Three Tips for Creating an Inspiring Craft Room

Three Tips for Creating an Inspiring Craft Room

Written by Danielle Hegedus

If you have a passion for crafting, or you’re just trying to cultivate one, you may be doing your health a favor. According to CNN Health, crafting can help those who suffer from anxiety, depression, or chronic pain and it may also ease stress, increase happiness, and protect the brain from damage caused by aging. Plus, it’s fun and relaxing—some studies show that crafting can have as positive of an impact on your mental well being as meditation and yoga.

 

The first step to increasing the amount of crafting time in your life is to create a physical space where you’ll actually want to spend time. Whether you have the luxury of an entire room, or just a designated space in the garage or basement, you’ll want to create a space that is clean, comfortable, and reflective of your style. Here are the best tips for how to create a craft room that inspires your best work.

Decorate

Just like any other room in your home, you want your craft room to reflect your personal style. Since this isn’t a room where guests will frequently gather, think about trying something outside of your existing design choices. Go a little wild! Have you always wanted a zebra print rug or bright purple cabinets? Try them out here. You want this room to inspire your most creative work, so treat the room itself like your most important craft project.

In terms of artwork, it only makes sense to make this a DIY project, too. Collect items that inspire you (pictures of your family, images from magazines, swatches of fabric)  and display them on your walls to provide daily inspiration. You can use colorful, easy-to-remove washi tape to create the “frames” for a faux gallery wall where you display all of your favorite prints and patterns. This will add a great pop of color to your room, while keeping the display neat and stylish.

If you want to make it easier to constantly update your walls with new sources of inspiration, think about installing a sturdy wire (similar to a clothesline) across your walls. This will allow you to clip patterns, colors, and images that you like to keep them easily accessible while you work. If you are limited on horizontal wall space, you can also accomplish a similar effect with a vertical column of clipboards.

Get Organized

There are always exceptions to the rule, but most people are not particularly productive in the midst of clutter. Clutter can be tough to avoid in a craft room because there are so many great tools and supplies that you want to keep on-hand, so you can’t really adopt a minimalist mindset here. The key is finding a way to keep all of your supplies organized so that their presence isn’t overwhelming in the room, and so that you can easily access all of your materials. This will save you money, too, as you won’t find yourself buying multiples of the same items.

Shelves and containers are essential when you have so many different types of paints, yarn, beads, scrapbook paper, and more. But don’t fret—your craft room doesn’t need to be a sea of sterile plastic containers! Get creative and repurpose an old dresser, TV stand, or bookshelf to give yourself added space with a unique look.

If you’re limited on floor space, use the walls to stay organized. You can put up simple shelves, or think outside the box with rows of colorful plastic buckets or rustic mason jars to keep your tools organized, while also adding a fun design element to your room. 

Create Space for Working with Friends

Once you have your craft room setup, invite friends or family over to join in the fun with you. This is a great way to spend quality time with loved ones while also creating items that are special to you. Maybe your grandmother will have some unique insights for a family history project or your best friend can teach you how to be more effective with the sewing machine. You can also enlist help for big projects like making ornaments for your children’s teachers at the holidays. All you need to host friends in your space is a large table, comfortable seating, and perhaps some beverages and snacks. If space is limited, consider installing a lightweight plastic table in a closet space or on the wall, similar to a Murphy Bed or a stow-away ironing board, so

you can just bring it out when you need it. A couple of folding chairs stacked or stored nearby provide quality seating so that no one will hurt their back trying to work on the floor. If your craft room is far away from your kitchen, consider investing in a small dorm fridge so that sparkling water, wine, and snacks are readily available during marathon crafting sessions.

About the Writer

Danielle Hegedus is an Atlanta based writer. She is a regular contributor to Modernize, as well as a variety of lifestyle and home design websites. Danielle recently finished her first cookbook, in collaboration with Chef, Kamal Grant for Atlanta’s beloved, Sublime Doughnuts.