Whether you have a bonus room, a large closet, or just a small corner somewhere, having a designated space to do craft projects is fabulous. I finally got around to turning a large closet into the craft space of my dreams with this simple closet craft room makeover.
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My craft room is really a large walk-in closet in our upstairs hallway. It measures maybe 6×8 feet and isn’t entirely square. I had big dreams of making it my crafty haven, but it slowly became the landing zone for things that didn’t have a home.
My craft stash was already too big to begin with, so that turned the area into the perfect storm of clutter. I couldn’t even get to everything!
I decided it was time to tackle my clutter problem and create my dream craft room in a weekend.
Closet craft room: before and after
This before photo doesn’t show the whole mess, but I think you get the idea. I had an organizing system, but too much stuff for it to be practical.
And really, just like my office supply closet, I would open the door and set things down instead of putting them away because it was just a hassle.
This after photo really shows how much clutter I had. There were projects that I hadn’t even looked at since we moved into this house almost four years ago! And more than half of my previous mess was fabric. I’m still sorting through what I’m keeping, but it is about 10 percent of what I had.
Closet craft room remodeling
I started by taking everything out of the closet, which was really a chore in itself.
I’ll admit that I’m a craft supply hoarder. I mean, I never know when I might need something and I hate having to purchase an item that I previously tossed.
But the empty toilet paper tubes, scraps of paper and fabric, and broken household items I might repurpose were really just taking up space.
The most important truth about decluttering is this: If you feel wasteful getting rid of stuff that has value, think about the value of the space that it is taking up just sitting there.
Once the room was empty, my husband patched a large hole that we had previously just covered with a scrap of sheetrock. (The previous owners cut the hole to access an attic crawlspace days before we moved in.) He fit a smaller piece of sheetrock in the hole and attached it to the attic side of the wall.
Then he tacked up a piece of beadboard leftover from our bathroom remodel. After a ton of caulking, he painted it white.
He patched smaller holes around the rest of the room and then painted the whole thing white.
Just the change in color – from 90s almond to true white – made a huge difference. Note: The carpet will be replaced in the whole house eventually, but it wasn’t in the plans for this project.
Craft room furniture
Once the paint was dry, I started very selectively bringing things back in. I knew I wanted to keep my sewing machine table and the vintage chair.
I also purchased two rolling organizers from Michaels. While I was doing this project, craft storage was on sale. Michaels tends to put their craft organizing supplies on sale a few times a year, so keep an eye out!
I also grabbed a few scrapbook cases to use as drawers for the smallest items. Each shelf has like items group together where possible. Some of my craft supplies are pretty random, so my long-term plan is to use things up and then only purchase what I need.
Next to the carts, you’ll notice my pared-down yarn stash too. I just turned two of the bins previously used in the closet on their sides.
Closet craft room organizing
I used a piece of pegboard leftover from another project and cut it to fit the wall. My husband attached it in a way that left space behind it for the hooks to fit in.
He gave me some extra pegs and hooks from his garage pegboard, and you might notice mini bungee cords hold the knitting looms and embroidery hoops.
The top of the rolling carts is where I have my craft books and my cutting mat.
Above the pegboard, I have another small shelf for paint supplies. The box holds brushes and paint pens; the mini paint buckets hold craft paint sorted by color family.
There was not an electrical outlet in this room, since technically it’s a closet. When we moved in, my husband switched the light fixture for one with an outlet on it and ran an extension cord.
For this craft room makeover, we installed a row of outlets beneath the pegboard and ran the cord carefully around the edge of the room to plug it into the ceiling outlet.
It isn’t too pretty, but it is practical and I think probably better than tying into the outlet into the adjacent bedroom since the house is over 60 years old.
Crafting in my craft room
On the wall opposite the pegboard, I hung a magnetic dry-erase board. I immediately started writing down some of the unfinished projects that I kept so that I would work on them soon.
The room is small, so it’s kind of difficult to photograph. Here’s a sort-of overhead view of the main area.
I think the limited amount of space, compared to the giant shelf I used before, will keep this space from getting cluttered again. The unfinished projects that I wrote on the marker board are sitting on my sewing table. They’re first on my list of projects to either finish or toss out.
I’m really excited to get started crafting in my newly remodeled closet craft room. You can see the first project I created here, a colorful no-sew fabric garland, for Ideas for the Home by Kenarry.
What’s next? Try these other fun and creative ideas on One Mama’s Daily Drama:
You’ve done a fabulous job making the space inviting and orderly, and therefore conducive to creativity! How wonderful!
Thank you! That was my goal!
Wow, I have truly seen the before move in, the during and after. This looks awesome and inspiring. Now to work even more on my craft clutter.
Thanks! It’s hard to let stuff go that feels “wasted” but I feel like a burden is gone too.