Tales from the Craft Room

I have been wanting a big work space for crafts and projects for the longest time. I had originally bought a second hand desk off of Kijiji which was okay but didn't have the space I needed to spread out big projects.   In fact, I actually had no craft room at all for the first year in this house...just a desk and a space for junk and clutter to accumulate.   Can't believe I'm even going to show this before picture....be kind in your judgements.

It's not that I wasn't doing crafty things but I had no real work space so everything wound up on the kitchen table.  In effort to clear up the clutter I donated that old desk to my favorite thrift store and tried to figure out how to create a space that would have both storage for all my things and a big enough work area.  All part of my master plan to get the basement area cleaned and ready for a playroom.  I considered all sorts of things....cabinets with a counter top, looking for an old kitchen table, or a plain old desk with no hutch on top.  Bottom line, none of these things appealed and there wasn't really a budget for new furniture.

Cue Bibles for Missions once again.  So I'm wandering around in there one afternoon when I see a room that I've never noticed before.  It's full of old doors and windows.  Brainstorm!!!  Aren't doors flat? And sturdy? Maybe I could make an old door into a craft table?  In point of fact, most of the doors were not flat and had holes from where the handle had been.  I poked through tons of doors until I found an old pocket door for $20.  Then I dragged that sucker home where it sat for another few weeks until I could find time to work on it and to figure out how to make it into a desk.

Now you can't see it from that picture but behind the door is a nine cube storage unit full of craft stuff.  And....I had two extras in the cold cellar waiting for me to put them together.  I was originally going to use them in the future playroom but they were the perfect height for a work table.  I don't actually sit when I'm working on something and with the open storage areas for easy access, these made a terrific base for the table.

I cleaned the old door with TSP (Lordy, it was filthy!) and gave it a couple of coats with primer before painting it with  the same semi-gloss white paint I had used on the trim in the rest of the house.

This is probably the cleanest it will ever be.

Once it was dry, I plopped it on top of the storage units.  And we have a work table!

I haven't actually attached the table to the units.  I considered gluing it to the piecesa but I wanted it to be easy to take apart in case I ever needed to move it.  Then I thought about adding some velcro but I never got back to it.  And it's turned out to be pretty sturdy without being attached.  For now.

Now I just need to organize and sort the rest of the crafty stuff.  Because, let's be honest....the table only looked that tidy for less than a day.

Linking to my favorite parties this week.