1. Even though the decorating fashionistas say colored walls are going the way of the dinosaur, I love clear, clean, bright, airy blues and greens with white, ivory or black cabinetry.
2. I must have concealed/restful-to-the-eye storage. Kitchen cabinetry, closets, workstations with cabinets and drawers, etc. In order to feel creative and peaceful, I can't be looking at every craft item I own. I've discovered I'm a very visual person, so while it's really important for me to be able to see what I have at a glance, most of it simply must be behind closed doors.
3. At least a 10' x 12' room for the work surface necessary for really thorough scrapping/crafting/sewing/etc, and for friends to come over and "play". 12'x 12' would be wonderful. (I know a lot of you are probably thinking "Only 12' x 12'? That's tiny!", but when we've got five children to house as well (and Vern really needs an office to facilitate pay for all of this) I find it hard to insist on a room that's as large as one of the childrens' bedrooms. (It'll probably end up being larger than the master bedroom, though! lol)
Here are some of my favorites . . . (now, if One Pretty Thing would just post another Craft Room Redo roundup!) I'll start with the rooms who have elements I really love.
I was kind of surprised that I liked this one, because it's definitely the busiest of my favorites. I just love the color, and the way she uses vintage mail sorters and card catalog files to provide homes for everything.
Yvonne's Bright White Sewing Room, at Apartment Therapy.
I've discovered that I just love bookcases with square cubbies. I can hardly bear it. lol I'll have to make my own out of green plywood (no voc-glues are a must around here). I won't have a basement space (her transformation is incredible!), but I love the way she makes things large, clean, and bright with lots of white.
Here's one from the Handmade Spaces Flickr Pool, belonging to Lavender and Limes, featured on the Modish blog.
Pink walls and another Ikea bookcase. Sigh . . . lovely.
And now, onto the winners in the "Overall Look and Feel" category. In no particular order:
HGTV had a great little collection of rooms I adored. Here's the first, from Ingregory, whose photo was on Rate My Space (HGTV sure made it hard to link to these! Sorry I couldn't give better attribution):
The incredibly blue, set off by the restful black cabinetry and desk, are simply lovely.
Next up is Nichole's efficient and excellently-designed small-room makeover. (This was a 9' x 10' bedroom!)
You need to head over to her blog to see more photos . . . she posted tons of them, and showed off her excellent use of cabinetry, keeping a very small space feeling open and uncluttered. I simply <3 her arrangement here.
Wookiemouse had a photo on HGTV, with more cabinets. I love the shiny chrome-topped jars in her glass-fronted cabinets.
And Valentine's Stampin' Space gave me some excellent ideas . . . the banks of Very Useful Boxes, and slim shelves with chubby little spice bottles filled my deep inner need for abundance in a most satisfying way. ;o)
I found Valentine's craft space at the Crafty Storage blog . . . and I could get lost there for days . . .
Vanessa Coppola's space really profiled over at Craft appeals to me, too.
(Although I must admit that her glossy green songbird and macro shot of pinchable-chubby Ikea spice jars were home runs. :o)
And finally, I've saved my absolute favorite for last. Kari's lovely room at her blog Spring Chick Designs.
Some of you may recognize that photo . . . it was on Ikea Hacker, Apartment Therapy, and probably a few more. You need to go check out her space, and see what a wonderful place it is . . . and all in a 12' x 12' room, too. (She gives me hope.)
And finally, what started all of this was an old article in a Creative Home Magazine (sadly now discontinued, sniffle, sniffle), of a living room makeover that included a crafting corner. I've got this one filed under "Craft Room of my Dreams". :o)
It's a smallish-scan, but it gives you an idea. While it's no longer my all-time favorite (Kari's and Nichole's are my top two.) And, while I won't post a floor plan, you can bet your bobbins I'll post photos of finished spaces in a year or so when the whole thing is done!
So, with these percolating in my head, I'm off to try to make something of my Saturday morning . . . wish me luck!
