I can’t even tell you how excited I am to share the progress that’s been made in The Craft Cottage! In case you don’t know, we’ve been renovating a small mother-in-law quarters on our property to create a studio space for my crafts. Previously, I was confined to Teeny Tiny Craft Desk in our pantry so having a place to spread out a bit sounded like pure bliss. Thanks to Angie of The Country Chic Cottage for including me in her Craft Room Round Up. Visit her site for more great craft organization ideas!
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The Before
While the space was definitely in good condition (the previous resident did wonders!), there were quite a few things that I wanted to work on before I added all my craft junk supplies. The floor tiles had been coming up since we moved here 8 years ago and could potentially hurt one of the many barefoot kids running through this space. The hardest decision was painting the ceiling white! I’ve always loved the look of the natural wood in this room but since I would be taking tons of pictures, needed a nice white surface to bounce light off of. Good thing I had a HomeRight Power-Flo Pro 2800 to do the job!
Click here to view details of Painting The Craft Cottage!
A Blank Canvas
The room already looked drastically different after a few coats of Extra White Harmony Interior Acrylic Latex Paint from Sherwin-Williams. I know a few of you probably cringed at the sight of me painting that wood ceiling but look how clean and bright it now looks! The next thing to battle was the tile flooring which after demolishing, decided to leave in the capable hands of an expert. A good thing too because the concrete subflooring was never leveled correctly so it was quite a bit more work than just laying tile. We found these ceramic faux wood black tiles at a local discount store and while I was a bit apprehensive at first, love what a contrast it is with the white room now! (Never mind the messy floor corners. Still need to add a baseboard!)
The Craft Cottage
And here’s the finished product! There’s still quite a few things that need to be done but The Craft Cottage is totally in working order. As you can see, the main element in the room is this monster of a craft desk. We had this table top made years ago so it was just sitting in the garage waiting for me to place on two Target bookshelves for all my crafting needs. I thought it was too big at first but now I kinda love having all that space to work on. It’s so big that I can have multiple projects going at one time or remove everything and sew even a large blanket. As you can see, having shelves as bases to the table all helps with organization!
Room With A View
One of my favorite things about this space is being able to work while watching my boys play outside. Most days are warm enough (Love the desert southwest!) to leave the door open for them to run in and out of. I’ll probably have to add a screen door to cut back on nasty flies and mosquitoes in the warmer months. I even put my handy YOGA tablet on the table so that I can listen to books or watch a show while sitting at the desk working. (Any other Jessica Jones fans out there?!) Speaking of sitting…I found this awesome barstool at Target and thought it matched the room perfectly. We have similar chairs in our dining room and they’re remarkably comfortable!
{Tutorial for Kilim Inspired Painted Basket}
All In The Details
Since I’m dealing with craft supplies, most of my organization has to be small enough for specific needs. Luckily I just wrote a post using a tons of supplies from Consumer Crafts for craft room organization. All the ideas are really easy but totally helpful! I love that these “scissor holders” (embroidery hoops screwed into the side of my table) keep my scissors super accessible when I need them the most. A larger embroidery hoop helps me organize my washi tape while an unfinished wood shadow box keeps baker’s twine out of the way. Magnets on the back of my cabinet doors hold the craft dies I use most often, just have to be careful that I don’t slam it shut!
In case you’re wondering, I have five baskets on my counter top to organize upcoming projects and the supplies needed to complete them. Such an easy way to keep track of everything!
Cut It Out
One of my favorite parts to renovating the cottage has been being able to plan for specific needs. I knew that I needed somewhere to put my Silhouette Cameo and wanted it to be out of the way (since I don’t use it everyday) but able to wheel up to my computer when needed. I’m planning on adding wood panels to this cart that will flip up and create a flat surface for me to cut on. Once again, I got this cart at Target (are you seeing a trend?) and it was totally reasonable!
Love Pegboards
Who doesn’t love pegboards for a craft room, right? Just do a search on Pinterest and you’ll know I’m right! I actually stole this pegboard from my Tiny Tiny Craft Room and luckily, with just a small notch added for light switch, it fit perfectly. One of these days I’ll add something witty to the board so that it’ll look pretty but until then, it’s a great organizer and does the job! Another one of my favorite organizers is the thin kitchen rack I put near the bathroom door. Absolutely perfect for ribbon!

Unfinished Business
There are still a few things that obviously need to be fixed in The Craft Cottage. We still need to add baseboards, there’s a leaky pipe under the sink, love to have more shelves on the empty wall, and let’s not even get started on the state of the bathroom! The corner with my paints (organized on a old crib panel!) will eventually become a staging station for photographs that can also be used as a craft station for my boys. I entertain them quite a bit in here so it’s in my best interest to have stuff for them to do! One of the biggest projects I need to tackle is figuring out how to organize my fabric and batting but that’s such a huge endeavor, it’s going to have to be a post in and of itself. I’m all ears if you have any ideas!
The Craft Cottage Studio Reveal
So there you have it, the cottage is completed enough that I can at least get work done! It’s just so nice to be able to finally work outside of my pantry (which was not helping the snacking situation!) I hope you enjoyed this reveal and maybe got some good ideas on ways to organize your craft supplies too because I know you guys understand when I say that this place truly is “My Happy Place!”
Comments & Reviews
countrychiccottage says
I love this Vanessa! I would love to have a space like that!!
Cindy G. says
Wow! You must want to dance around in your new space! I was impressed with how well you used the tiny space you had available to you, and I love what you’ve done with the bigger space. More room to create is always a good thing!
mmscrapshoppe says
Eeeeh! Love your space, Vanessa! It’s so bright and inviting. And I’m so jealous of your easy access to a sink!
Zenda says
This is awesome! I’m going to be taking notes as we are preparing to build our retirement home (plans are here!!) and one of the bedrooms will be my craft studio. Thanks for sharing your experience.
KWolff says
Congrats on the new digs! That is such a fantastic space for being crafty.
Your idea of using baskets for works in progress is pretty smart.
Enjoy all that space!
Robin Feicht says
Beautiful transform of your Mother-in-law suite into a craft room! TFS!