Organizing the Craft Cottage

If you follow my blog (I’d love it if you would!), you know that last year I converted an old in-laws quarters in our backyard into, what I affectionately call, The Craft Cottage. It’s 240 sq. ft. of pure crafty goodness! It was a major ordeal that included tons of white paint, removing a ceramic floor, and some not-so-fun plumbing issues. Once the major stuff got handled, I began the ever-challenging task of organizing The Craft Cottage and while I’ve made some headway, I don’t think I’ll ever be truly done. Here are some of the organizational ideas that have helped in the last year!

Don’t forget to check out more great craft rooms below!

This post contains affiliate links. The small percentage I may earn off your purchase comes at no extra cost to you and helps T&T continue to offer free printables and tutorials!

The main difference in my craft room is the addition of open shelves along the back wall. It took a while to find something that was 1. large enough and 2. cheap enough for my needs (and my checkbook!) I knew that none of the supplies I needed to organize on the shelves were going to be especially heavy so I went with an inexpensive set of 25 cubbies from Sprout. I think it’s actually meant to be used in a kid’s room so the bookshelf is kinda flimsy but since I’m only using it to organize craft materials, the compact size totally works for me. To fully utilize this blank wall space, I place the entire Sprout bookshelf on top of two 6 Cube Organizers from Target. This added some height and extra storage…win/win!

Of course, after I assembled and set up the bookshelves, I realized that I needed some sort of basket option that would fit inside the cubes. The Target organizer would be easy to find baskets for (gotta love their matching baskets!) but the smaller cubbies in the Sprout shelf were quite difficult to find the perfect fitting basket for. Target to the rescue again! For the last 5 months, I’ve been stalking the dollar section for these inexpensive baskets that fit perfectly. They were usually $3 each but since I could only find a few at a time, dropping 15 bucks here and there was no problem.

I’ve gradually been filling the baskets with supplies that I use often or that I couldn’t find a better place for. Finding somewhere to organze my craft paint (Love DecoArt!) has really been a challenge. The “baby crib method” (second to last picture in my previous Craft Cottage post) I used originally was an absolute disaster since it was impossibly heavy to move and the paint bottles were constantly falling. I’m not sure if I’m absolutely sold on storing paint in these baskets but at least they’re not rolling around on the floor.

The lower section of shelves is used for storing supplies needed for future projects. If you’re a craft blogger that works with companies or even a hobby crafter that loves to start multiple projects at once, I couldn’t suggest this method of organization more! Each basket is a different project tutorial that I need to write so when the supplies arrive for that craft, I immediately put them into the appropriate basket. No more “Crap. Where did I leave that _____?!” moments to stress me out!

The lower cubicles are still being filled but for now they house the awesome vinyl from Expressions Vinyl. I’ve got them split up between Heat Transfer Vinyl and Outdoor Vinyl so that I can easily see what colors I need to order for future projects. You can check out all my cutting machine/vinyl projects here!

The last bit of organizing doesn’t really apply to everyone but again, if you’re a blogger, having one is priceless! Here’s what the blank wall above the small sofa I have in the corner use to look like:

And here it is now! Ok, I admit, it’s not much to look at but behind this simple panel of plywood lies a secret…

Fold down staging site for photographs!!! Seriously. I am so freaking excited about this! It’s perfect for lighting and setting up photographs with different backgrounds and props. Since I usually work with small projects, it’s perfectly sized for my needs. Plus, it still looks super cute when folded up! I’ll post the full tutorial for making a Fold-Down Staging Site of your own next week.

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of my organizational ideas for a craft room. Don’t forget to check out all the other craft room ideas I have here!

Want to check out more great craft rooms?
You’re going to love the spaces some of my favorite bloggers put together!