Can anyone say "Excessive Compulsive"? :)
I want this space to be perfect. Ideal. I want it to be me. I don't want to constantly be tweaking and updating. I want to do things that make sense. So basically, I will drive myself crazy because I am not sure the perfect room could ever be designed. Things are constantly changing. But stupidly, I set out to do just that . . . design a perfect, for me, craft room.
Fundamentally, I had an overall need for this space. I needed a workspace (or desk), a computer station, and I really, really wanted a sewing station (but it wasn't a necessity). I would also need some sort of bulk storage or large cabinet. So, I started there.
It became apparent as I was looking at the various furnishings that nothing seemed to fit the bill. I really needed a more custom design. I didn't have a lot of space, so I had to be smarter. The second thing I discovered was that I know nothing about cabinet making. I would draw things out and wonder if it made sense. How deep are cabinets customarily, what are normal drawer sizes, and what makes sense in the cabinet world. I was praying one day and when I got up, I felt like I should head to Home Depot. I walked around all the beautiful cabinet displays. I picked up a few brochures and asked a couple of questions. I walked out feeling extremely discouraged. It felt like a total loss.
Later that night, I was looking through the various things I had picked up from my local Home Depot. I became intrigued by this little book.
It had all these various cabinets with sizes. I could begin to see what possibilities my little room held. So, I went to work on my list again.
You can see in this photo that I began to break things up. Certain things I wanted in my craft area. Other things seemed to fit better in my computer area. And then I had my sewing area I was still hopeful to find a place for.
So with the included layout plan sheet in hand, I began forming what would soon become my craft room.
So, here is the idea for my sewing area. It is just wide enough to house my sewing machine and serger full time. YEAH!! It would have closed uppers and a drawer bank down one side of the work space.
Using the Home Depot cabinet book as my guide, I was able to judge the space so much better. I could see what size an actual cabinet is, how it related to my space, and what is a "normal" look.
I realized that despite the good prefab cabinets they sell, there were still quite a few holes. They didn't have any of the upper open shelves. That would all have to be custom done by me (ok, who am I kidding . . . it would be my amazing husband). I was still piecing cabinetry together from 3 vendors and doing quite a bit of work ourselves.
Sigh . . . regroup . . . rethink . . . and pray.
The next thing that became obvious to me is that I was not utilizing one entire wall to the far right of the drawings. And . . . most importantly . . . I didn't have anywhere to put my large storage cabinet.
In the mean time, I had to meet the cabinet maker at our house to go over the kitchen, baths, etc. In passing, I showed him my room. I just shot from the hip and said. I wanted some sort of small storage cabinet here. A long work station here. Some uppers. And continued around the room.
A couple of weeks later and look what showed up in my cabinet plan.
You can see I made a few tweaks and changes. Actually, I made a lot. I think there were like 6 total back and forth plans between us. This is really close to the final version.
My little place in the world just became a reality.
Oh, waiting is so hard to do when you are so totally happy and completely in love with the space!!!
It became apparent as I was looking at the various furnishings that nothing seemed to fit the bill. I really needed a more custom design. I didn't have a lot of space, so I had to be smarter. The second thing I discovered was that I know nothing about cabinet making. I would draw things out and wonder if it made sense. How deep are cabinets customarily, what are normal drawer sizes, and what makes sense in the cabinet world. I was praying one day and when I got up, I felt like I should head to Home Depot. I walked around all the beautiful cabinet displays. I picked up a few brochures and asked a couple of questions. I walked out feeling extremely discouraged. It felt like a total loss.
Later that night, I was looking through the various things I had picked up from my local Home Depot. I became intrigued by this little book.
It had all these various cabinets with sizes. I could begin to see what possibilities my little room held. So, I went to work on my list again.
I started taking measurements. What could fit where? Can something fit in a drawer? Do I want it to fit into a drawer? Where in the flow of my room would this item work best?
You can see in this photo that I began to break things up. Certain things I wanted in my craft area. Other things seemed to fit better in my computer area. And then I had my sewing area I was still hopeful to find a place for.
So with the included layout plan sheet in hand, I began forming what would soon become my craft room.
I began putting my needs and wants into cabinet form. Here you can see two distinct work spaces . . . a craft space and a computer space. The right side is planned to be my craft station. There is closed storage up above with an open shelf that runs along the top. Open storage towers would run around the edge of both stations. The station on the left would serve as my computer station. It would have a larger opening to allow my computer to fit. Both stations would have drawers under the counter top and drawer banks surrounding the work space.
I still had a little bump out area directly behind the door and computer station. Originally, I wanted that to be a huge deep storage shelf. As the house was being framed, I realized what a need little area that really is. Perfect for my sewing area.
So, here is the idea for my sewing area. It is just wide enough to house my sewing machine and serger full time. YEAH!! It would have closed uppers and a drawer bank down one side of the work space.
Using the Home Depot cabinet book as my guide, I was able to judge the space so much better. I could see what size an actual cabinet is, how it related to my space, and what is a "normal" look.
I realized that despite the good prefab cabinets they sell, there were still quite a few holes. They didn't have any of the upper open shelves. That would all have to be custom done by me (ok, who am I kidding . . . it would be my amazing husband). I was still piecing cabinetry together from 3 vendors and doing quite a bit of work ourselves.
Sigh . . . regroup . . . rethink . . . and pray.
The next thing that became obvious to me is that I was not utilizing one entire wall to the far right of the drawings. And . . . most importantly . . . I didn't have anywhere to put my large storage cabinet.
In the mean time, I had to meet the cabinet maker at our house to go over the kitchen, baths, etc. In passing, I showed him my room. I just shot from the hip and said. I wanted some sort of small storage cabinet here. A long work station here. Some uppers. And continued around the room.
A couple of weeks later and look what showed up in my cabinet plan.
There it was. My room!! It is with the Master Suite Cabinets because my little place in the world is off the back of the master suite. It was love at first sight!! Well, almost.
You can see I made a few tweaks and changes. Actually, I made a lot. I think there were like 6 total back and forth plans between us. This is really close to the final version.
My little place in the world just became a reality.
Oh, waiting is so hard to do when you are so totally happy and completely in love with the space!!!
