Stylish and Budget-Friendly Organizational Tips for Craft Rooms and Offices

Do you long to have a craft room or an office that you can store all your hobby-making materials, paperwork, and miscellaneous office supplies that is unique, stylish, but budget-friendly at the same time?  I know I did... for years!  I was fortunate to get my dream craft room at our last house, which I shared HERE and I'm pretty lucky that there is small room right off of the foyer in the rental where I could set up shop!  If you've been dreaming of an organized office or craft room, but think it takes hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars in furniture and organizing supplies, then I have a few tips that will make you think otherwise... 

If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll know how much I love, love vintage alarm clocks and my craft room is inspired by them...

If you have a collection that you love (i.e. books, maps, etc), then an office/craft room is a great place to enjoy and show them off!  Use your collection as a jumping point for the design or color palette like the black and white industrial theme used here.  

The biggest obstacle when furnishing a craft room or office is storage... Start with large storage furniture pieces like desks, bookcases, etc. as you would in any other room in your home, but think outside the box.  Instead of heading to your nearest office supply store, check Craig's List, yard sales, and auctions for desks and the other storage pieces you'll need.  The desk, craft cabinet, and sideboard were all Craig's List scores that totaled less than $200 for all three pieces! Of course, there was some elbow grease that needed to be put into them...

The desk was painted, glazed, and sealed.  The craft cabinet with the numerous drawers was painted and new hardware with labels were added for a nominal cost...

You may think sideboards belong in the dining room, but they are great for putting your flat screen on or you can even use them in your office.  My sideboard is a great place to put the printer and stores a ton of supplies.  We put all our photo albums, paper, and numerous craft supplies in it!

Another great option for affordable storage pieces is IKEA.  There are so many designs at great prices that you really can't go wrong if you need some standard bookcases or shelving units.  I believe these are the Hemnes style from IKEA...

When you have your larger storage pieces in place, then it's time to think about stylish, but inexpensive items to hold all your craft/art supplies.  There are obvious items like magazine holders, accordion files, photo boxes, and even baskets, but it's fun to add the unexpected like vintage locker baskets to hold ribbon and jars...

Even ordinary plastic storage organizers can get an easy face lift with some pretty decorative paper (books too!).  I used Ballard Design's document wrapping paper to cover both the storage boxes and all my decorating books...

Re-purposing vintage items for storage is generally a cost effective, yet stylish way to decorate your craft room/office.  The next time you're at the flea market, look for things that you can incorporate into storage pieces like antique grocery scales that can hold bowls of ribbon or supplies...

...or vintage suitcases that can hold paperwork, records, etc...

Antique and Mason jars are also common finds at the flea market and are wonderful to store all sorts of crafting supplies.  I have a ton of jewelry-making materials that I store in lidded jars... The glass is perfect for being able to see all the contents when I need to find something!

Flea market or thrift store frames also make excellent memo boards to store reminders, schedules, or to use as an inspiration board.  This chippy flea market find was only $5 and with some foam core board, batting, and some leftover curtain fabric, I have a place to pin my favorite things...

Also, when you're working on getting your storage in style, don't forget to be on the lookout for decorative accessories that speak to you, since you're likely to spend quite a bit of time in your crafting space!

I've certainly had fun collecting things I love for my creative space and since most items were found pieces that were given a new life, I was able to keep the costs down to fractions of what I would have paid if everything was new.  I hope this inspires and empowers you to get organized and carve out a creative space of your own!  (Note: I've had a few questions about the rug and wall color... The rug is from Rugs USA and I ordered it over two years ago and no longer see it on the site. The wall color is unknown since it was already painted upon moving in, but it is very similar to Benjamin Moore's Dunmore Cream that I used in my previous home.)

Sharing at: Home Stories A to Z, The Scoop, Savvy Southern Style, French Country Cottage

Don't miss out on all the organizational tips and tricks that six of my blogging friends are sharing today!