How to Turn a Boring Dining Room Corner into the Perfect Craft Nook

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.

She had so much craft cr*p she didn't know what to do.

Seriously it was a lot.

Day after day she’d find herself sobbing.
Because her house looked like it threw up Hobby Lobby.

I mean really, the kids could only eat at the island or on the floor.

So one day she said, “Hey, I know what I can do.”

I’ll carve out a spot in my little dining room.”

I mean like, REALLY little.

So she cleaned out some cabinets and moved some books.

To make the sweetest little hidden Crafting Nook.

The end.

Okay it’s not really the end, because I keep changing things.  But for the most part, I LOVE my new little crafting area.

 

So here’s what I did.  As I alluded to in my amateur poem-writing experience, I had so much crafting crap material all over my dining room, that it was really starting to overwhelm me.  I don’t have a dedicated craft room, so I was at the mercy of my organizational skills and some learned “tricks” to keep my crafting area tidy and my sanity in check.

 

The nucleus of my crafting is my glass painting business, Sunny Belle.  I hand paint glassware and ceramics, so I usually have open projects, paint brushes, paint pens, enamels and any materials related to painting ALL over the dining room.

 

This is what my dining room looked like at the beginning of my project.  Note that I started out with a bare useless corner that held only this drab accent chest.  Ugh. Thank goodness that at least the kitchen recently received a makeover!

I knew I wanted to utilize the accent chest for storage of my most commonly used items.  As such, I set out to clear the chest of the items that it currently contained. I relocated the photo albums to my bedroom bookshelf and cleaned out the top drawer that used to be the “art drawer” for the kids, which sadly doesn’t get used nearly as much.  (But being the mom that I am and clinging to the optimistic hope that even in their teen years, they’ll opt to break open a coloring book, I saved the contents of the nostalgic art drawer and made a special art box to be kept in my daughter’s room.)

So next, I decided to perk up the space by refinishing the accent chest with Miss Mustard Seed’s milk paint. 

Love. Her.

I chose her namesake paint color called “Mustard Seed Yellow”!

After I put a couple of coats of the milk paint on, this was the result!  I do love a shabby chic look.

I let it chip away naturally a bit – which it will surprisingly do on its own – and then I did a little of my own distressing with some fine sandpaper.

Look how cool the chipping looks on the edges of the doors and drawer!  Oh and how can I not point out my fabulous choice of new knobs for my “new” craft cabinet!

Finally I finished it off with a coat of Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil which actually deepened the color a tad and gave it a richer look.  Isn’t it absolutely beautiful???

Gosh, I love a pretty clean surface… but alas, it must be covered. Boooo...

So after adding a mirror to the top of the cabinet, my next task was to set out to thrift stores and craft stores to grab some great deals to house my little crafting knick knacks!

First, I found this neat white ceramic canister to hold all my paint pens. I found it at a thrift store for $3! I love any piece of home décor in white!  Check out my blog post on all of my favorite white treasures.

I also scooped up this cute flower bouquet at Michael’s for about $3 and the chevron frame at Hobby Lobby for about $9. Both pieces pull out a bit of orange that I wanted.

The baskets hold all of my bottles of enamel paint and my paint brushes.  These were on sale for half off at JoAnn’s Fabric Store for $3 each!  My favorite finds are these three adorable printed boxes, that keep all of my small loose craft items contained in one spot.  Would you believe I snagged these for a buck a piece at the Dollar Tree?  They really add the perfect pop of color!

Also for only $1 each are these three adorable little tin buckets with handles, that hold the items I use most frequently.  Note they are hanging on this great wooden chevron print rack that I found at JoAnn’s for $7.50!

The inside of the cabinet holds folders of scrapbook paper, rolls of vinyl, jars and glassware, and cutting boards.

You’ll also see at the end of the cabinet two brown paper colored photo boxes that hold all the gemstones that I use on glasses, as well as other paints that I do not use as often (hence, the reason they’re not in the open basket).

So here’s the finished craft nook!  What’s that super cool pennant thingy hanging on the mirror, you ask?  Well that would be my Scripture Pennant, which holds all my favorite scripture verses!  Pssst.  That’s the next blog! 

I hope you see how super easy it is to create a crafty workstation that actually serves as a functional area, while still blending beautifully with your home decor.  It's all in the containers you choose!

Oh and we couldn’t finish the blog post without a photo bomb by the old woman who lives in the shoe… 

What’s your favorite crafty makeover? Share it with us!