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Hello all,
I live a medium sized apartment in NYC. I need some ideas for a craft space and storage. I have seen pictures and videos of craft rooms usually in a house which I drool over but really don't help me out because I don't have a lot of space let alone a room dedicated to crafting (one day though!) I have 4 closets that are packed with craft supplies (who needs clothes anyway?). I tried to make a small craft area in my bedroom that's
about 5'x 6' and it's ok but somehow still ends up being a mess. I have iris carts and storage bins and so on.
I have so much craft stuff because I am sort of a hoarder (ok, definitely a hoarder) plus I'm into a few different crafts like beading, floral, knitting. I have realized that stamping is the one I really love and am concentrating on papercrafting now.
So, does anyone else outhere have the same situation as me?
How have you managed? Do you have pics or vids of your storage solutions and craft areas. I guess I just want some inspiration and would like to share ideas on crafting spaces in an apartment. I hope this wasn't too long.
P.S. I would love to see pics or vids as I'm very visual....;)
If you've already taken over the closets with your craft stuff, why not add a desk and shelving into the closets? if you look in my gallery, you'll find how I converted closets for my stamping and scrapping.
Oooh, very nice. Wish I could do that, but right now the only closet big enough to do that in is literary filled top to bottom with bins of craft stuff. I have actually thought of doing that before, just have to figure out where to put the stuff I take out....lol. My closets are scary.
My first suggestion is to do a purge. A real, soul-searching purge. Donate, sell, or toss what you no longer want to keep. Of all your hobby supplies.
My next suggestion is to condense, and the photo boxes at Michaels (when they are 3/$5) work well for this. I do some beading-- all of my beads fit into a handful of small of plastic boxes that fit inside two photo boxes. These boxes also work well for my card supplies (envelopes, flat A2s, DCWV prefolded cards, finished A2s, embellishments.) They are pretty if you leave them in the open and stack well.
For paper, I use cropper hopper verticals (12x12) and magazine holders from office max for 8x11 and 8x8 pads. (The magazine holder have a very low edge and are really fabulous for removing paper.) The photoboxes hold 6x6 pads.
I have two built in bookshelves over my desk and put in a tension curtain rod, from which I hang items on binder rings. You could do something similar with the right curtain rod brackets installed into the wall. Allows me to hang ribbons and other items within my grasp and sight.
You might also think about investing in a really great desk that has lots of drawers or something with a hutch to utilize vertical space.
Oh my goodness, to purge or not to purge...my eternal dilema.
I have actually been trying to do that little by little. The thing is, most of the stuff I have I actually use once in a while. Like my beads, I haven't beaded in a year, then last month I had to make two necklace and earring sets for birthdays, but I had everything I needed and did not have to go out and purchase anything. Events like that keep me from getting rid of some things. Ahh, but I still try to do a purging every month of stuff that really is no use to me.
I am excited about the bookcase and tension rod idea, I'm envisioning it and figuring out where it could go .
well, got a few ideas already
Craft nook in closet
Bookcases and tension rods in between
a better desk with drawers ( I have one of those old big schooldesks, sturdy, does not move at all, smooth easy to clean top which I love but only tiny drawer which I don't love)
My biggest space savers are going to bookcases rather than the plastic storage units and unmounting my stamps.
The bookcases allow me to see what I have and it stays far more organized than the Iris carts. I have a hodge podge of wood bookcases that I have put next to each other and/or stacked on top of each other. I finally like the arrangement so this summer, I will be painting them when I do another purge. Yes, i do purge. Some things I give to others who craft and others, I post here as give aways. Last week I gave away two stamp sets and my SU wood blocks and some clam shell cases.
The unmounting of my stamps allows me to store them in CD cases, all in one area and within sight. It is so much easier to access them. I have them all indexed on 5x7 cards which are all stored on a ring. This way I can keep my almost 300 sets of stamps organized.
Just some additional ideas to take or leave...good luck!
btw...I also live in an apartment but fortunately a 2 bedroom almost 1100 sq. feet with an attached garage. As long as I keep purging and staying organized my home stays nice and neat.
__________________ ...I'm just meandering through life; trying to have some fun along the way!!!
I just want to be really clear: my tension rod works because the bookshelves are built-in. They're not moving. Not sure how well it would work between bookshelves that are freestanding because if you move one, the tension will be broken and the rod will fall. But you could mount a curtain rod to your wall with regular mounting brackets and it would work the same way.
I also have curio shelves that work well for jars of primas and other embellies.
My clear stamps are in CD cases in a CD cabinet (the one I have can be wallmounted as well but it's on top of my other cabinet. They are hard to find but you can find a freestanding wire one or a skinny cabinet in lots of places.)
I agree with the purge idea. I had so much stuff when we moved into our house, it was ridiculous. And you know what? I didn't use even a fraction of it. So sad. So I sold, donated, gave away, etc. more than half. And now my space is clutter free and I find myself able to get creative and inspired more often.
Oh my goodness, to purge or not to purge...my eternal dilema.
I have actually been trying to do that little by little. The thing is, most of the stuff I have I actually use once in a while. Like my beads, I haven't beaded in a year, then last month I had to make two necklace and earring sets for birthdays, but I had everything I needed and did not have to go out and purchase anything. Events like that keep me from getting rid of some things. Ahh, but I still try to do a purging every month of stuff that really is no use to me.
I am excited about the bookcase and tension rod idea, I'm envisioning it and figuring out where it could go .
well, got a few ideas already
Craft nook in closet
Bookcases and tension rods in between
a better desk with drawers ( I have one of those old big schooldesks, sturdy, does not move at all, smooth easy to clean top which I love but only tiny drawer which I don't love)
Thanks much for the ideas
Debbie
I know what you mean about using most of what you have. Alot of times, when I go to purge I end up with 2 or 3 things that can go. The rest, I can name specific incidents when I needed them and was so thankful I didn't have to spend the money.
I live in an apartment, too. I keep my stuff out in the open - my son and I share the "dining wing" of our main living space. He has his computer desk and two short cabinets, while I have a wall of shelving and one of those longer, skinny folding tables. There is just enough room for both of our chairs comfortably, sitting back to back... maybe I just need to sketch and photo it? It would probably be easier.
My wall of shelves is made up of this sort of modular shelving that we got from an Evelyn & Crabtree outlet that closed. It's wonderful because it's real wood and looks rather nice, but I can still adjust the spacing between shelves to the height I need. (There are holes every 1-1/2" or so, which is awfully convenient.) I've got skinny shelves for flat storage and medium shelves for storage boxes, then larger shelves near the bottom for things like my sewing machine and my 12x12 paper.
I'm in the process of unmounting all of my woodblock stamps. (I'm so excited that SU is going to an unmounted option!) I'm using stamp binders from Gina K and a larger sterlite tote that holds 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of the same white stuff the binder sheets are made from. It is *amazing* how much less space they take when they aren't on the blocks. Which also makes them easier (and lighter!) to tote along if you crop or get together at a friend's house.
Of course, I still have 3 sterlite CD crates of CTMH acrylic stamps, 2 bins of ribbon in need of organizing, and a PILE of made cards and envelopes still waiting for me to come up with a better solution... but I just found wookiemouse's challenge and am going back to the beginning.
__________________ ~jenn
the Last Minute - Hey! Where are my Twizzlers?! Mingler...
The Best Thing my Mother ever taught me? "If it's not yours, don't touch it!"
Last edited by hatterschmuck; 12-06-2009 at 02:55 PM..
I personally commend anyone who can plurge- This is something I still can't do. I may only use a certain stamp or certain things once a year but I have it when I need it. I have spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on craft supplies (Yes, I tend to hoard, but I also use) and the thought process of getting rid of anything makes me ill feeling. I tend to feel like when I bought it there was a reason and someday I will use it. I do like that 7 years into crafting I have finally found a couple styles of cards I prefer to make- so it makes it easiler down the road when making purchases.
I wish I could help you out on space and organization, but I overtook our formal dinning room and turned it to an office and craft room- but I still need more space then I have now. Good luck for finding more unique space saving ways to organize.
I would definitely start by sorting you supplies if you haven't already. That really helped me see what kind of storage i needed. I also live in an apartment with limited space, so i claimed a corner of the living room to set up a table and a bookshelf for my scrapbooking and some of my stamping suplies (what i use regularly). Then in the closet in my daughters roomI have 2 rolling carts that are for sweaters and such for my yarn nd any papercrafting suppplies that i don't use regularly. I also use the 12x12 iris clear boxes on my bookshelf, they stack nicely on top of each other, for paper and on going projects. That way I can put almost everything I need in the box and its easy to grab when I go to a friends house or crop. Hope this helps.
I live in an apt also. First I do not own a whole lot of stuff. I have 2 book cases, and 2 tall bin drawer sets. So every thing is always neat and has a place. and all this fits into one half of the second bedroom.
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Rebekka
I live in a one bedroom apartment and from the start devoted the bedroom to my computer/craft studio. Everything is in there. I store the boxes for my Cricut and Expression with the cartridge boxes inside, in a hallway between my bathroom and closet. There is a useless counter and sink to stack them on. We use the living room for TV and sleeping activity.
I don't entertain in my home, so it's comfortable for what I want to do. My dog and I are happy this way. it works for us!
I feel your pain! We just got back from visiting my brother in law in Manhattan. I kept thinking to myself, what if I lived here? Where would I put all my stuff? Where would I shop for paper???? Where is it do you live? Where do you shop? Just curious after having just visited the city.
Last summer I did a ton of purging, so now I have all of my stuff in a closet. I have bookshelves and small plastic shoebox containers hold everything. I just have them labeled (adhesives, punches, ribbon, etc.) and stacked. It really works great for me. I can find everything in a glance and cleanup is easy because everything has a place. Hope this helps!
While I live in a big house I just use a tiny corner of the lounge room for my crafting. I don't like the idea of having a seperate room away from the rest of the family so I pinched my corner. I keep it pretty tidy so it doens't take much to make it look presentable if guests come. I do have boxes of seldom used things that are stored in another room. It's not pretty but it does the job.
I have a small corner of my bedroom, kind of an alcove (just a little larger than the size you mentioned you have). I use a combination of most of what other people have suggested. I found that the big bins really took up too much space, and I could never find anything. Like you, a do a number of different crafts, and I use the rolling carts to sort everything. I store most of these in my closet.
My furniture is all from IKEA (Billy book cases and a skinny table/desk). I have the rolling carts under the desk too. I also really recommend bookcases. I have sorted all of my embellishments by colour and store these in the Michael's craft/photo boxes, which are stacked on the bookshelves. I also use the 12x12 Sterilite boxes for my paper. I have to have everything sorted,organized, and easily accessible or I get kind of frustrated and never get anything done ... LOL! I don't have a gallery, but I will try to set one up and post a picture.
I also love the ideas others have shared - especially the bookcases with the tension rod. I might just have to look into that this summer, as I just got a sewing machine and will need more space to expand!
Good luck and thank you to everyone for sharing their ideas!
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I live in an old two story home...fairly large and I live alone. Right now I have three fairly large spare rooms and two smaller rooms I could use for stamping. At one point I was in one of the larger rooms. I'm now upstairs in my small computer/stamping room. This room was originally a bedroom. VERY small. This house was built in the 40's. I love being upstairs looking over my yard. It's a small space and it gets messy. I think everyone's area gets messy. I stamp at an antique drop-leaf table that was our kitchen table when I was growing up. So, I choose to stamp in a small, cozy room!!! I really don't have lots of stuff and I've been collecting for four years. I have a plastic three-drawer container to keep embellishments, tools, embossing powder, etc in. On top of it is a large, rectangular basket that holds my punches. A small wooden shelf holds my 100 wood mounted stamp sets. My paper sits on top. That's about it....It's all I need for card making/scrapbooking. Oh, I have a basket full of ribbon also.
__________________ All I want is the chance to prove money won't make me happy!
I found an Armoire that has a drop leaf desk. I got mine on Craigslist for only $100. It is beautiful wood and works great for me. When I am all done I just close it up. Hubby loves that my living room always looks clean now. I really like that I can do my crafting in my living room while we watch tv. These pictures here are before I had set it up and filled it up. lol.
I found an Armoire that has a drop leaf desk. I got mine on Craigslist for only $100. It is beautiful wood and works great for me. When I am all done I just close it up. Hubby loves that my living room always looks clean now. I really like that I can do my crafting in my living room while we watch tv. These pictures here are before I had set it up and filled it up. lol.
Wow -- that's an amazing deal! Gorgeous and organized; love it!!
I found an Armoire that has a drop leaf desk. I got mine on Craigslist for only $100. It is beautiful wood and works great for me. When I am all done I just close it up. Hubby loves that my living room always looks clean now. I really like that I can do my crafting in my living room while we watch tv. These pictures here are before I had set it up and filled it up. lol.
This is a gorgeous piece of furniture and that was a great price for it.
I admit I'd be curious to see how it looks now that it's filled. We moved recently and every time I try to organize my stuff, I seem to unpack stuff from somewhere else that I need to make room for.
__________________ ~jenn
the Last Minute - Hey! Where are my Twizzlers?! Mingler...
The Best Thing my Mother ever taught me? "If it's not yours, don't touch it!"
We live in a one-bedroom condo, with a decent walk-in closet. I commandeered (sic) the corner of the closet and put and old small computer desk. There were already wire storage racks in place. I love my little craft 'room'. DH and I call it the 'craft cave' Good luck! These ladies have given some great ideas! I look forward to seeing how you've organized your space!
I have taken notes from you ladies. I have half of my bedroom... (its a very long bedroom. I use this as my stamp space as I had to make my craft room sort of a spare bedroom. I definately need a lot of organizing thats for sure. I look forward to more ideas.
Debbie~ I am in an attic, so my space is long enough but narrow- I have about 5 feet wide by 10 feet long...that may be triple your space! In addition, I believe I must have what I might need around me, not just what I need. lol, that means I have way more than I'll ever need! Here are just some random thoughts from when I got organized.
Plastic carts are just dang ugly. Maybe that's ok for you, but if you need to be more eye pleasing, make sure everything matches- plastic or not. White cubes are pretty and functional, but for you lugging them up to an apartment is a scary thought. Even unassembled they are way heavy.
My best move was to take most of the 12 x 12 I owned and sliced it right down the middle! My poor DD nearly dropped on the floor, and then called her upline to tell her. But hey! No more need for 12 x 12 storage, and if I ever want that paper as a background for a 12 x 12 album (unlikely), I will just match them side by side! Then, I got over the need to buy 12 x 12 cardstoock, 8.5 x 11 is much easier to store.
While upright paper storage is prettier and easier to find, laying it all in one drawer is more space saving.
Use as much rotating storage as you can- like desk top containers that spin. Especially for pencils, pens and markers.
Use hanging and wall mount as much as you can, too. Ikea stuff is made for small spaces, they have lots of kitchen storage, like little shelves and hanging pieces. If you can't shop there, get a catalog to drool over. If you are not allowed to hang shelves, then get a up over down shelving system, then mount closet brackets on each side. That way a rod won't come down with the weight.
If you are going to purge, and if you live in NYC, and if you are going to do a street drop-off, be sure and let me know, lol lol!
Should have said I mounted ribbon holders from the bottom of a shelf (sorry, the ones I used aren't available), the picture is in my gallery of the ribbon wall.
In my last house I had a very, very, small space so I learned to make use of unusual spaces , like using a trunk as a coffee table and storing stuff inside, you could also use an ottoman. I agree with everyone that a little purging can go a long way. Maybe you could roam some of those great flea markets and used furniture stores NY has to offer and find something that you could "convert" to nice looking scrap storage If there is an IKEA nearby they are great sources for organizational inspiration.
Another vote for IKEA - there is one in Brooklyn now. Even if you don't get anything there, I find it really helpful to walk through the rooms and see how the space is used. They are really good at using small spaces.
I'm in an apartment (under 1000 sq. ft.) with a husband, 2 kids, and a dog, so I feel your pain. I have all my stuff stored in craft boxes in my closet, my cricut under my dresser, and just have to pull everything out onto the dining room table to work. It's a pain to have to take out/put everything away, but the space limitations definitely keep me from buying/keeping things I don't use.
I have a room which is my office (Work from home) and also craft space. I papercraft/stamp, knit and bead as well as embroidery and sewing and used to do silk painting and still have some of that stuff too.
Its taking me a long time but I am slowly really having a good sort through and divesting myself of things that i really don't need. I have also rationalised my storage. I realised my boxes, containers etc were not helping matters much and taking alot of space so have changed these too and tried to find solutions that don't involve boxes in boxes in boxes!
Schools and kindergartens like stuff to play with and I am selling alot of stuff as well.
I have a large desk and 3 shelving units from ikea along with 2 drawer units from ikea - so quite alot and I am finding that even when i think its full...there is room for more :-)
I have an IKEA wardrobe shell, no doors.
At worktop height I have a worktop inset. then below it is suspended a shelf that pulls out using keyboard support rails.
Below that are three full depth (front to back) solid wooden drawers.
Above the worktop are four shelves that only are half the depth. this allows me to have space for the height of a drawing projector placed permenantly on the worktop, or can accomodate an opened laptop or computer screen.
I use the pull out section for my scor-Pal, current project, unfinished cards, AND working on, as it gives room for my knees. (and I'm in a wheelchair). it pops out the way real handy when company calls!
the dimensions are 1 metre wide 58cm deep and there are two heights to buy.
My friend's DH did something like that for her using the doors so she can hide it all away!
Hard up? Get a second hand wardrobe and convert it yourself!
Ladies, Thanks for the bounty of ideas. I currently live in NE Canada, but am moving to California. I will have a 1 bedroom apt there. I have purged, a while ago with various moves, but will need to purge more with this move. I currently have a 3 bdrm apt, with 1 room set up as a craft/computer room. First I am going to get rid of my computer desk and desk top computer for a laptop, purge/give to my friend Michelle anything I am not currently using or am not in love with. The rest I am going to pack in to as few boxes as possible and ship. I do plan to purchase new storage when I get to California, so anyone know of any good places to do so??
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I used to live in a 2bd duplex. I had one room designated as my craftroom. I would use pegboards on the wall to hang anything that i could. I had also started buying the foam to convert my wooden stamps to unmounted.
However when I got divoriced i ended up having all my stuff packed up for 1 year. Now i live in a one bedroom apartment. We use the large livingroom as the bedroom and livingroom. And our bedroom as our crafting room. The downfall is i have to share it with my husband. He uses it as his tatoo room as well. So we are really lacking space. So i am looking foward to trying to use some of these ideas as well.
Through this i have learned there is a lot of things i can purge. Like most of my scrapbooking stuff. I make cards more than scrapbook now.
__________________ ~Michelle Ƶ/ aka Fairy~♥♥BLOG♥♥�Gallery�***BRAK FAIRY*** "I know i'm in my own little world. It's OK they know me here." 2011 cards -197ABAC-15
Ladies, Thanks for the bounty of ideas. I currently live in NE Canada, but am moving to California. I will have a 1 bedroom apt there. I have purged, a while ago with various moves, but will need to purge more with this move. I currently have a 3 bdrm apt, with 1 room set up as a craft/computer room. First I am going to get rid of my computer desk and desk top computer for a laptop, purge/give to my friend Michelle anything I am not currently using or am not in love with. The rest I am going to pack in to as few boxes as possible and ship. I do plan to purchase new storage when I get to California, so anyone know of any good places to do so??
IKEA! Also Target, but I'd go to IKEA first for both ideas and prices.
Ladies, Thanks for the bounty of ideas. I currently live in NE Canada, but am moving to California. I will have a 1 bedroom apt there. I have purged, a while ago with various moves, but will need to purge more with this move. I currently have a 3 bdrm apt, with 1 room set up as a craft/computer room. First I am going to get rid of my computer desk and desk top computer for a laptop, purge/give to my friend Michelle anything I am not currently using or am not in love with. The rest I am going to pack in to as few boxes as possible and ship. I do plan to purchase new storage when I get to California, so anyone know of any good places to do so??
What part of California are you moving to? I'm in Sacramento!
