Kobalt Craftroom Work Station

Funny thing happened while in Lowes last week getting material for a DIY outdoor lantern project...

Hubby and I spotted some neat Kobalt tool/cart work stations, STRATEGICALLY planted in the open aisle way separating the front products from the back products.  Of course, right now, all of those aisle ways are jammed with "on sale" Christmas product, and usually I cruise right past them. (I'm the only party in this house remotely interested in any DIY tools unless it's outdoor equipment and tools.)

I immediately stopped, and my brain did one of those little explosion of thoughts dances.

"THIS WOULD MAKE THE BEST CARD CRAFTING STATION!!!"

Hubby, who after MANY years of marriage to me, said out loud "that would be great for crafting!" (Hence the reason why he's perfect for me...he so get's me without me saying a word.)

I could see all the benefits of having such a workstation:  on wheels, soft close drawers, peg board and shelving built in, hard butcher block surface, good size in height and length, and the color was perfect for my room.  Deal Done!

Here it is in all it's finished glory...

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This room is my office/crafting space.  It's one of 4 bedrooms in our home, and during the 20 years we have lived here it's never housed an actual bed.  I've used it as my personal space and it's gone  through many cycles of decorating, rearranging, and use.  It's finally found it's last configuration, and I've gotten it (now) to the perfect work area for me.  It's my refuge.

I love to create homemade cards through stamping, and now that I am retired, I've gotten back into the art.  I was currently using the IKEA Hemnes dressers, the closet, desk drawers, a rolling cart, and built in shelving as card making storage, but it was hard to pull all those products out from totally different areas, AND work at my desk crafting cards in front of my computer.  There was never enough room.

I am a crafter who likes to stop and start and leaving supplies all over the area where I also use my computer caused moments of panic for me.  That space would quickly fill up and be impossible to use for anything other than what was currently in a state of creation.

Added to that, gathering all the supplies needed from all over the room was really a straight pain, and I often forgot about supplies that I had because they were not cohesively together.

When I saw this cart, I knew I could house about 90% of my supplies there and still have additional workspace on top...for well, any work I wanted to do.

And I was right!

So we bought it, brought it home, got it in the house (thanks to our sweet neighbors for their help), and of course that led to the cleaning and re-organization of the whole room.

But, in the theme of keeping it real for you, there was a lot of You-Tube watching and general chaos going on during the re-organization project...

Don't worry, that bottle has been reused and now holds Thieves cleaner!

I did purge a tiny bit of stuff, but not much.  I had already cleaned out a bulk of my supplies last year and kept what I knew I would truly use.

The process took all day, but I finally finished around 5:30 in the evening.  Here is what it looks like now.

Clean clear surfaces are like an arrow to my heart.  I also think they keep the room from feeling closed in as well.

My Woodbridge baskets used to be filled with supplies.  They are now all empty and on display.

The small dresser houses all of my Young Living business and team materials, as well as my DIY oils supplies.  It's now a work station for my love of oils and my business.  My oil inventory is easily accessed on the shelf about the dresser.

An IKEA Raskog cart holds my pens (yes, I have a pen problem; it's well documented), my laminator and lamination sheets, and my Happy Planner hole punch.  It can easily move around the room as needed.

The opposite side of the room is where the larger of the Hemnes dressers resides.  I hold a variety of things, including my everyday notebooks and planner supplies, some miscellaneous crafting supplies, and 2 drawers are used for card making.  

In the corner, where the ring light now resides, there used to be a large rolling cart.  It was totally cleaned out and relegated to the basement where I will put it to good use down there.

Because this dresser will be right behind me while I craft, it made geographical sense to place all my stamp sets and paper punches here.  I can easily grab what I need by turning around.  I can also see them so much better.  Before, they were in all those Woodbridge baskets.  That meant having to pull down each basket and look through them for sets that I wanted to use.  

The other side of the cart has shelving space where my Big Shot and supplies fit perfectly.  I can just place it on the cart top, use, and then put away.  My Xyron machine and tools are here as well.

You might have noticed that while the cart does have dedicated pegboard space, I opted to use Command hooks instead.  I love pegboards because of their versatility, however, I do find that when you are grabbing tools, the metal hooks can come out easily, even with the little straps affixing them to the board.  In addition, I also knew that I would be brushing up against them when working around the cart, and decided that the ball tipped hooks were a better and cleaner option for me.  Plus, their Command, so they can be easily removed and repositioned as needed.

Let's look in a few of the drawers now...

Tool drawer at the top.  It easily holds Dollar Tree baskets to keep things organized and neat.

Second drawers has all my little card accents like brads and buttons.  Plus, there's room to grow.

A drawer for my bags and tags.  I find sales and just purchase to have things like this on hand for crafting and gift-giving.

A side drawer dedicated to my small collection of ribbons and twines.  I leave a pair of scissors here for easy cutting.

A deep bottom drawer is perfect for my collection of designer papers.  I have my plain colored card stock in another drawer in  similar plastic bins.

To some, it might seem like this room is now a bit cramped.  And, while I can agree that this cart took up the bulk of the center of the room, I am not in the least worried about the size.

I don't host dances in here, or do my yoga, or need that space for any other pursuit other than crafting.

In fact, I like the coziness and utilitarian feel of the room even more.

It's a space made for dreaming, creating, thinking, and working.  It's organized and homey.  It's got an incredible view of the pond in our back yard, and in the morning, it gets beautiful light from the rising and morning sun.

Let me know how you craft (if you do) and what you need to make your space a place of inspiration.

Break some rules today and use a tool chest for a craft station!