Help me design a craft room out of a living room - somewhat on a budget

[Anonymous]

We have an unused formal living room with minimal furniture in it or stuff that could be gotten rid of/moved elsewhere. I'm thinking of starting a personalization business so a craft room would be great. Except I have no idea where to begin.

I need space for a sewing machine, a computer/laptop, a die cutting machine and a lot of table surface space. Storage is a must as well as hanging boards/shelves.

Any good blogs or ideas out there? Any personal experience? I don't want to spend too much money so I'm looking at Ikea for most of my furniture needs. The room is quite open so covered storage is a necessity so that the room doesn't look messy - it's the first room you see when you enter the house.

Alternatively, anyone know of a cheap designer who could come out and give me some ideas or design?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I saw some pretty nice looking but inexpensive craft room furniture in the home decorators collection catalog. It's not the highest quality in the world but you can't beat the price.

[Anonymous]

Check out sewing storage ideas on Pinterest.
There ar also a few books on Amazon dedicated solely to organizing sewing rooms.

[Anonymous]

I would wander around ikea for ideas

[Anonymous]

I second the ikea idea. Pinterest is also a good suggestion. I really like the Elfa products from The Container Store. They are a little expensive, but easy to use and the people that work there are so helpful in getting it just right for you.

[Anonymous]

A bunch of kallax or billy bookcases from ikea. Line a wall with them. Some fabric storage cubes -- target has decent quality that aren't too spendy. Hang a giant curtain in front of the whole thing and you have a decently cheap diy closet.

Desk for your sewing machine with drawers in it to keep notions, etc; cork board above this for pinning ideas.

Another table to fit your die cutter.

Nice big hobby table like this for the center of the room; you can fold it up if you want to move the clutter:
http://www.hayneedle.com/product/sullivanshomehobbytable.cfm?redirect=false&source=pla&kwid=Sewing_SUA002&tid=SUA002-1&adtype=pla&kw=&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=SUA002-1&gclid=Cj0KEQiA8MSkBRCP5LaRlcOAusMBEiQAiqldkt5YqneOEoKW0u7F5YJlUnF89fS0svSf9rsibdzyTXQaAtmh8P8HAQ

(If you can get a table like that that's *higher* that would def. be a bonus. If you are going to be cutting fabric, you want to be standing up.)

[Anonymous]

I have the exact same set up. I converted the formal living room into a large casual dining room/craft room. I found a huge unfinished dining room table and painted it a fun color then put on several coats of polyseal to make it super durable. The table is clear whenever we host people but is often used for sewing/cutting/etc when I have projects. Then, along a long wall, I built a 12ft long "fauxdenza" using ikea cabinetry. All of my craft supplies are tucked in there when not in use but for anyone who visits, they would just assume it is filled with dishes and other dining room items. It works out great because it allows me to host large parties without having all my craft stuff on display but also gives me lots of functionality on a day to day basis.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for all of the he ideas! I had a design consult with California Closets - they are pretty pricey. I'm headed to Ikea this weekend to see what strikes me.

I'm so excited at this possibility!

[Anonymous]

Definitely get some Kallax w/ fabric bins at Ikea.

Check out craigslist for desks, tables and other horizontal surfaces.

My craft room is 100% Ikea furniture and totally on a budget.

[Anonymous]

Have the container store do a free design for you, then get most of the components elsewhere. That way you get the best design and then can find the cheapest parts/pieces.