Today I am sharing a project that is super close to my heart. My crafting/sewing/blogging space revamp. You see when it was just two babies in our house, we had a spare room, which double as my craft room. It worked super well as people didn’t really come to stay that often. Fast forward to number three and we needed more space for our babies. So we decided to nix the spare room and give the children each their own room. Which meant that I now needed to find a place for all my stuff. There was really only one option, the space under the stairs.
I’m not gonna lie, the thought totally intimidated me. How on earth was I going to make it cute, functional and an inspiring place to work. I mean come on, it was right next to the laundry! But I was determined. I was working to a deadline and had next to nothing in the way of a budget. With another baby coming along, spending money on my craft/sewing/blogging space was pretty low on our list of priorities.
Here is a look at what it started out like when we moved all the junk.
Oh my, can you say crazy hot mess.
And here is what it looks like now. Pretty huge improvement don’t you think?!
When you are working with next to no budget you really need to get creative and look at what you have that you could change the function of, and use that first. The only item that I paid for was the shelves that hold my fabric stash, and they were $19 from K-mart. Well under the $30 limit I set myself. And they work perfectly in this space.
I had an ugly metal filing cabinet that I needed to keep there, but I was just an eyesore. I wanted to paint it, but paint just wasn’t in the budget. So i got creative and cut a piece of fabric from my stash to cover the front of it. I placed it under my tray rack that holds all my tiny craft supplies and simply used magnets on each corner so it would stay flat. I then used a couple more magnets to attach some bunting triangles to the side for even more colour. So simple and free. Bonus.
I used some more fabric from my stash to sew a quick bunting to go directly under the stairs to add a pop. I attached it using thumb tacks. The wall directly then became my inspiration board. When i find something I love I blue tak it straight up there. It is right in front of me as I work and it sure beats looking at a blank wall. Plus again, its free. The corner above my craft drawers and printer is pretty dark and dull, so what better to add that poms. Cheap to buy at the dollar store, and free if you already have them stashed away at home like me.
This basket holds all my sewing projects that I am working on. It’s like my sewing inbox. The basket was from a birthday gift hamper that was given to me, that had been put away in the cupboard gathering dust.
One thing I did need is somewhere to hang my ribbons that I used for headbands and clips. Easy to grab when I’m working and not taking up desk space. This is simply an off-cut from a curtain rod. I got one that was larger that I needed for my babies nursery and got my husband to cut it. Perfect and the longer rod was on clearance anyway so I save dollars on both ends!
I simply wrapped the ribbon around the rod and attached it to existing screw on the stairs using some thick twine. This also makes it super easy to take down when I want to switch out the ribbon styles.
I always keep my sweet girls mini sewing machine and kit out on my sewing space as well, nothing makes her feel more special than me letting her sew right along side me. I kinda love that she enjoys it so much too!
So there you have it, a small wasted area in our house has now been turned into a fully functional and inspiring crafting/sewing/blogging space that I love going to work in every day. And it was done to the grand total of $19 simply by shopping my home for things that inspire me and make me smile.
Never let a small budget stop your big dreams, all it means is that you need to get a little more creative!
Em is the blogger behind And Nothing Else Matters. She has two sweet babies and one more on the way any day now. She blogs about my life, loves, sewing , crafting, cooking and creating. Her blog is her special place. Please head over and take a look around. She would love to get to know you.
Gena says
I love it! I wish I had a girly little nook like that in my house of boys!
Emily says
She did such a great job! I’m totally inspired to create something similar somewhere in my house, too!
Brandy Myers says
What a great craft space. Way to make the best of a small :un-usable” space.
Emily says
I agree. I’m always so impressed with people who create a new space in their home while spending such little money!
Angela says
It looks like you have made great use of otherwise unused space!
Cecile says
I love how you organized everything! My dream is to have my own craft room!
Emily says
Great use of space, don’t you think? I’m so envious of it, too!
Beth P says
I love it! I need to find some space in my house to do this since all my craft stuff is currently in boxes in the basement. I love to craft so I just dig things out as I need them, but I am forgetting what is all in the boxes!
Emily says
Do you find yourself buying things that you know you already have but can’t locate? I’ve been doing this for months! The worst part of not having a dedicated space is that I’ve been leaving the “supplies” on the corner of my counter – it’s starting to take over the kitchen!
Emy did a great job making use of her space, I hope to find something like that in my own home!