Someone one asked me whether or not I wanted a beautiful creative space. My answer was “yes, of course I did!” Who wouldn’t? I have been known to peruse Pinterest to ogle those perfect creative spaces. You know the ones. They look a bit like a scrapbook store with perfectly coordinated shelving. How I wish my creative space was that coordinated! For many years, it never seemed like that would be a possibility for me. Budget and space were always a factor for both were always in limited supply. Now for what feels like the first time ever, I have a chance at creating the space that I want. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to look back at my prior spaces and to think about what worked and what didn’t in each of them. Perhaps by sharing what worked/didn’t work for me, you will gain a little insight about the space you want to create in.
My First Creative Space, Circa 2001
I first started scrapbooking in 2001 after attending a Creative Memories party. Back then, supplies and tools were pretty low key and there wasn’t a whole lot of stuff to choose from. Everything I owned fit into a couple of Creative Memories tote bags. Making a specific space for me to create in didn’t seem necessary. I scrapbooked standing up at the kitchen counter and occasionally at the kitchen table. When it came time for meals, I picked up most of the supplies or pushed them gently to the side. Our kitchen was situated with a view of the living room and out into the backyard. It gave me a good view of my son while he played. I don’t have a photo of my setup during the time. I was all about documenting my son and it never occurred to me to photograph the place I was creating in.
My 2nd Creative Space, Circa 2006
In 2006, my family made our first international move to Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas. While most rentals come fully furnished in the Bahamas ( complete with furniture, TV, plates, cookware, linens, etc. and even pictures on the wall), this one was only partially furnished( appliances only). We were in need of a few pieces of furniture. My husband suggested we get a larger dining room table for me to work on. It seemed like a good idea at the time since I didn’t have a lot of stuff.
The large table provided plenty of space to work on and my son could do a project on the opposite end. It was great for crop situations in which friends came over to craft. If they had kids, we could keep track of them with ease. The table was in the center of the house and close to my son’s bedroom.
Choosing to use the dining room table as a creative space allowed me to leave my stuff out, though with my scrapbook supplies still being stored in tote bags, it looked like a big mess the majority of the time.The photo above is one of the few, rare moments in which my things were put away. There is a big advantage to not having a lot of stash and being able to store it in tote bags. It meant I could pack it up and hide it in the bedroom when guests were coming over.
My 3rd Creative Space, Circa 2009
We continued the idea of using the dining room table after moving to our second Bahamas rental in 2009. I negotiated down the price of our new rental with the stipulation that we would leave the dining room table when our lease was up.The table that came with the apartment was in rough shape and furniture in the Bahamas is expensive since it is shipped in.Our Landlord was happy with this deal. As with our first rental, we had a guest bedroom which we intended to use as a homeschool room.
Remember how I mentioned above that rental homes come fully furnished? It can be a huge CON just as much as it is a PRO. While it’s nice to have a fully decorated home(You literally can just walk in with a suitcase and be home), much of the furniture in these homes didn’t meet our needs. Rentals were often designed for short term guests visiting the Bahamas on Holiday. The bedroom furniture in this particular rental was large and made homeschooling difficult. There wasn’t much in the way of storage. It wasn’t very long before our homeschool materials and craft supplies all found their way into the dining room.
During this time frame, I learned how to work on a single page in small fits and spurts. I still taught my son his homeschool lessons, but as he was getting older, there were more periods of time in which he could work independently. Having my supplies out on the table meant that I could work on a scrapbook layout, keep an eye on him, and when he was ready to move on, I could easily lean over and teach the next lesson.
I continued to enjoy having friends over to crop. The kids could play on the front patio( in plain sight) or within earshot in my son’s room. The table afforded plenty of space for the other ladies to spread their stuff out. My tools were accessible which meant they need not pack more than patterned paper, embellishments and adhesive.
I had only two issues with using the dining room as a creative space. Both were pretty big for me. One, because it was a rental, I could not put up extra shelving or storage on the walls. The rental contracts there stipulate that you may not hang pictures or alter the home in any way. The second issue tied in with the first. My storage choices were cheap and portable. Everything was out in plain sight. I hated the way it looked when guests visited for dinner. The house seemed cluttered.
I tried using rolling carts to hold my supplies. The plan being that I could wheel them into another room if someone came over. I had one cart dedicated to paper and one filled with jars of embellishments.The idea was a sound one but I often felt too lazy to do so. I had a lot of stuff! My stash of supplies had been slowly growing but I had no place to put things I had. I outgrew the carts quickly. I longed for a room or space in which I could shut the door.
Can a Creative Space in Your Dining Room Work?
Yes, I think it can. The key to it being successful is finding a way to store your supplies out of sight. Consider an armoir or a closet. You might be able to pick up a used armoir for a low price at a garage sale or thrift store. Shelving might also work. Especially if you can find some pretty baskets or containers to hide some of your supplies in. If you are a very social crafter and have lots of friends over for crops, then the dining room might be a great place for you to establish a creative space. You probably need to limit your stash size. I had a small computer cabinet in the room, but outgrew it pretty fast. A smaller stash is easier to hide or keep tidy.
My 4th Creative Space, Circa 2011
By now, you’re probably thinking to yourself ” boy, this lady moves around a lot” and you would be correct. Living an expat lifestyle is always a unique experience. In the Bahamas, landlords have a tendency to increase the rent with every renewal. This meant that eventually, the cost of the rent would exceed our budget. Luckily, most leases could be made for 2-3 year increments. I learned to scout the market for a deal on a new place, always with budget and space in mind. This next move brought me the creative space I wanted. The 3rd bedroom had enough room for me along with room for my husband’s and son’s desks. We could all be in the room together and it had the advantage of allowing me to keep guests from viewing the crafting mess. This new space was on the 3rd floor of a 3 story condo. No one needed to go up there unless I invited them.
The condo was quirky to be sure. The 3rd floor was billed to be the master bedroom. It had a long, narrow walk in closet but it lacked an attached bathroom. We decided to make our master one of the two bedrooms on the second floor. I didn’t like the idea of our son having to navigate stairs in the middle of the night if he needed us. I also didn’t like the idea of me having to navigate stairs to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
The quirkiest thing about the 3rd floor bedroom was that there was a built in desk inside the walk in closet. We still had the challenge of having extra furniture we didn’t need. However, we could push the extra bed against the wall to fit two desks ( one for my husband and one for my son). I chose to use the desk in the closet. The closet had some ready built shelves. I would be able to store the bulk of my supplies inside the narrow closet.
The picture above was taken closer to the end of my time in this rental. In order to have enough room to work, I had to go vertical. We didn’t have a big budget for organizational items. Due to the lease, I was once again limited with not being able to add shelving. The high cost of furnishings meant that nicer looking storage options were off the table. Sterilite drawers and bins were purchased over a period of a year( even those were kind of high cost in Nassau). I used the inexpensive Sterilite plastic shelving I had been toting around since our first home in the Bahamas. Both the bins and the shelves are easy to disassemble and move. We needed portable storage since we moved a lot.
To maximize desktop space, I used part of a plastic shelf to create space overhead. I tucked my laptop underneath the shelf. This left most of the original desk top surface while allowing me to stack bins and drawers overhead. I had a small wood shelf and Deflecto storage bins on the edges of the desk for small items. On the left side of the desk, I stacked more Sterilite drawers and stored punches and tools.
You can think of my space as a sort of L shape.The rest of it stretches to the left and runs along the wall behind the desk chair. The landlord would not remove the extra bed, so we pushed it up against the wall ( without that bed, the space would have looked so much better and been perfect for us).
The 3rd floor bedroom was a loft style space. In between the bed and the wall next to the stairs, I created a walkway lined with my supplies. On one side, sterilite drawers with cardstock divided by color. On the right side, a cutting and embossing station made of the plastic shelving. I wanted an additional small table for my sewing machine, but it just never happened. I used the sterilite drawers to make a makeshift table.
The desk was situated just inside the closet.There was a door but it was difficult to close. I rarely ever did close it because there was no air ventilation inside and it would get stuffy in there pretty quickly. I opted to hang kits with clothespins and hangers from the clothing rack overhead. I used a raskog cart to store supplies and keep extra items like pens off the work surface. The work surface was really small so keeping it clear of tools was key.
There really weren’t outlets inside the closet. We also had issues with clean electricity and needed to use voltage regulators for our electronics. One of the things I disliked about the closet was having the huge mess of wires at the door. If you do choose to have a closet scrapbook space, try to take into account your electrical needs. Hopefully you can avoid the mess of wires I had to deal with.
Though the closet provided great space for storage, The narrowness of it sometimes drove me crazy. It was so narrow that I could not even stand and stretch my arms out straight. It was divided into 2 sections, with another door and wall halfway through. In order to move through the closet, I often had to shimmy sideways.
Taking photos of the interior was almost impossible. Leaning against the wall, this was the best shot I could grab. We had a few extra bookshelves, so I added them here. The built in shelves stretched to the cieling.I used some of them for albums. This room was near the roof and you could feel the heat gather in a pocket around the upper level shelves. My cats loves climbing up there to nap in the warm space. Since I feared the heat might damage my stash and albums, I left the top shelves empty so the cats could climb on them.
Not pictured is a huge armoir on the right side of the closet. It came with the house and I think it must have been assembled on that 3rd floor. There was no way it would fit out the door and down the narrow staircase. I used it to store some of my patterned paper. Otherwise, I stored die cuts, alphabet stickers, embellishments and stencils in the Sterilite drawers on shelves. Eventually, I also stored Project Life kits.
While this last space would certainly not qualify as beautiful, it was the most functional of all my spaces. I was able to easily find what I needed quickly. My one wish is that everything could have looked more coordinated and less like a woman hoarding stacks of supplies. For the most part, it remained hidden from view and allowed me to entertain guests without a mess. It wasn’t conducive to cropping with friends( except for online) but I was close to my son’s desk for homeschooling. I continued my habit of working on layouts in small bursts while he worked on his lessons.
The biggest con to this space was the heat. The aircon in this house wasn’t the best to begin with. We used fans and a portable AC unit in the room, but we still struggled with the temperature of the room. With any creative space, I highly recommend considering if temperature will be an issue. In addition to not being comfortable during the summer months, some of my supplies were damaged by the heat. It probably wasn’t good for my albums either. On the flip side, I have friends with basement creative spaces who complain of the cold during winter months. Think about the times of year you will be using your space (and even the times of day). Will your space be a comfortable temperature for you to work within it?
Does Your Creative Space Need to be Large and Well Appointed to Work for you?
Definitely not. Work with the space available to you in your home.Use those spaces you see online as inspiration but don’t let them make you feel your space is unworthy.The main thing I want you to take away from this post is that ANY space can work as a creative space with a little thought. Analyze what works for you. Don’t feel like you have to buy all of the storage items at one time. You can have pretty things and still be on a budget( I am hoping to show an example of that with my new space). Every space will have its challenges. No space is ever perfect. Whatever your creative space is and wherever it’s located, the best thing you can do is to enjoy creating in it.
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