Life is too important to be taken seriously

For the 11 years we've been in this house, I have used my craft space a lot but given little thought to making it a pleasant space in which to create. Oh, it's got all the necessities for my scrapbooking and sewing and quilting hobbies--space to work, storage space, adequate lighting in some (not all) areas, a tv and laptop for entertainment or information while I work. But...it could be much more!

I always thought we'd convert this space in our lowest basement level (our house is a 5-level split) into a bedroom suite someday by adding an egress window. There is an adjacent bathroom and truly, someday it could make a nice suite for a young adult living at home again. But that would require an investment of several thousand dollars, and right now it's not needed or even feasible. The one child left at home curls her lip at the mere thought, LOL, and the one who has left home admits she'd have a very hard time living in a basement compared to her top floor sunlit bedroom!

So my goal now is NOT to break the bank, but to make this space much more pleasant, even inspiring, for creating. Let's begin by mapping out the room:

The room is 10.5' by 16', so there should be enough room to do the things I love, right? There is no closet, so I have added storage items over the years in a willy-nilly fashion--like the pantry cupboard that became available when we re-did our kitchen, or the nightstands my dad gave me when I needed support for the countertop that initially held only sewing machines. Or that ClosetMaid wire shelving hanging on the wall that was mostly leftover bits from major closet work upstairs! Let's take a look around the room. BTW, for no known reason we're moving counter-clockwise--I guess because that's what I did as I took the photos!

When you walk into the room, this wall is the first thing you see. The countertop is sagging from not being properly supported over the past 20 years (yes, it lived in our first house before moving here) so I have NO problem getting rid of it or replacing it. The nightstands below provide a lot of good drawer storage and are from my family, so I'd like to keep them. The pegboard is ugly and I'd be aesthetically happy to see it go...but functionally, it provides a lot of easily accessible storage! The wire closet shelves on the left are similarly functional but unattractive. I sew at this counter, but there is NO task lighting (except for a portable Ott light) and that really needs to be remedied.

This is the corner tucked between the table and counter. Ugly. Another problem is that my sewing storage and scrapbook storage are co-mingled and often inaccessible. The plastic drawer units are scrapbook items and tools, while the two plastic tubs with white lids are my quilting fabric collection and the wooden drawers mostly sewing supplies. Likewise with the shelves above. I do like the ribbon collection as displayed--colorful and accessible.

The table is my grandparents' old dinette table from 1968--I'm sure it was the height of home decor fashion in it's day! I like it for it's large tabletop (36: by 72". I can downsize it by removing 1 or 2 leaves but rarely do. Above the table is a shelf my dad built to my specifications, which holds all my paper and cardstock in Cropper Hopper vertical storage. I like it because the paper is accessible, but as I get older lifting those heavy things down from over my head is not working as well! The window above the shelf is completely covered, because when I sewed the curtain that window was under a deck outside and completely inaccessible (who puts a 12" tall deck over a window?) The deck has now been removed so I could make a different curtain here and at least get a little natural light into the room. I suppose that means I'd have to go outside and wash the window too! The pantry cupboard in the middle came from our kitchen remodel, and holds a great deal of stuff on several shelves. However, since the exposed sides are unfinished particle board, it could use paint or something if it's going to stay. The white table on the left is a drop-leaf cutting table that measures a modest 12"x40" when folded, but extends to 60" when the leaves are up. It's very functional for my sewing and quilting hobbies, but any re-design of this room will need to allow for space to open it wide. Note junk piled on surface--typical of most horizontal surfaces in this room!

This is my view when I'm sitting at my crafting table (in my usual position between the table and the countertop behind me). Not very attractive. I like to watch old movies while I craft (note television and dvd player on the Expedit bookcase), although currently much of that is done via Netflix or Hulu on the laptop on the table. The Expedit bookcase provides storage for albums and other scrapbooking projects done and un-done. The pile of tubs in the corner is children's old toys...yeah, since my daughters are 17 and 19 I think those have got to go! The laundry basket is a typical addition since the laundry room, out of sight on the left, is very cramped and the craft room becomes overflow space. I could certainly improve the wall decor beyond the prints and drawings currently tacked there temporarily (although come to think of it, those "temporary" things have been there for years!).

This is the wall of doors--the right door is to the laundry room, the left door to the bathroom. That bathroom is weird--it's about 10x12 and has two large closets plus the usual fixtures. My children always called it the "ballroom bathroom" because it has so much floor space. The ironing board could definitely move in there, although my husband uses it almost daily to touch up shirts. I tend to use it only when quilting or sewing--I long ago went to an entirely wash-and-wear wardrobe! Above the ironing board is a clock I made in an Archivers' class years ago. I intended to use it as a centerpiece for a wall arrangement here. The paper used is Daisy D's Girlfriends line, and I LOVE those colors. I have lots more of the paper saved for this room--how tacky is it to use stash from a defunct company to decorate today? I also wanted to put my favorite quote on this wall--"Life is too important to be taken seriously" by Oscar Wilde. I still envision some combo of the clock and Cricut letters (perhaps using the add'l paper) to decorate this wall. BTW, the whole room needs paint anyway, as it was flat white when we moved in and remains flat white (with plenty of add'l scarring!) today!

This final image completes our 360 degree tour of the room. I had to show you the old grow chart on the wall. My daughters have been at their adult height for several years now, I suppose I COULD give up that particular feature! The other wall hanging was made by my mom using sewing notions from four generations of my family, it definitely needs a place of honor in my future craft studio!

Let me finish by telling you a few ideas I've had. I have given serious consideration to pulling down the pegboard, installing a new (longer, from wall to wall) countertop in the same area as the current one, and installing wooden wall cabinets above for more hidden storage. There would have to be an opening to permit sewing access, but hopefully some better lighting could be worked into that area. I'm questioning that plan currently, I think I could get by with just painting the pegboard same as whatever wall color I choose, and using fabric (I have several yards of the curtain fabric which I still love) to create little "slipcovers" for the unsightly wire shelves. The colors in the curtain fabric actually go well with the sb paper I have and the clock I wanted to use as an inspiration piece in the room--lots of pinks and berry colors, with green and blue. I definitely want to reorganize so sewing and scrapping storage are separate. I like the idea of using the wooden nightstands as fixed bases for a longer countertop, but then parking some or all of the plastic drawer units under the counter for more flexible storage. A new counter would also need much better support via cleats screwed into the wall on all three sides and angle brackets in large open areas.

I'd love input into wall color(s) and other paint colors (the pantry cupboard definitely needs painting if it is to stay). I can only afford to spend about $500 on this room at this time, so the budget is modest. DH and I have enough handyman skills to do all the work ourselves. If I replace the countertop and make a more permanent installation, I probably want to pull out the stained berber carpet first and replace it with resilient vinyl planks from Home Depot. This lowest basement level has often had water damage over the years and a water-resistant floor makes better sense. That would be over-and-above the room budget.