Finding time to do anything nowadays is extremely hard. With working full time, kid's homework, photography, and finding time for knitting & crocheting, cleaning the much needed craft room seems impossible. That's probably why I've put it off for so long.
When I started Designs by Phanessa & focused on knitting & crocheting, I had to make some adjustments & hard choices. I decided to give up my home studio and newborn photography because there was just not enough time and I needed to clear the loft space which was my home studio. This meant that my craft room was my temporary storage room for all the props, lights, backdrops, etc.
From time to time, I would post a teeny tiny portion of my yarn in the craft room so that no one can ever see the crazy mess!
I've received comments asking me to share photos of the rest of my room. Um... no way! It's too embarrassing! At least, not until I can show you a better photo of it! haha Well, now I can! You will see exactly why I didn't want anyone to see!
My yarn obsession is really bad. I can't say no to sales and I buy it just because it's on sale. Often times, I don't have the color or yarn weight I want/need regardless of the fact that I have so much. I started to run out of room to store the yarn. The space was getting limited because I didn't know what to do with all the props I was temporarily storing in my craft room.
The above photo was actually take after I've cleared out the shelves on the right for yarn. I didn't decide to share a before/after post until after I worked so hard just with those shelves lol.
As you can see, the floor is barely visible. My quick attempt to cover the sun (why!?!) from coming in, meant I hung dark fabric to cover the window and because I'm short, It only made it half way up.
The table in the corner just became a mess. It was an event just to clear enough space to use the sewing machine. Under the desk was a large stash of Scrapbooks I've collected over the years but never have time to actually make anything.
So I started by throwing things out. Then I started to remove things that I know I won't be using anymore. I've collected so many scrapbook supplies, I needed to get rid of them because let's face it, I'm probably not going to start anytime soon since I have been focusing on my knitting & crochet.
My goal was to use what I have and just reorganizing...
So, I wanted to use the cube organizers I had currently as the base for my new workstation. I wanted to purchase a white table top but I didn't know what to do with the glass table I already had. For now, I decided to keep the glass table and maybe one day change it out. I did end up buying 2 more storage units!
Once I started, I wanted to keep going. I'm still not 100% done. I still want to update a few things but for now, I'm loving my new space. I spend a lot of time in there. I knit, crochet & take photos in my new space. I've gathered almost all of my supplies and materials from different parts of the house and they're all in one place now (mostly).
I purchased a new (smaller) table for my sewing machine from Ikea. I don't sew much so I may put it in the closet and use that as another workstation for something else. I bought a basket storage from Ikea too for all the fabric I had that were stashed on the window seat area. I decided to purchase 3 bar stools so my boys can doodle or whatever while I'm in there. I found the perfect light blue color. I purchased both counter height 25" & 30" but the taller one was too tall.
I donated all of the items that were still usable to my boys' preschool and after school program. They were so grateful for all the fun art items they can use in class.
Take a look at the before and after taken with my iPhone.
After standing back and staring at my new (awesome) space with a great sense of accomplishment, I realized one thing. I do have too much yarn! This actually helped refrain me from yarn shopping (for now). haha
It took me a few weeks to get the room as close to acceptable as I can. There are still some minor things that I would like to update and change but for now, it's clean, organized and so much more functional! It's hard to get my boys out of the room because they also love mommy's new space!
I purchased a few heavy duty cardboard storage boxes from Ikea and Michaels to replace the red ones I had in the room. I also decided after to move my fabric somewhere else because I'm probably not going to use it often! haha.
I wasn't happy with the middle space so I replaced it with more cube organizers.
So here is the updated room!
Craft Room Makeover Video!
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