Saturday 1 December 2012

Arranging your craft workspace at home

Arranging your craft workspace at home
Any serious crafter knows how important it is to have a well-arranged workspace. Everything should be organised and within easy reach, otherwise precious time can be lost in searching for misplaced items. The right amount of space is also important. Those who are lucky enough can commandeer a spare room to host their production work, but others may have to content themselves with a small area in the dining room or lounge. Think of how the home is presently laid out, and it will soon become clear where there might be a space that’s not in frequent use.
Where to work
Having decided on the workspace available, crafters will need the right surface to operate from. Those involved in sewing or painting will need a fairly large working surface, and dining tables are often the best option. They offer plenty of room to set up equipment such as a sewing machine. Place a protective cover over the table to protect it from working materials and utensils, particularly items like scissors or craft knives.
However, dining tables are not the best option if they also need to be used for dining! Moving everything several times each day can be time consuming, and will quickly get a little tiresome. Wherever possible, a dedicated craft space such as a spare room is the ideal answer. If the craft space is fairly small, then space saving items such as a fold-down table and collapsible chairs could be the best solution.
A comfortable chair is a must. Serious crafters can spend hours each day perfecting their chosen art, so it makes sense to have a good quality chair that provides maximum comfort. The room should be warm, and natural light is a priority since artificial light is not adequate for some crafts.
Organising the space
Those who are using a spare room might be able to make use of the furniture already there. A chest of drawers or a wardrobe offer plenty of storage space for craft paraphernalia. Under-bed storage is often a good option for bulkier items. Those making use of a lounge or dining room as a craft workspace should ensure there is a sideboard or cupboard that is given over to craft items only, so everything can be put away.
Those who use small items for crafts such as scrapbooking or making cards will appreciate a storage unit with small drawers, so that supplies can be organised into separate categories. Clear plastic drawers allow the user to see what is in each one without spending precious time searching.
Those who knit might find baskets useful for storing yarn, and folders with clear wallets are ideal for keeping patterns clean and accessible. Shelves fitted to a wall can also be great storage solutions, particularly in small spaces.
At the end of every day it is important to tidy up as much as possible, so that at the start of the next day the crafter can happily begin work without facing a mess.
Of course I don’t always get round to the tidying bit.
Jak Signature












8 comments:

Linda Simpson said...

Morning Jak, I am one of the lucky ones that has a room to do my crafting. Great ideas and it is important for a crater to have plenty of storage and of course be organised. Have a wonderful weekend.

Hugs
Linda xxxx

christine pethers said...

mornin Jak
this reminds me of an email Conversation we had ages ago . And no ( cos of fractures etc )i still haven't sorted my spare room , started the related blog or made any Christmas cards yet. Tempted to ask you once I have started the blog would you like to be a visiting person / contributor and just copy and post todays blog as it is so relevent as to what I will be writing about.
Be careful of your back with all your sorting out - please.....
love Chris

Dawn said...

Sound advice Jak! I on the other hand sit on the floor in a corner of the living room with chaos around me & rifle through everything looking for the thing that's actually just under my nose! Tee Hee! I'm going to take your advice on board! Not sure about the tidying up though! I'm an opportunist crafter!
Hugs
Dawn xx

Silverbutterfly said...

Lucky me, when we built our Log House, I got my own special craft room... Love it, but the cleaning up bit, ummm...

Silverbutterfly

sallysbitz2 said...

Well Jak,
I have to use my front room dining table!!
I would love to have my own crafting room, which I thought was achieved when my daughter left home, BUT no!!! Grandchildren have come, Lol & they are definitely priority.
My crafting stuff (which has just increased rapidly over the few years of crafting) is stored under the stairs cupboard - I have put a book shelf under there too and stacking boxes. Also I have taken up two shelves in the airing cupboard.

hugs sally x
sallysbitz.blogspot.co.uk

Maryann Laursen said...

Well I can hear, that I´m one of the really lucky ones here. We live on an old not more used farm, so last year hubby just rebuilded the old barn into a new craftroom for me, and he made it exactly after my perscriptions, so I now have 40m2 just as my craftarea filled with tables and shelving that fits just for my use. And it have a small teakitchen and a toilet in it too, so I don´t even have to go inside all day, if I´m working at something. I totally agre to everything you´ve said here, except I must admit, I don´t always get to the last bit either he he he, but boy I really love this place here now.

I 4eaad mee said...

Jak, I agree with you. I am lucky enough to have just me in my home so I have a dedicated room for my crafting. i have found that if I leave the area as it was when i was working i can thus pick up on the inspiration where i left off....so much for tidiness. BTW I love your cards they give me inspiration!

Mad Mary said...

I am lucky enough to have a craft room but as for keeping it tidy...well that's another thing lol.

Mary x