Craft Room Exposed!

It's actually more of a craft corner, which lives in the bedroom. I got an Expedit Workstation from IKEA several weeks ago, and it's far more functional than the small student desk I had been sewing on in the past.

There are cuter, more organized, and more intense Expedit setups out there, but for me, this little nook is both realistic and functional. We don't all have the $$, space, or motivation for starting (and maintaining!) a total room overhaul.

After sharing the "before" photo of my closet a few days ago, I decided I can be honest about a few tangled cords and awkwardly stowed items!

The chair looks huge in this picture; it was a recent donation from my dad, who's downsizing. It's a little intense for crafting purposes, but it's super comfy, and you can't beat free.

My favorite part is that I can keep both my sewing machines accessible, and easily switch back and forth between them during a single project. When I want my desk to function as a space for other crafts or using my laptop, I can just slide the sewing machines back against the wall. Everything is always easy to get to, so I use it all more often than I had been in the past.

The cubbies are great, too. I use the cubbies below the desk to stow books and paperwork that I don't use very often. The cubbies above the desk hold bins full of craft supplies, my owl "piggy" bank, library books, some special photographs, and notebooks. 

Thread and some notions are stored in my sewing box on top of the desk- handmade for me by my dad.

Additional supplies, and odds and ends (like old phone chargers, cables, you name it), are stowed in the plastic drawers under the desk.

I've made a pact with myself to keep my craft supplies contained within this space. I was able to downsize my fabric AND yarn to fit only in the bigger of the two bins below (which are stowed on top of the shelves). The smaller of the bins contains ongoing projects, or abandoned ones that I feel up to tackling again now that I've got a functional space. I fully intend to keep it that way! 

How do you organize your craft area? With amazing wall to wall shelving? A little help from IKEA? Plastic bins under the bed? Leave a comment and let us know!

In case you missed it: I overshared my recent closet organization a few days ago.