Utilizing a Small Space as a Craft Room

When we only had two children, we were able to use an extra room as an office and craft room.  It seemed so luxurious to have the ability to have a special place just for crafting. I often had things spread out around the area of the room that I used, but I still rarely felt like I had quite enough room.

From storage to a kids’ art area — we tried it all, and no use seemed to stick.  Then one day we decided to utilize every inch of it as a craft area.  You might have a very small space in your house that could work as a craft area too, given some creative thinking and a little bit of shelf installation. I hope that what we have done can inspire you to be creative with space in your home.

A Small Step That Creates More Room

Our first step, which allowed me to take this picture from the hallway, is that we removed the door to the room.  It’s amazing how much room a door takes up, both on the wall and needing to leave room to open it.  Your area may not have a door, or you may not be able to remove your door because of small children.  This is just what worked for our situation.

Your Work Area

We got a hand-me-down L-shaped desk to allow for maximum work space, while fitting well into the 35 square foot room.  My husband also installed shelving from just above the desk (leave room for items to sit on the desk) all the way to just below the ceiling.

Our next way to utilize that space that we had available was to move in my Iris Carts stacked  into two large towers.

I previously had my paper in 12×12 acrylic trays that I had lining the top of one half of my desk.  Knowing that space was precious, I found these drawers that hold 12×12 paper on clearance at one of the big box stores that I could store right under my desk.  (I had to buy multiple tray sets to make these stacks.)

A Surprising Area for Storage

By adding a shelf above the door and adding bulletin boards and a clothes line and clothes pins for photos, we truly utilized every square inch!  Being in a small space forced us to get creative with our space and I now feel like I have more room than I did before!

Have you changed a small area into a craft space?  If you have, be sure to share  your story!  If you haven’t, what do you think you would do to make the most of a small space?