From K - Craft Room Inspiration Board

One of the prominant action items that I mentioned in my Summer Sewing Hit List was to modify an existing space in my house that would allow my creative juices to flow. Our current guest room serves well for its intended function, but when it's not in use, it makes for a lot of wasted space. While talking it over with the hubs, we decided that the guest room might as well serve a dual purpose.

In order to visualize what mood I wanted for this space, I went to work putting together some inspirational photos using OlioBoard, and this is what I came up with:

When planning this change, I had a couple of main objectives in mind:

1. Don't spend a fortune. I want to create a more functional space, but not at the risk of a costly reno. I want to set out to find some practical and affordable pieces, and also to use what I already have available to me.

2. Start with a clean slate. Presently our guest room is a pretty vibrant purple. The room was originally painted a couple of days before guests started arriving for our wedding, and while the colour wasn't how we invisioned it, we somehow left it until now. I'm thinking a clean grey would be a good place to start.

3. Don't forget about guests. Although we presently don't host guests more than once every month or two, I still want to make sure they have an enjoyable stay, and that includes a private space of their own, a soft spot to sleep, and a warm rug under their toes. I plan to accomplish this using a convertible sofa and a practical but inexpensive ikea rug.

4. Incorporate inspiring elements. (in progress, and finished!) My hope for this room is that my Works in Progress will be what catches the eye, so I'm keeping the furniture very neutral. With that being said I wouldn't do myelf any favours though if I didn't at least incorporate a few of my favourite Anne Marie Horner prints from Innocent Crush. I think they will wip up to become some excellent custom pillows.

5. Create storage to maximize space. About 4 months ago after endlessly searching for a storage solution, I broke down and purchased a Pax Wardrobe System and filled it up with drawers of crafty good-ness. This unit has been an absolute blessing the way of managing my quilting stash and other craft supplies, but I want to make sure I also incorporate some useful storage that isn't necessarily hidden behind closed doors.

6. Make quilting a priority. (finished!) In order to truly maximize my use of this new space, I need to put sewing on the front burner. This means dedicating space for a cutting board, an ironing station, and of course my trusty sewing machine.

7.* Build a dedicated design wall. Part of making a sewing space is to minimize the fabric explosion that presently exists around the rest of our house. Gone will be the days when my couch stood in the place of a design wall. I'm hoping the hubs will help me build something pretty nifty so the couch can be fabric free (*not shown on mood board above).

I'm hoping to make this design process a priority over the next couple of weeks in order to encourage myself to complete the rest of my summer sewing list. I'll be sure to keep you posted on my progress!