooden dowels to suspend my spools on. I was able to use the other baskets for extra storage.

Having no window, the lighting is sometimes an issue. So back to Argos I went to pick up a daylight lamp to stand on the desk and the problem was solved.

It even has a lift up flap that covers a magnifying glass, so it is super useful.

So that is the story of my new craft room. It may be small but it is perfectly formed.

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