When we moved out of our last home, our daughters’ art and craft supplies filled seven medium-sized boxes – I kid you not! And that’s after getting rid of stuff that wasn’t working anymore. It was the end of summer 2019, and my goal was to design the girls an art and craft space to explore their creativity before school reopened. Nothing like a self-imposed challenge and deadline – amirite?
Pick an art and craft space that works for them
This was one of our first projects in this home because I was so done with the discolored kitchen table and glitter-infested dining table in our last house. Never again!
I already had a beautiful live edge dining table picked out, and nothing was going to ruin what is to become a family heirloom. Fortunately, the family room had a couple of spaces in the family room that could house all that creativity.
We could really use a functional bar in the family room, and it had so much potential. So, instead, we picked the family room’s back wall to be the future art and craft space – progress!
I will write a post about the rest of our family room but let me give you a sense of the layout. The fireplace with our TV and built-in shelves flanking it is on the opposite wall. The family room couch (that needs to be replaced) faces the fireplace and TV. You can see it in some of the photos.
Re-use when you can
The first thing we needed was a workspace for the girls. We have an old Ikea glass-topped dining set (Granås) that we bought for our second rental more than 12 years ago! Of all the tables the girls have used for crafting, the glass-topped one seems to handle the abuse the best.
One of the advantages of this table is the shelf-space below. It’s a convenient spot to hold in-progress artwork and keep the tabletop clear. The table also doubles-up as an alternate spot for the girls to eat. Especially if we’ve had a long day and feel we deserve to watch some family TV during dinner.
If I were starting from scratch or prioritizing the crafting table on the long list of things we need for our home, I would pick an oval dining table. An oval table would maximize the use of this space and avoid sharp corners in the narrow area.
Decide on a closet system based on your style
At that time, I was looking at Ikea’s Pax system for our primary walk-in closet, and it seemed like an excellent option for this space. Since this was just a linear space, it was pretty straightforward to figure out how many wardrobe frames we would need. Well, it was so straightforward that I miscalculated the whole thing, ugh! Well, nothing that couldn’t be fixed. Once correctly measured, we actually fit three of the wider 39 3/8″ wardrobe frames.
Also, we chose the narrow 13 3/4″ closet width – it gives us enough storage without taking too much space in the room. It limits stuff from accumulating in the back of the closet and is much easier to keep organized.
Plan closet organization for easy clean-ups
So, one of the closets is designated for art and the other for craft supplies. The third closet is figuring out what it wants to be when it grows up. For now, it holds gift wrapping essentials and some of my craft and sewing supplies. It makes me so happy when I see a closet just partially used…sigh!
Art Closet 
Crafts Closet
I used the Ikea Pax Planner to design the internal storage components. The visual really helped me plan where everything would go. The top shelves are used to store large half-gallon bottles of paint and other bulk supplies.
We all know kids are lousy at placing or removing things at the back of closets. So I added two pull-out trays in each closet unit right within their reach. And now they can find whatever it is they are looking for.
I highly recommend exposing any power outlets through your built-in closets. This electric pencil sharpener is so conveniently placed on the pull-out tray in our crafts closet.
It makes my heart so happy to see all the slime and jewelry-making supplies in this photo.
A couple of mesh baskets at the bottom make it extremely easy to keep in order, even for the girls.
Every few months, I’ll take a quick look through the closets – move things back into place, remove stuff that doesn’t belong, and throw scraps. It takes me no longer than 20 minutes to do that, so in my book, that’s a huge success!
Form or function? Maybe both?
We had a little over 5 inches between the top of the closet and the ceiling. Ideally, it would be covered with plywood and molding to give the cabinets that built-in look. But, what if we made it more functional?
For months I searched for storage baskets wide enough to fill the space but shallow to fit in there. I thought under-bed storage would work, but I couldn’t find anything shorter than 6″. I’d almost given up and even talked to Amit about covering the space. Finally, while we were shopping for art supplies at Michaels (see why we need this art nook to stay organized?), I saw these (unfortunately, not available anymore)! Not only was it the perfect size to maximize the space and look uniform, but they were also on sale at 60% off! Ahh, the materialistic gratification!
Each box stores something specific. For example, artwork that we want to save, family memorabilia collected over the year, greeting cards we’ve received, documents we need short-term, etc. At the end of the year, I move things to long-term storage, scan what can be saved electronically, and get rid of what we don’t need. The system has really worked well for us.
The girls were initially using the metal and cane chairs that came with the table but preferred more comfy chairs. These chairs from Target are perfect since I can’t have anything precious in this art and craft space. The faux leather will make it last longer. And even if they do get ruined, I wouldn’t be devastated since they’re so affordable. Here’s the thing though, they’re almost always sold-out in Caramel faux leather. It took me three tries before I was quick enough to click the order button to actually get it.
Now make it look pretty
An art and craft space is definitely one where function is essential. However, since ours is within the family room, the form was equally important.
There are some beautiful third-party options for Ikea closet doors. However, I knew it would be best to stick to white doors. First of all, the other built-ins in the family room are white. Also, two of the other walls have a bar and a fireplace on them. So visually, I couldn’t have a third wall fighting for attention.
Now the built-ins on the other two walls are the same color, but they do not match in style. Instead of fixing that and increasing this project’s scope, I decided it would be a design feature! These doors seemed like a modern take on shaker style doors.
To add a custom touch and make a bit of a statement, I chose these really long cabinet pulls. They are matte black to match the contrasting wall color around the bar and fireplace. The cabinet pulls I bought were 12 5/8″ long and aren’t currently available but here’s a similar longer option.
Bringing that personal touch to your art and craft nook
Finally, we had a functional space that fits in with the rest of the family room. However, to feel personal, it needed something more. Whenever I sort out the girls’ artwork, I’d find pieces that I know would look fabulous on a wall, so that’s what I was going to do.
There are so many nifty ways to display kids’ artwork. A Pinterest search can really send you down a rabbit hole, trust me. We already have an eclectic gallery wall in our dining area, so I wanted to do something different here. I was looking for an uncluttered modern gallery look. The worktable is rarely as clean as in these photos, so everything else had to stay super neat. Also, the option to easily change the artwork to keep it fresh would be excellent.
At first, I considered having two long narrow corkboards going almost the entire height of the wall. The girls would have fun pinning up their creations, at least for a few weeks before the novelty faded. But I could just see myself rearranging them constantly, trying to make them look neat and visually appealing. So a better choice would be to have the artwork framed.
The L’il Da Vinci and Threshold Kid’s Art Storage frames are great options if you’re looking for kid-friendly front-opening art storage frames. They are slightly more expensive than similarly constructed regular frames. Still, you get the added convenience of almost effortlessly switching the artwork. I almost bought them but had this nagging feeling that they might not give me that modern gallery look I was hoping for in this space.
So instead, I started searching for professional-looking modern art frames. Thin frames with large matting always look like they belong in a contemporary art gallery – that would be perfect! To keep the design streamlined and neat, I wanted a square shape that could be matted appropriately to hold portrait or landscape-oriented art. The idea was to arrange them in a grid. That way, I wouldn’t have to adjust the layout based on how many portrait and landscape-oriented artwork I selected. I found these extremely well-made frames and scored them at 50% off. The metal tabs on the back are so sturdy and easily maneuvered that I wouldn’t hesitate to swap artwork even weekly. These frames are a good investment and are going to outlive this art nook for sure!
I chose to cut the matboard myself to make four of the six frames accommodate 8″ x 10″ sized art – portrait or landscape. I bought this matboard cutter, and it worked well for my little project. Took me a couple of tries to get it right because it’s sensitive to which direction you pull the cutter in. I can demonstrate what I mean if you’re looking to learn more.
I absolutely love how the kids’ art gallery turned out, and so did our girls! The younger one was in complete disbelief, and I could see how proud she felt. The frames make this space, and the artwork within makes it special.
The art nook is a bustling area of our home. It’s incredibly gratifying to design a space that’s utilized to this extent. I can’t wait to hear what you think. Leave us a message with your art and craft space quandaries and feedback.
