I’ve been desperately needing a creative space for myself, but with 3 adult sized people in less than 1,000 square feet where to find it?
In my closet!
Walk in closets are nice, unless you’re crying for space to fit everyone in a tiny house. So Friday, I pulled everything out of my closet.
Here’s the left side before.
The middle before. FYI that stack of vinyl floor tiles is the worst flooring ever.
Closet right side – before. I painted it white 18 years ago and hadn’t touched it since. Gross.
Believe me or not, but this closet was a bathroom. Tub, toilet and sink, it was the only bathroom in the house. You could rest your head on the sink while sitting on the toilet, which overflowed if you tried to flush while the washing machine was draining. Fun times!
I took everything off the walls, all the shelving and the closet rods. Then I patched holes and painted it all white.
Because there is a bedroom on the other side of the right hand wall, I used that wall for hanging clothing. The person who lives in that bedroom is a very light sleeper.
It’s a double rod but I really don’t have a lot of clothing. I used a thrift store basket for all of my flip-flops and sandals. The sky-scraper heels to the donation bin.
So the right side is all closety business and does its job. Big boring yawn! The fun stuff is on the other side.
Creativity to the left!
Ta-da! Pure creative space! No more hunting all over the place to find my supplies. No more taking over the kitchen table for crafts and having to clean up before finishing.
I am so happy I could sing and dance! But not really, because I don’t know how to do either.
Nearly all my crafting supplies fit on these two shelves. I can’t believe how much the tidier the rest of the house is now that all of this is gathered up in one place!
The top shelf is all about sewing and fabric.
The bottom shelf holds my crafting stuff.
And some topiary supplies!
Tucked into the corner, photo props and my rolls of chicken wire. I almost threw out the little accordion file until I realized it was perfect for patterns.
A thrift store lazy-susan is going to be so handy when I’m making topiaries! And it’s bright, thanks to the two LED floodlights on the shelf above.
Brushes, sculpting tools, and Sharpies all have a home.
Acrylic craft paint and some hand tools for cutting and shaping wire.
The work bench is a 16″ wide pine shelf that I stained at the same time as I was working on my ‘pegboard’. I love that pegboard! I can see everything I use the most often right there. You can see how I made it here – DIY Pegboard for Craft Room Storage. Other than the materials for the pegboard and the lights, I used supplies I already had on hand. I shopped my house for bins. So all told I spent $150-$200. Not too shabby.
So what do you think? Would you sacrifice closet space to gain creative space?
Linking:
There’s definitely a skill in making do with what you have and making what you have do what you need it to. If that even makes sense! 😀
It makes complete sense!
This turned out great and it’s such a smart use of space! I can appreciate making space as we live in a 1 bedroom, 1 bath house. However, I’ve learned over the years to be as clever as possible with furniture placement, shelving, etc. We have an attic that acts as our offices/craft space and we hit our heads at least once a day because of the angles but, we really shouldn’t complain 😀
I feel your pain. I managed to squeeze a third bedroom in here years ago by sacrificing my laundry room (the washer and dryer live in my bedroom!), but they’re all occupied. I’m never envious of other people’s houses but I have been known to drool over their garages and unfinished basements.