Want to see my newest Basement Craft Room? Click HERE!
THANK YOU for all the awesome feedback on my Basement Craft Room ! It is probably one of the most used rooms in the house lately and it is quite messy 🙂 I am going to use this blog post to explain what I spent money on, where I found all the awesome storage units and how I put everything together. Basically, I am going to answer your most frequently asked questions regarding my craft space.
The Cutting Table
By FAR, the most frequently asked question was “Where on earth did you get that awesome cutting table and how much was it?”
I most definitely can NOT take credit for the idea. The original idea came from HERE, which I found during a search on Pinterest several months ago and I immediately knew it would be perfect for my space. My cutting table is a slightly modified version. Instead of the 4 cubbies like she used, mine consists of 3 cubbies, which allows me to pull a chair up and sit at it like a desk (not to mention that 3 cubbies are much cheaper than 4 cubbies!)
To make your own cutting table:
* 3 cubbies (found HERE) I waited until they were on sale for $37 a piece.
* Plywood for the top, cut to size We already had the exact size we needed. FREE!
* Large cutting mat for the top (found HERE) I got mine years ago during a Black Friday sale.
* Counter height stool Bought my stool on Craigslist for $5. Woot!
VERY easy to put together! Assemble all the cubbies according to the directions included. Once assembled, arrange the 3 cubbies in a “U shape” and bolt them together using “L brackets”. Place the plywood on top and then your cutting mat. Instant cutting table for much cheaper than similar ones you find at the store!
Fabrics and Storage
* How do you get all your fabrics stored so nicely? One of the simple tricks I learned a long time ago in blog land had to do with Comic Book Boards. Yep, simple comic book boards that you can either find on Amazon or at your local comic book store (or do like I did…. ask a few comic book friends if they have any to spare!) Simply fold your fabric into thirds or fourths and wrap it nicely around your comic book boards. Instantly creates “mini bolts” of fabric, just like at the store! And I like to organize mine by rainbow order 🙂
*Where are all your fabric scraps and larger yardages of fabric? MOST of my fabric scraps are kept below my sewing table {I explain below about the table skirt, which hides all the crap, I mean fabric} Some of my nicer fabric scraps are sorted by color on the side of my cutting table:
But trust me…. I have oodles of fabric scraps and I am not about to show you all that mess. The larger yardages of fabric are also stored under the sewing table and in my handy dandy closet storage system that I purchased at Target for under $40:
* Where is all your other “crap”? Good question! I certainly have a lot of crap. Mostly, it is hidden under tables and under my cutting table. Don’t forget that my cutting table has 3 sides of cubbies, so there are lots of odds and ends tucked away in there. I also have an old wooden TV stand that I use to store my HUNDREDS (yes, Hundreds) of patterns:
As you can see, above the TV stand, I have my ribbons and the necessary fake flowers to give some ambiance. haha. Don’t forget about the clock with no batteries. Who needs to know the time, anyway?
Above my sewing table, I hung shelves which store all my sewing notions, extra needles, machine manuals, ribbon scraps, etc.:
The Pegboard
Many of you have been wondering about my pegboard walls, which was the best decision I could have made in my craft space. The room was originally a gray, cement, cold area and I knew paint wouldn’t help much. Plus, I really really needed vertical storage, so I knew pegboard was the way to go.
The pegboard literally lines two full walls and houses all of my ribbon, threads, buttons, shelves, and accessory storage. Not only is it great storage, it helps brighten the room and gives the illusion of “real” walls.
*Where did I get my pegboard? Well, lucky us…. we actually got a TON of pegboard for FREE years ago. A family friend came across boat loads of it when a store was going out of business and they just handed it to him. All of it. Not only do we have it in the basement, but we also have it in our garage, plus leftovers!
Most people don’t just have pegboard laying around, so you have two options: Check Craigslist or Freecycle to see if you can find it free or cheap. Lots of people have extras to give away or perhaps there is a business closing that needs to get rid of their store supplies. The second option is to buy some from your local hardware store. Most hardware stores like Lowes or Home Depot sell sheets of pegboard for a relatively small price. You would just buy what you need.
*How did I hang my pegboard? In order to hang pegboard, you need furring strips. Furring strips are typically 1 x 2 x 8 and are used to mount the pegboard slightly away from the wall (so that you can hang the pegs!) For each sheet of pegboard, you will need two furring strips. Masonry screws and a masonry drill bit will be necessary to drill into cement walls. If you are hanging this in a drywalled room, you will just need basic drywall screws and anchors.
*Where did I get all the accessories for the pegboard? Again, we were lucky enough to get all our pegboard accessories for FREE! However, the pegboard hooks, shelves and accessories can be found at any hardware store and they come in kits, which are not too expensive. Keep an eye out for sales!
The Flooring
Because this is an unfinished basement, the floors are obviously cold, gray, hard concrete. Yuck. I knew I needed a large rug for several reasons, including warmth and comfort. Without much money in my budget, I searched high and low for a rug, but I didn’t find anything that was large enough. (I needed a rug that was at least 12 x 13). Finally, I went to the carpet remnant section at Lowes and found the perfect rug: a Berber carpet remnant that was already bound and sealed on the edges. Best part??? A super large rug for only $80. $80! A regular rug that size would have been at least $500 or more. Check out your local carpet warehouses for the best deals!
It is a plain color, but the most important thing is that it helps keep my feetsies warm while I work 🙂
Creating a Defined Space
One of the biggest challenges in my craft space was figuring out a way to create a “Room” in a large, unfinished basement. The basement is a large, vast space with no walled-off rooms. I wanted my area to feel cozy and defined. The solution? A large vinyl roll up blind, hung from the ceiling beams and curtains on the sides:
Genius, right? Okay, so maybe not genius, but pretty smart and effective 🙂 Not only does it help define the space, it helps to keep the warmth in when I am running my heater. It also blocks my view of the rest of the ugly basement. Ha! Plus, the blind can roll up and down at the tug of a string!
Total cost of the large blind: $14
Total cost of the 2 sheer curtains: FREE. Who doesn’t already have extra curtains in storage, right?
Paper Storage Area
Clearly, this side of the room is far from finished, but it works for now. I still need to wall it off somehow, but still manage to keep some of the only natural light the room receives AND I need to “pretty it up”. {these pictures kind of give you a better idea of what I had to work with, huh? Pretty awful!}
*Where did you get that awesome scrapbook paper rack? I obviously have some amazing friends because the paper rack was FREE! A friend of mine gave this to me because she no longer needed it. Wow! She originally got them from a scrapbook store when they were going out of business (See a trend here??? Make sure you try to get things for free first!)
Sewing Table
My awesome sewing table was purchased last year at Ikea and it was money well-spent. (Find the table HERE and HERE) The fact that it is a corner table allows for plenty of table space, while creating separate spots for my serger and my sewing machine.
*How did you attach the skirt under the table? I knew I needed a table skirt to hide the ungodly mess lurking below {seriously, you should see what is under there!} but I didn’t want to spend any money. Once again, I used curtains that I just happened to have in storage. If you don’t happen to have random curtains, you can buy some cheap or clearance priced fabric. Using my handy staple gun, I attached the fabric all along the underside of the table. Easy peasy and also removable if I decide to change it out.
* Does the table skirt bother you while you use your sewing machine or serger? I was initially worried about it getting in the way, but it is surprisingly not a problem. I made sure to have the fabric gathered enough and it has plenty of “give”. I just simply just push the skirt aside when I need to sit at the table. If I could do it again, I would create v-shaped slits in the fabric at the seating areas to make it easier to push aside.
Either way, I am very happy I did it because honestly, the mess is unsightly. Very very unsightly. 🙂
So, there you have it! All the dirty details about my basement craft room. Can you believe it cost me under $300??? I was fortunate enough to find everything either FREE or at a very low cost. I also used what I already had. No reason to buy new items when you probably have furniture and accessories you can use! Just use your imagination.
I hope I have inspired some of you to get started on your craft spaces, whether it is in a basement or in the corner of a bedroom. It doesn’t have to be a perfect room, just a room you can be creative in!
Hayley
Hayley Crouse is a wife, mother and multifaceted designer. Her love of sewing, crafting, cooking and interior design infuses her daily life and naturally spills over into her online presence. She pushes the envelope of her creativity and hopes that others will be inspired to do the same. She currently authors the Welcome to the Mouse House Blog, is the pattern designer behind Mouse House Creations and is a collaborative designer with Willow & Co. Patterns.
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Thanks for all the tips!!! I am still adjusting my sewing room and storage is an issue right now. I showed my hubby your table and asked if he could make me something like it. Hopefully I will have it done soon. 🙂
This project TOTALLY blows me away!!!! it is AMAZING and all i can tell you is WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW — hats off and a big congrats!!!! you rocked it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sending hugs…
Thanks for linking this up too!
Karah
Incredible! I love that you made this with three sest of cubbies.
Bravo!
This is amazing. We too have an unfinished basement and I want to finish it but funds are not going to make that happen right now. I have my sewing room in the cramped office and shelving dispersed in other rooms of the house that house my materials and such. I pretty much have everything to make a wonderful sewing area in the basement but was just too scared to take it on. I think this will have to be a little weekend project I will have to work on. You’re an inspiration to make it work. Great job!
Embarrassing question here: I found this post by googling “basement fabric mice” because due to a move that didn’t happen, my basement is nice and cleared out and I’m working on making the sewing room that I’ve dreamed of for years. I especially want my fabric stash to be visable and out of those darned rubber maid storage boxes! But I got to thinking…sometimes we’ve had mice in the basement – not all the time, but enough to make me wonder about having the fabric exposed. Boo hoo! Any thoughts? Do you worry about this? Dreadful question! But I don’t want to loose my stash to a wayward mouse!
@Becca! Don’t be embarrassed about that! Luckily, we have never had any type of pest issue (bugs or otherwise) in the basement…. knock on wood!!
However, since you have had prior experience with that, I would be more inclined to store your fabric in a pretty glass fronted hutch of some sort. That way, the fabric is out of the rubbermaid containers and visible, but where crazy pests can’t get to them!
Holy cow look at all that “organizedness” I love it. I love seeing all the fabric out like that.
LOL at “organizedness”. Thanks!
I have some space in my family’s’ basement that I am going to try to make a craft space. This was a big inspiration…. thanks!