Whether you’re looking to refresh your existing craft room, repurpose your space or build a new room from the ground up, we’ve got all the tips you need to create your dream craft room! After all, designing a craft room should be a fun experience — so save a few steps and get right to expert designing with this guide. With a little imagination and organization, you’ll feel confident knowing how to set up a craft room perfectly tailored to your hobbies.
Why You Need a Craft Room
A craft room is a healing, sacred space. It’s where you go to relax, renew and recharge as you work with your hands to bring your imagination to life.
Craft rooms make you feel better — literally! Having a dedicated crafting space can improve your health and well-being. Studies show that creative activities relieve stress, reduce anxiety, improve cognitive function and boost feelings of joy.
Another reason craft rooms are essential is that they provide a place to store all the materials needed to fulfill your hobbies. No more hunting for supplies scattered all over the house! An organized, well-designed craft room banishes clutter and brings joy every time you enter.
12 Tips for Setting up Your Dream Craft Room
Discover how to make a craft room design that suits your specific crafting needs. Whether you’re looking to convert your basement into a family maker space, turn a tiny attic nook into your craft oasis or add a student crafting zone to your school or daycare center, we’ve got you covered with these tips for craft room excellence.
1. Create a Solid Foundation of Functionality
The best craft rooms combine form and function. A crafting space can have the prettiest storage boxes in the world, but if it isn’t well organized, adequately lit or comfortable to work in for hours on end, the space won’t be used. A room’s functionality is the foundation for its usability.
Do you crave a quiet space, or do you prefer to be in the center of your home’s other engaging areas? Selecting the best location ensures your room is functional for your work preferences. If you crave a quiet space, a room with a closeable door is best. Create a craft corner in the family room if you’re looking for a more social experience. If natural light is essential for painting, choose a location with windows.
There’s nothing worse than getting that crafting itch and realizing you’d need to take a trip to the store before you could even begin. Keep your craft room stocked with vital crafting supplies and top-quality tools you can use repeatedly for various projects. Regularly depleted materials like yarn and paper should be on display so you can easily monitor when your supplies need replenishing.
2. Prepare a Comfortable Work Environment
How many hours do you spend crafting? Avoid discomfort while working on your favorite projects with an ergonomic room plan. You’ll spend plenty of time sitting in your crafting chair, so choose a top-quality one that supports your back.
If you have the space to do so, include different seating options in the room. There’s nothing cozier than curling up in an overstuffed chair or recliner to knit! Adjust tables and countertops to comfortable heights with compatible-height seating. Add anti-fatigue floor mats in front of the sink and anywhere you plan to stand for some time.
You can’t craft properly if you can’t see your project! Light, bright workspaces inspire creativity and help you focus on nailing those creative details. Elevate your craft station illumination by doing the following:
- Add overhead lighting directly above your work table.
- Mount under-cabinet lighting to brighten your countertops.
- Include standing and desk lamps for extra light.
- Position main working areas near windows and skylights.
3. Let’s Get Vertical, Vertical
Small space? No problem! Even if your room has a limited footprint, walls offer a ton of storage potential. Vertical storage is the best way to keep a surplus of supplies visible, accessible and off the floor and countertops — no more shuffling bins out of the way to clear a space on your work table.
Transform your craft room setup with floor-to-ceiling solutions:
- Tall furniture: Tall bookshelves and shelving with bins
- Mounted solutions: Cabinets and shelves above countertops
- Customizable systems: Pegboard or slatwall sections
- Hooks: Removable buckets on wall hooks for paintbrushes, silk flowers, markers and clay-shaping tools
- Craft-specific storage: Thread racks above sewing machines and paper racks near a scrapbooking corner
- Repurposed tool bins: Mounted nuts-and-bolts storage for tiny buttons, gems, jewelry fixings and cabochons
Utilize every square inch of space. Two oft-overlooked storage spaces are the craft room door and ceiling. Make the most of your door with hooks, an over-the-door organizer or a magnetic whiteboard. Install curtain rods or beams overhead to store long tubes of paper, rolls of craft foam and bolts of fabric.
4. Keep It Customizable
The only thing constant is change, which is undoubtedly true for creative spaces! Just as your imaginative projects change, so do the needs of your craft room. When setting up a craft room, think about how your hobbies and supplies will expand over time.
Design an adjustable room for crafting that evolves with your growing hobbies:
- Use a customizable slatwall or pegboard system: With made-for-change pegboard and slatwall systems, you can reposition and scale-up wall storage in minutes. Add storage hooks, pegs and baskets without significant room changes or adding holes in drywall.
- Store items in separate containers: Instead of placing loose materials in cupboards, store related supplies in their own containers. Smaller containers can be easily moved to new locations to rearrange the room without needing to reorganize individual resources. As a bonus, it’s super convenient to carry a craft-specific container to your work table in a snap.
- Leave room for expansion and adjustments: Crafters love to collect supplies over time for future projects, so it’s always a great idea to leave room for growth. Be sure to leave some negative space on that pegboard wall and empty shelf space. If you find a storage bin style you adore, buy a few extras so you’ll have them available when your crafty collections of yarn, fabric, polymer clays and paints expand.
5. Make Work Zones Based on Craft Needs and Room Layout
Bring order to your craft room with a designated area for each creative hobby. With separate zones, you can sit in a specific spot and have everything you need for that craft at your fingertips.
Zone placement should depend on the nature of the craft:
- Messy zone: Include an area in the room for messier activities like painting and sanding. A sink is handy to wash brushes, as is a wet/dry vacuum to remove dust. Flooring, backsplashes and countertops that wipe clean easily are a wise choice here.
- Clean zone: Keep your electronics, computerized cutting machines, fabrics and any other resources that require a dust-free environment on this side of the room.
Add a painting zone with an easel and paints near a window’s natural light. Make a claying corner with polymer clays, tools and a toaster oven. With work zones tailor-made for your favorite hobbies, you’ll feel organized and ready to go!
6. Float a Craft Island Table in Your Craft Room
Professional designers know the secret to an incredible room layout is to float some of your furniture. Furniture doesn’t need to rest against a wall — the middle of a room is valuable real estate!
Your table is the pillar of your craft room. You roll out bolts of fabric, sketch ideas, condition clay and paint projects on this surface, so easy access is critical. By floating your table in the center of the room, you’ll create a larger countertop space so you can walk around it 360 degrees. Remember to protect your table every time you work with clay using our Sculpey ToolsTM Oven-Safe Work Mat.
Make a custom DIY table with storage underneath:
- Secure a countertop to the top of two bookshelves, cabinets or stacked organizational cubes.
- Add a pegboard to the side of the cubes to hang rulers, scissors and other tools.
- Place baskets and hooks underneath to hold crafting supplies.
7. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Existing Craft Room Storage
In the spirit of creativity, why not repurpose your existing storage options? Work with and not against what you already have in the room by reimagining your existing pieces with fresh eyes:
- Closets: Add more wire shelves to a traditional bedroom closet for storage, or take off the doors to transform the closet into a crafting nook! Make a sewing closet with a small table, sewing machine and wall-mounted tool storage.
- Cabinets: If your built-ins feel outdated, give them a cost-effective facelift with paint, or remove the doors and add baskets for an open feel.
- Baskets: Recycle your collection of mismatched baskets by spray painting them the same color for a cohesive look.
- Boxes: Upcycle sturdy cardboard boxes by wrapping them with pretty shelf-liner paper or fabric.
8. Out With the Clutter, in With the Creativity!
A cluttered craft work area leads to a cluttered mind. The last thing you want to experience is feeling overwhelmed or distracted in your room. Studies show that a clean, organized space reduces stress, improves concentration and inspires creativity.
First, remove everything that doesn’t need to be there. Relocate that treadmill to the basement and donate dated furniture to open up the space to new layout possibilities. As you organize your supplies, pull out any unused items. We totally understand crafters hesitate to get rid of anything because it “might” be usable someday, so use these tips to let go:
- Reduce collections of paper tubes, bottles and the like by at least half.
- Toss dried-up paints and fabric scraps too small to repurpose.
- Return, sell or donate unused materials. You can invest the return into your room!
9. I Can See Clearly Now With Transparent Containers
If you’ve found yourself digging through piles of boxes for hours in your craft supplies room, opening every lid trying to find that “one thing” you desperately need for a project, then this tip’s for you! See-through boxes save time (and sanity), helping you locate supplies at a glance — no lid removal required.
Clear, stackable shoeboxes are the perfect size for small-to-medium supplies such as stamps, clay cutters and silicone molds. Color-code lids to keep like items together. For example, use purple lids for all polymer clays and tools, and use green lids for scrapbook papers and stickers.
Transparent compartment organizers are perfect for teeny beads and embellishments. A container with small sections keeps related items in one spot, yet separated by style or color. You can even store multiple small containers in one large box. Store large bins in closets, on bookshelves or under your craft island.
10. Labels Are Everything!
Once you arrange your organized supplies and furniture, label absolutely everything, even on clear containers. Labels ensure loose materials end up in the correct container post-project.
Pro tip: Don’t just label the storage bins — remember also to label the cabinets, so you remember exactly where to return each box on its shelf. Small labels on shelf edges and inside doors ensure every material goes back to its home!
Use a label maker or make your own signage to fit your room’s aesthetic:
- Use an electronic cutting machine to cut out transferable vinyl words in the font of your choosing.
- Print labels on sticker paper, or print regular paper and add it to bins with clear packing tape.
- Add reusable chalkboard stickers and write labels with a liquid chalk marker.
- Use pre-made labels, available in a vast array of styles.
11. They See Me Rollin’, I’m Makin’
The rolling cart is the workhorse of the craft room. Need to move your project to another area? Plop your materials on a cart and roll everything to another space! Wheel an entire collection of regularly used items to your table for easy access.
Create themed carts for different hobbies and supplies. Most carts are metal, so you can stick magnetic containers on the sides for more storage. Wheel your paints and brushes to your standing easel, roll your pins and notions to your sewing station or spin your sculpting tools and cutters over to your claying corner.
Get inspired with these cart ideas:
- Art cart: Store paints and jars of brushes, pencils and markers on top, and place palettes and drawing pads on the bottom.
- Jewelry cart: Keep jewelry-making tools, jewelry molds, Liquid Sculpey®, pliers and metal jewelry fixings within reach.
- Kids’ crafting cart: Fill magnetic containers with googly eyes and pom-poms. Add kid-friendly Sculpey® clays, water-based paints, crayons and markers.
12. Surround Yourself With Inspirational Art
If your craft room feels a little blah, evaluate the walls and décor. The missing ingredients may be color and style. The best way to feel motivated in a space is to see beautiful, inspirational creativity all around you!
Paint can refresh your space in a snap. Give your walls a facelift with a light color to brighten the room for an airy, minimalist feeling. If your work aesthetic pops better against a dark, moody wall color, go for it. The goal is to make a space where you feel inspired.
Put your craftwork on display. Your creations deserve a spotlight, and seeing the results of your hard work all around you will encourage you to tackle new projects:
- Jewelry artist: Add chicken wire to colorful frames to display your finished pieces as works of art. Adorn the walls with art that inspires your jewelry aesthetic, such as ornate vintage illustrations or minimalist modern paintings.
- Clay shaper: Arrange handmade vases and pots filled with plants on shelves. Add a touch of your clay creativity to the work table with a handmade coaster.
- Textile artist: Display clothing, costumes and accessories on a wire mannequin. Add a pop of color with samples of your favorite fabrics or embroidered works framed on the wall.
DIY Craft Room Project Ideas
You’re on your way to making a craft room! Get inspired to make projects in your new space with these fun craft ideas:
- Adult craft kits: Fill a rolling cart with ready-to-go DIY adult crafting kits for your next evening in. Pre-made kits remove prep time, so you can start crafting bookmarks, wine charms or jewelry right away.
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Tool and brush holder: Make a colorful storage solution for your newly organized paintbrushes, tools and supplies using our Sculpey PremoTM Brush Holder or Original Sculpey® Granite Office Supply Holder how-to guides.
- Phone holder: You set your phone down for one second in your craft room, and poof — it disappears. Give your phone a much-needed home and easily watch those video tutorials with an adorable DIY Original Sculpey® Granite Raccoon Cell Phone Holder.
- Polymer clay crafts: Crafting ideas are limitless with versatile, easy-to-use polymer clay. You can use Sculpey® clays to make card embellishments, figurines, frames, coasters, ornaments, vases, dolls, jewelry, gifts and more! Check out our How-To page for step-by-step clay project inspiration.
Choose Sculpey® Products for Your Crafting Needs
We are committed to providing the highest quality polymer clays, tools and crafting resources on the market. For more than 50 years, Sculpey® has developed innovative products to help beginners find joy in creativity. Shop our clays, tools and craft supplies to outfit your creative room so you can craft with confidence.
If you have any questions about our products, check our FAQ page or contact us online.
