pugdog
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Feb 10, 2005, 1:36 PM
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Setting up a craft room, or workspace.
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Setting up a craft room, or area.
I saw a video on-line recently, called "Creating a Craft Room." It was less about the craft room, than ribbons and wrapping paper. The 3 yards for $36 ribbon, really stood out in my mind. Very realistic for the average (or even average above average) person. Not!
When setting up a craft area, the most important thing to think about is <B>what are you gaining or losing by setting up a specfic area</b>. What you gain in organization, may be lost in the new traffic flow or loss of other important storage. It may not have seemed important before, but tripping over the vacuum cleaner gets really old the 20th time.
The second major consideration is location. Putting your workspace in a place you are not comfortable, or eager to spend time in, is likely to just become more wasted space. If you really like working at the kitchen table, or in the living room watching TV, then putting the work area in the basement, or an attic alcove, is not going to be conducive to your wanting to work there.
In this case, setting up a STORAGE rather than work area is a better goal, and using modular, and removable "kits" for different projects a better solution. You can take them to the table, and work where you want, yet still have all your items organized and accessible.
On the other hand, you really do want your own room, or corner, to which to retire, and work in quiet, then setting up a specific work area IS for you. Don't ignore the modular, "Take it to the table" approach, but you do have a bit more flexibility in building in features, and maximizing the usable space.
One thing in the above mentioned video that stood out in my mind, instantly, was the inefficient use of the cabinate for holding rolls of wrapping paper. She had taken the doors off one side, but left the center shelf divider. She put one dowel in each of the top and bottom spaces, and had only two bulk rolls in a space that could have easily held 4 or more. It wasn't as if the higher density concept hadn't occured to her, it just wasn't well implemented. There were dowel racks on the walls holding sheets of paper; had she done the same thing for the bulk rolls, one column width could have held a new roll of paper every 4-6", and had a very high density of rolls in a very, very small space -- not much more than that single cabinate, but as many as 10x the accessible storage. Smaller (thinner) rolls could have also been hidden behind and between the larger ones increasing density even further, without sacrificing usability or accessibility.
Photographers had the same problem, trying to stack and store background papers in 72 and 104 inch widths. You needed a variety of colors, or at least 3 (black, white and neutral grey) and you needed access to them easily, perhaps almost simultaneously. The same solutions work for rolls of wrapping paper -- even better.
Tables or counters can be made of almost anything. I like doors. They are available inexpensively in a variety of sizes, from thin and long, to stubby and wide. You can set them on inexpensive file cabinates, drawer units, or almost any other sturdy stackable unit. You can also get pre-cut kitchen counters for about $10 a foot, which gives you a nice, sturdy and sealed surface to work on.
Be creative. You don't have to invest a fortune, or work on rickety old left overs.
PUGDOG's Rock & Bead Shop
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
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