Keen to get your craft or hobby projects off the kitchen table and out of the garage? It is hardly a difficult task to find homeowners post-Covid who are managing to do exactly that – turning a room (or somewhere on their property) into a dedicated craft space – a growing trend, perhaps? It’s arguably a stage of life thing for many.
Once children leave home, there’s the option of re-purposing one of the bedrooms (not that you need to put your creative juices on hold until you are an empty-nester).
Commandeering what was formerly one of her children’s rooms is exactly what Judy Monteith did, one house ago. But now, in her new-build home in Kinloch, she has nearly an entire floor of her house dedicated to her creativity. Judy’s a keen quilter, who says she has crafted forever, following the example set by her grandmothers.
Her upstairs craft room is the size of a good-sized living room and features a permanent table where her machine is positioned – and there’s plenty of room for laying out and cutting fabric.
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“I love it as it’s my space, so I can get up there and get away from everyone and can leave everything – there’s lots of pieces of fabric cut out and left on my table,” Judy says. The room has lots of LED lights and a good desk light is also a must, she says.
Judy has drawers for storage and uses these to house her fabrics, which are stored according to fabric designers. A ladder in her craft toom is perfect for hanging her quilts over – they’re out of the way, yet on display.
Proper lighting and plenty of storage make Lisa Lewis’ crafty ‘she-shed’ a stand-out. Photo / Supplied
In Papamoa, Lisa Lewis tells how her husband, Keith, was the driving force behind her ‘she-shed’ – a whole stand-alone little log cabin to herself in her backyard, and entirely dedicated to her scrapbooking craft.
“I used to have a desk in the garage with my stuff piled up on it. Keith wanted that space, so he was the one who decided on the cute little shed. He jokes it was a great move as he got to have his garage back without any pretty things cluttering it up,” Lisa says.
She says their house is small so offered no permanent space for craft projects. Their house is modern and industrial in style, but Lisa (the owner of Kollide graphic design) also loves vintage chic – she’s styled her craft shed with a focus on pretty.
Lisa scoring an oak table and two veneer wall units via the web.
The oak table is an asset, she says, as it is extendable. When her girlfriends join her for crafting sessions, the table is stretched to its full size.
A minimalist design and timber walls help create a restful, zen-like space for painting. Photo / Supplied
Lisa has storage down to a fine art in her shed. Vintage suitcases store her fabrics and suit the aesthetic of her décor. They’re stacked under a vintage Queen Anne dressing table, with its little drawers housing her stamps and dyes. The wall units required some specific crafting before they took on their role as storage units.
“Because they were veneer, I coated them in Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer, which then allowed paint to stick. I gave them the distressed paint look and added transfers so they’re French chic style now.”
Designs from the Resene bring character to the walls of this seamstress’ space. Photo / Supplied
With that beatification job out of the way it was time to fill the dressers with tools, glue gun, papers and embellishments – such as flowers, ribbons, lace and beads – that Lisa puts on her pages.
To make her craft space extra comfortable, Lisa’s husband and father added insulation and internal plywood walls, which she painted Resene Alabaster to give her space a light and bright feel.
In this creative crafting space, a colourful stripe floor sets the stage. Photo / Supplied
Fluorescent tube lighting does a good job, Lisa says, and she’s ensured her shed has plenty of power points for her desk lamp, heater and glue gun.
However, having the luxury of such spaces isn’t the case for all those who manage to craft. More-often-than-not, it’s about using an existing space in a multi-purpose manner or clever way. Here are some tips on how to create a productive place where your creative juices can flow:
1. Re-think your rooms to enable multi-purpose use. Is there the ability to make your wash house a laundry-cum-craft room, for example?
2. Do more with a spare bedroom. Switch out the bed for a smart piece of furniture like a fold-away wall bed or a multifunctional sofa suite. This will leave room for a craft surface, but the room can still accommodate guests
3. Make use of wasted space. Is the area under the staircase one that can be utilised, for example? It may be that while you can’t achieve a craft room, you can create a craft nook
4. Consider a craft space version of a “cloffice” – that is, an office in a closet, featuring a built-in desktop and shelving. If storage isn’t an issue, convert a closet into a craft space, complete with a desktop and power point
5. If storage space appears an issue, then climb the walls! Vertical space can be cleverly used for storage baskets and craft books and magazines on shelves. Those walls are also good for hanging inspiration boards. Remember the aforementioned ideas of using ladders for hanging quilts or fabrics, plus the use of attractive, stacked suitcases for housing craft paraphernalia. Baskets and movable bins are also invaluable
6. Don’t cut corners when it comes to a decent amount of table space and lighting. If space is an issue your work surface could even be a table that folds out from the wall. Ensure lighting works in your favour – install the lighting you need and position your workstation to make the most of natural light
7. If you are wanting to make your dedicated area inspirational, look to the tools of your trade. It turns out a lot of what makes a cool, creative and inviting craft room is the way you store and organise your craft supplies. Perfect examples include multi-coloured cotton reels on nails attached to timber – colourful wall art right there; and buttons and beads etc displayed in glass jars.
- For more colour, paint and wallpaper ideas and inspiration see the latest looks visit www.resene.co.nz/latestlooks or visit your Resene ColorShop.
This content has been created in partnership with Resene.
