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For those of you that have an actual room as your craft room, can you tell me what you love about it, and what you wish you could change.
I am finally getting my craft room and now that the time has come, I have no idea what to do.
The room is approx 11x10.3 do I want counter top all the way around, or in a C shape? Do I want a floor to ceiling cabinet, or just shelves?
I do know one wall will have cabinets, but I am not sure if I should put them on another wall as well.
If I do a C shape with the counter, do I get some kind of other cabinet on the other side for my sizzix/cuttlebug as well?
I am wanting the area to be a place for me and others to work at, I do know that much, that's why I don't want too much on the counter tops themselves, those are the work areas.
Any advice you can give me would be great.
THANKS!
__________________ Jennifer
Proud Mom to 2 beautiful sons & 1 precious daughter
I have a room dedicated to my stamping and it's about the size of yours (I think mine is 10x10 ... 11x11 at the most). What I love about it? It has a big window - great light during the day. What I hate about it? It's not big enough! LOL. My desk has to be in the middle of the room (the edge is along the wall under the window). I don't have enough wall space to put it against the wall. I have too many other plastic drawer units (4 tall ones ... you can't see all of them in the pic).
What I would love .... is an L shaped built-in desk with drawers underneath, and cabinets above. I want outlets in the middle of the wall so I can plug things in at desk level so I don't haveto go crawling underneath to plug stuff in. I would like space in the center of my room where I can put up a small table when friends come over to stamp. I want enough storage for most of my stuff to be concealed, too, so it doesn't look so messy. I'd love to have shelves built into my closet as well, so I can store a lot of things in there. I'm not asking much, am I ?? LOL
I was going to attach a pic of my messy space, but the file is too big and I can't shrink it any more.
Good luck and have fun planning yours :-)
simmy
__________________ I'm realizing my dream of working with animals every day. I love being a Registered Veterinary Technician !!!
I call mine my window to sanity because it's my sun room and i have a huge window that my table faces (can see it in my gallery) but i am still trying to move hubby out of there and into his own office in our lower level i could have gone down there but i love looking out the window as i stamp..and its just enough size RIGHT now for me (For a few more months) lol once ithee whole room is mine i intend to get another table and i have another hutch going to set it up so when my stampin friends come over we dont have to sit at the dining room table
I am lucky enough to have a huge area in my unfinished basement. The one thing I wish I had was more WALL space. I am thinking about making some fake walls of pegboard so I can hang more things.
I have my table out from the wall. I love facing out so I can look out the window, into the living room, etc. I hated having my back to the door & facing the wall.
Have you thought about what kind of flooring you'll have? Carpet/no carpet? I don't have a custom-built stamp room, just a spare room -- with blue carpet. Ugh. I definitely prefer the wood floor I had in the Kansas house.
A C-shape design for your cupboards/countertop would be nice so that should you want to at some later time want to put something else against the other wall, you can. Or maybe have a center island on lockable wheels so that you push it up against that fourth wall when you need space in the middle of your room? (My cousin has this in their kitchen and it is SO nice!)
One nice thing about have cupboards compared to shelves is that you can HIDE things with the doors shut. The cupboards will also help keep your paper from fading. Ooooh.. I can just envision having cubby holes for all of the different papers.... nicely labeled.
I am very very very envious. :mrgreen:
Kimberly
__________________ "There is a very fine line between hobby and mental illness." -- Dave Barry
I have a room but it is a mess right now and is in the process of being organized. I had my table facing out but now it is back against the wall. I like having a wall with shelves in front of me to grab stuff. When looking at cabinets make sure they are deep enough and the shelves can move to be tall enough. I have the 12 by 12 paper holders from SU, so I had to find something tall enough and wide enough (book shelves I have didn't work). Study the gallery of stamping spaces, I got some great ideas from that. I do like things in arms reach which I don't have at the moment so I'm constantly having to get up and down. Congrats and have fun!
I love my room (photos in my gallery, if you're interested) although originally I wished for built-ins. Now I'm glad that I didn't go that route, because it is more flexible and I can move everything around at a whim - and to accommodate new purchases. I can bring in another small table if needed - two can work comfortably or with another table three can fit. However, most of my workshops are in my living/dining room - just shove furniture aside and put in more tables.
You'll find the right configuration, I'm sure of it! Can't wait to see what you come up with.
__________________ Do or do not - there is no try! (Yoda) / SCS Featured Stamper FS730 / Dirty Dozen Alumni
Location: Saskatchewan, Land Of Living Skies Canada
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Congrats on the space you have - it is nice to have a room for yourself. I stand for all my stamping. Scrapbooking I sit. So I have an island in the middle of my room for stamping and a desk to sit at for scrapbooking. I have a huge closet that I took apart and put solid shelving all the way across 9 feet. I have one completely solid wall 13 feet that my tables with ink caddy, score it, 3 trimmers (small one, guilotine, and scalloped), cuttlebug, paper rack, and finally a filing cabinet for files of ideas/cardstock/techniques. Above these tables are eavestroughs of ribbon, t-towels hangers for punches and Ikea holders filled with glues/pencil crayons/etc. Next wall has scrapbooking table & iris carts with various things in such as adhesives, special inks, versamarks etc. Far wall has all my stamps on open & closed shelving, and my computer/printer etc. In the closet are magazines, and extra scrap/stamping stuff. My TV is on top of the filing cabinet. My sink is in the next room and my frig is in the room next to that one.
I would think the most important thing in your room should be the lighting. I have 2 double florescent fixtures on each side of the room plus a triple light fixture in the middle shining into the closet. I hate working in shadows. Plus 3 big windows in the room.
I have lots of plug ins but having them up on top of the counter would be nicer. I do use the plug in strip bars so they are fairly handy. My room is
13 x 15, more space is nice especially if you have people coming over to stamp. As for myself I don't need anything else right now. Keep your room organized and thats all that matters.
If I cannot see clearly, I struggle big time when stamping. Evening stamping was practically a fantasy for me ... more light ... more light. The lighting we installed above my group stamping area is a complete and wonderful change for me. I can be found stamping in this zone late into the night when necessary ... or just desired , thanks to two opposing strips of 4 lights each, both directed toward the stamping zone below. On sunny days, the diffused light from the West window is sometimes enough, or just adding the true color lights from the ceiling fan are just the right addition. Clouds? .. Late day? .. Evenings? .. Flip the switches and stamp!! I would definitely consider the lighting as you plan your sweet new space.
I see lighting is an issue I need to be careful of. Right now we are thinking a ceiling fan, and then putting the good under the cabinet lights, under the cabinets. I think that will be good. Right now there is a large window, practically the whole wall size, and that gives really good natural light, when it's light out. ;)
Thank you for sharing some pictures with me, I really appreciate it. Last night, before I made this post, I was looking at everyones rooms in the gallery and I got some great ideas.
Today we went to Lowes to check some things out and get ideas, and I think I am leaning towards the Estate line of storage systems, I think that will work great for me. 4 upper cabinets, all the same with an open shelf under each of them, and then 2 base cabinets and one base cabinet that is strictly drawers. I am also thinking I will get the 24" wide tall cabinet, and then a separate base cabinet for my sizzix, for the wall that will not have counter top.
I will have wood flooring in here, well Pergo. Right now it is carpet and what a pain that is, especially for my wheeled chairs.
My DH already took all the panelling down, so next is dry-locking the cement block, then he gets to build the walls, and insulation. It was no wonder it was always cold in the family room. Hopefully drywall will be up by next weekend, so I can prime and paint during the week. Not having my stamps is killing me.
Thanks again for all the advice, keep it coming.
__________________ Jennifer
Proud Mom to 2 beautiful sons & 1 precious daughter
I share stamping space in my sewing room. What I love about my room is that I invested in lots of vertical storage. These large cabinets and book cases take up precious counter space, but I don't like to look a clutter, so the tradeoff for me is fine. Also, I have a large butcher block that stands 37 inches high. It's perfect for standing to cut paper or fabrics. My back does not get sore, and I have more control and accuracy when I cut standing up. My craft room has great natural light, which is a definite plus. Some day, I hope to post pictures - I designed my space, but my DH did all of the work to make it happen. It is truly a love gift from him.
__________________ christine m.aka summer and weekend stalker DOT INK (My yadda yadda) Don't magnify your problem . . .Magnify your God
PROUD MEMBER OF THE REDDIVAS!
Yes good lighting is key. I am in desperate need of much more lighting in my craft room One day I will fix the problem. If I were starting my room from scratch the first thing I would do is figure in the lighting.The second thing that I would have installed is a counter so that I would be able to stamp or scrap while standing for awhile. Bending my neck down to work for long periods of time hurts like the dickens. Good luck with your new room.
I wish I had a U shaped work area. I end up opening drawers now to accomplish this. While I blessed to have an extra bedroom and walk in closet for my craft items, I wish it were square instead of a rectangle shape. I have photos in my gallery if you want to see what I have now.
This coming summer, I plan on hunting for better furniture, like maybe some bookcases to replace my cubby that I have hauled from classroom to classroom over the years and now is in the craft room.
I totally agree with the lighting issue! Get as much in there as you can.
I often stand when I stamp, so I got a "kitchen/project table" from Target.com, along with some cheap stools. That way when I want to stand up for a minute it's not a big deal. However those stools started to hurt the back of my legs badly after a couple of hours. So I upgraded to nice sturdy stools, with huge round thickly padded swivel seats. They are much more comfy. But now my feet are giving me problems and sitting on any stools is uncomfortable for more than a few minutes!! Ugh! I am planning a remodel of my craft room and I will be sure to have not only a tall table but a normal height desktop where I can sit in a regular chair.
Also, I find that having a flat surface near shelves, if not extended a bit, is handy. What I am thinking of is when I go to the shelf and pull out a box or paper holder, I often want to just open it up and remove one item to use. So somewhere handy to set things on for a couple minutes would be great too.
Very important is paper storage for 12 x 12 with some sort of door to keep it dark (fading) Sink, Window or excellent fake daylight spectrum light, Lots of outlest at counter level. Ribbon storage.
I have my table away from the wall, but it is really huge. I would like a counter that jetted out in the middle to work at with someone and maybe another counter along a wall-so I guess a U shape that only took half the room? There are some great ideas in the gallery.
__________________ ~Vee
It's not who you know-it's whom you know.
THIS one is sooo cool. My DH asked me to print it out and that is the one he I gonna build for me. (There are several more pictures in the gallery starting on page 10 (48 pictures per page) Gallery at Splitcoaststampers
__________________ ~Vee
It's not who you know-it's whom you know.
The other night I went through every single page in the gallery of stamp rooms, and there are some amazing rooms out there.
I think I know what I want/need. This is a very scary project for me. I am so afraid that I will tell DH what I want and then once it's done, it wont be right. The research I have been doing is definitely the key tp no major mistakes, so I thank you all for responding.
I will have a tall cabinet in the one corner which is where I will keep my 12x12 paper, the 8.5x11 will be in a long drawer.
I think I have lighting covered as well. Now my issue is ribbon. I saw one room where she used a gutter system for her ribbon and I am thinking I like that a lot.
My only real question now is where to store my misc. stamps, you know like the $1.00 ones. I think I have an idea for that, using a spice rack inside a cabinet, but I am not 100% sold on that. Any other suggestions?
Thanks again for all your help.
__________________ Jennifer
Proud Mom to 2 beautiful sons & 1 precious daughter
One word...IKEA! If you have one near you, check it out! I have my eye on a kitchen island that is about $150.00. It is nice and high and has space for basket underneath along with a few shallow drawers. I would give the link but I can't find it...I don't want you to think I am not sharing!! Good luck with whatever you decide to do!!
One word...IKEA! If you have one near you, check it out! I have my eye on a kitchen island that is about $150.00. It is nice and high and has space for basket underneath along with a few shallow drawers. I would give the link but I can't find it...I don't want you to think I am not sharing!! Good luck with whatever you decide to do!!
No IKEA here. :( I wish we did, this store sounds amazing.
__________________ Jennifer
Proud Mom to 2 beautiful sons & 1 precious daughter
I don't use my single stamps as often as I use my SU sets, so I store them in the inexpensive photo boxes that you can get at Michaels, etc. Just one other thought - about cabinets. I'm getting ready to make a craft room and I think I'm going to look for cabinet doors that can open up and then slide back inside the cabinet. That way, when I'm working, everything can be open and available and when I'm finished, I can close the doors and the room will look neat - or at least neater!
We finished a room in my basement for me to teach decorative painting classes, well, I outgrew it last year and so we finished another larger room so that I could do my workshops at home. I have a few pics in my gallery.
I wanted cupboards and counters around, but once we measured, it's a 22 x 12 foot room, we realized the table and chairs would not fit in the room. Well, they would fit but no one would be able to move.
So, no counters, no cupboards, but I do have large shelf and I like it because I'm a visual person, I need to see what I have or else I won't use it.
The room has a shelf around 2 of the 4 walls and I love it for displaying my samples. But I needed something to display my scrapbook pages on so we found some metal strips at Home Depot and large magnetic clips at a dollar store and for under $5 I have 2 different strips to hang pages on.
Because it's in the basement, I wanted a brighter colour and I needed curtains, so we went with patterned sheers so that the light still comes in but the neighbours can't see me.
For Right now, I have a dining room table in the corner of our bedroom and a bookshelf...it works for now. We are building a house and my room is almost finished in there...The room is HUGE like 16x16...the space that I have is like L shaped because of the closet...but I am going to have a HUGE U shaped desk ( we put track lighting over it on all 3 sides)....above it on the walls, we will have stuff hanging for ribbon storage and all that stuff...still have not worked the logistics of that out yet...and I need to find someone to build me a custom U shaped desk!!!!!
__________________ Rebekah ---Remember: People only rain on your parade because they're jealous of your sun and tired of their shade
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