Best Tips for Setting up a Craft Room

Setting up a craft room correctly is the most important step any crafter can take.   These tips for setting up a craft room will help you to be more productive and more organized while being creative.

Even if you don’t have a separate room for all your crafting, it’s important to set up your workspace in a way that we feel most comfortable.  Otherwise, your creativity can hit a brick wall.

Before you start setting up your craft room try to visualize how it would look when it’s all set up.

• will it have enough space for you to work comfortably in?
• consider the type of flooring if you work with paint, glue, etc.
• will it have plenty of natural light or do you need to invest in artificial lighting?
• will you have plenty of storage for all your tools and accessories?
• Will it have space for a coffee machine? lol

The following tips for setting up a craft room will help you get started.

Use A Big Enough Table

This might sound like common sense, but I see many crafters with worktables that are way too small.  Not having enough room for your projects will clutter your work area and your creativity.

Your worktable will be the main piece of furniture you will have in your craft.  This is where all the creativity happens. 

If you decide to buy a new table or bring one in from another room, consider the following:

• How much workspace will your tools and accessories need?
• How much room do you have for a table?

Once you have answered these questions, it will give you some insight into the kind of table you will need.

Your worktable needs to have enough space for all your tools and accessories to spread out without any restriction on you as you work.

So, for example, if you make greeting cards, you need a table that is big enough for your paper cutter, cutting mat, etc. 

Your table not only needs to be the right size but also sturdy. 

I remember my first table, it was big enough for my crafting projects, but it had the worst legs ever, it just was not sturdy enough, especially when I used my die-cutting machine.

Use Plenty Of Lighting?

Your craft room needs to have plenty of lighting so you can work comfortably.  If you have windows in your craft room that brings in natural light, then even better.

Not all crafters have access to windows in their craft rooms, so they need to rely on artificial lighting. Consider how much natural light you have coming in and how much more lighting you require.

The lighter in your room the less strain there will be on your eyes. Also, it helps your concentration which I find helps me to work harder.

Some crafters who make video tutorials of their projects like me also need to consider studio lighting, so your videos look great.

I have multiple lighting sources in my craft room.  I just find the more light the more I remain focus when I’m crafting.

There is one important lesson about lighting I’ve learned over the years and that is the color of your walls impacts the overall lighting in your room.

Light-colored walls such as white and cream help reflect light.  Darker colors seem to soak up the light, so keep this in mind when you are thinking about lighting.

Keep Your Craft Room Ventilated

Ventilation was an area I overlooked when I first started crafting. 

You need to make sure there is plenty of ventilation in your craft room especially if you use anything that has fumes such as paint and glue etc. 

I have large windows where I work but I have a confession to make, I hate spiders, so I keep them closed most of the time and only open them when I have to. 

But if any spiders do manage to get in, I have a special weapon against them, my wife, she is fearless. lol

Good ventilation equals fresh air which helps with your concentration and productivity.

Invest In A Comfortable Chair

The 2^nd most important piece of furniture in your craft room is going to be your chair.  When you are looking to buy a chair consider the following

• Will it be comfortable for long periods?
• Does it have good back support?
• Is the height adjustable?
• Does it have wheels?

A chair with wheels sounds lazy but trust me the wheels will come in handy. 

There will be times when you are so focused on your craft projects that you will just roll across the room to get something instead of walking.  Lol, wow it does sound lazy though, but it’s fun so it’s ok.

When I first started, I used one of my dining room chairs, which was fine for short periods, however, I found that it gave me a sore back and neck.

So, I invested in a comfortable chair, that had good back support and the height was adjustable, oh and it had wheels. lol, I didn’t mind investing in a good chair because I knew it would last many years to come.

Use Cable Ties

Over the years you will build up a collection of electrical crafting tools and other electrical devices such as lamps, a Cricut machine, printer, etc.

I would highly recommend that you use cable ties for any loose cables. 

But if you can hide the cables behind any furniture then even better.

The less clutter the more you will remain focus on being creative.

The last thing you want is tripping over any cables and hurting yourself.

Cable ties are multifunctional, you can use them for many things not just for tying cables such as:

• Tying together your supplies.
• Holding something together while the glue is still wet.
• The possibilities are endless.

Cable ties can be picked up from almost anywhere and they are cheap, you will be surprised with all the ways you will end up using them.

Keep A Handheld Vacuum Nearby

Cleaning should be a daily routine for your craft room, without a handheld vacuum you would probably spend half the day picking up all the small bits and bobs off the floor.

Just the other day, I was trying to open a bag of glitter, long story short it went everywhere. With my handheld vacuum nearby, it only took a couple of seconds to clean up.

It’s not a must-have for your craft room, but I find it very useful and it saves a lot of time. 

I didn’t have one to begin with, in the beginning, I just used my regular vacuum, but I found it took more time than it should by taking the vacuum out and putting it away each time, now I always have my handheld vacuum at hand.

Make Sure You Have Enough Storage

When you first take up crafting you will buy everything you see.  We have all been there.

Before you buy anything consider where you will store it, otherwise you risk cluttering your craft room.

Having enough storage for all your craft tools and accessories is an essential part when it comes to setting up a craft room.

If you do have money to invest then I recommend investing in some good storage for all your supplies.

You don’t need to splash out tons of money on storage in the beginning.  To save money you can just use what you have around your home.  

To save money in the beginning, you can use a spare utility cabinet or a closet.  If you go down this route all you need to invest in are some baskets or storage containers for all your tools and accessories.

You could even use postage boxes that you can pick up for free from your local post office. 

Whichever method you decide to go with, don’t forget to label your storage boxes, containers, etc.

This is where a label maker comes in very handy.

Invest In A Label Maker

One of the best investments I made was purchasing a label maker.  To be honest, when I bought my label maker, I only purchased it because it was on sale and cheap, not because I thought I needed it. who doesn’t like a good bargain?

But I was surprised how handy it came. Now I use my label maker regularly.

Labeling all your storage boxes, containers, baskets, etc. will save you so much time and help you remain more organized. 

You don’t want to waste your hard-earned money buying something that you may already have in your storage? 

By labeling your storage, it makes it easier to check your inventory.

Purchase Extra Essential Accessories

This is more for someone who is planning to sell their crafts.

Having a backup of the tools you use regularly is a must-have for me. 

The last thing you want happening is, while you are working on a customer order and halfway through your order the paper trimmer decides to retire and break. 

This has happened to me a couple of times in the beginning, what made it worse was when I went to the local craft store and that one item I needed was out of stock.

Lesson learned.  I’m not suggesting you buy 2 of everything but buying extra of your essential accessories that you use daily will save you so much time later. 

I keep 2 of the following:

• Paper cutter.
• Certain paper punches.
• Extra blades for paper-knife.
• Vinyl for my Cricut machine.
• Coffee machine lol.

Store Bulky Tools Separately

If you use a printer and a Cricut machine like I do, then you will know how much space they can take up. 

Using a separate table or trolly will make your worktable less cluttered.

Less clutter equals more creativity.

If your worktable is large enough for your bulky items then fair enough, otherwise consider storing them elsewhere.

This was one of the reasons why I decided to build my own craft table with the help of my best friend, so I could have enough room for my Cricut machine.  For me, this was the cheaper option.

If your craft projects require a printer then you probably need a separate table for your printer.   

If you don’t have space for a separate table, you can use a small trolly for the printer and keep it stored under your worktable.   This will not only save you money but save you space.

Nowadays you get printers that connect to laptops through Wi-Fi so your laptop doesn’t need to be right beside the printer anymore when you print.

You can even have the printer located in another room and still be able to print from your craft room.

Hang A Whiteboard In Your Craft Room

Having a whiteboard is a great way to organize everything that needs to be done. 

You can use different color pens to coordinate different tasks.

For example, the red pen can be used for supplies that you need to replace, the yellow pen for the customers you need to contact and so forth.

Don’t forget to hang it in plain sight I believe it’s a must-have accessory for any craft room. 

The board I have in my craft room is magnetic but be aware not all whiteboards are magnetic.  whiteboard pens are cheap to replace and easy to clean off the board.

Always Keep Cleaning Wipes Nearby

I believe every crafter needs to have some sort of cleaning wipes or is this my OCD speaking lol. 

It might never happen, but could you imagine if you spilled glue or paint all over your craft room floor. Yes, you could probably use an old rag but with wipes, you just use them and bin them, simple.

Cleaning wipes are great to wipe down most surfaces in your craft room and to clean certain types of craft tools.  So, it’s a good accessory to have nearby.

They are cheap to buy and last a long time, definitely worth the few dollars that they cost.

Recycle Your Jars

Having plenty of empty jars when you set up your craft room will come in handy. When you get into crafting you will be surprised with all the tools and accessories you will accumulate over time.

Empty jars are great for storing all sorts.

I keep 2 jars located on my worktable that I use to store the essential tools that I use daily such as my craft knife/pencils and paintbrushes etc. Not only will this save you a little money, but it’s a good habit to recycle as much as you can.

Designated Shelf For Your Best Work

Having a shelf set aside for all your favorite creations is fantastic for those times when you lose your inspiration.

So, when you enter your craft room and see some of the amazing projects that you have made with your 2 hands, it will give you the inspiration to keep going and not giving up.

If you don’t have a shelf to spare, then you can even use part of a bookshelf or any other surface. As long your creations are in plain sight.

Always Have Good Tunes Playing

Being a crafter can become lonely at times.  Putting on some good tunes is the first thing I do when I start crafting.  It’s a great way to stay focus and motivated.

Good tunes definitely help when you are doing a lot of repetitive work.

Just having some background noise will help the workflow tremendously.

Food For Thought

Setting up your craft room for the first time can be so much fun, you might even find yourself changing it down the line.

As long as you are comfortable and have easy access to all your tools and accessories is what matters.

Your craft room is where you will be working, so, set it up the way that it suits you best.

I hope these tips for setting up a craft room have given you some new ideas.

If you have any tips on setting up your craft room, please share them in the comments.

Happy crafting!