How To Find Space For A Creative Hobby

Inspiration is a fickle thing, and if you don’t grab it when it strikes, it soon passes by. There’s nothing more frustrating than itching to get on with a hobby but having to pause and find all the kit you need.

Time is precious too. If you’ve only got an hour and it takes twenty minutes to set up and another twenty to pack away, an hour isn’t long enough. But if everything is ready, you can achieve a lot in that time.

The more bits of equipment you use in a hobby, the more important it is that everything is as ‘ready to go’ as you can make it. This is even more important if your hobby involves gear you need to set up, such as a sewing machine or a wood turner.

Think like a designer

Interior designers work from sketches and measurements, and you should too to get the most from the space you’re planning. Even just a very rough drawing of the space you have (with some measurements) will help you visualise how things will look. You can make changes or choose alternative storage furnishings before you go to any expense.

In your drawing, you could plan how to arrange things by a window for maximum light, or note where wall sockets are if you need electricity for machines.

Claim your space and make it work

How much space you need depends on the hobby. Similarly, the type of storage needed depends whether your equipment includes lots of small items or just a few larger ones.

Having a hobby or craft room is every creative person’s ideal, but reality for many of us involves utilising space in rooms used primarily for other activities.

Consider how you use all the rooms in the house. Maybe you have a dining room but hardly ever use it for meals. Or maybe you have a spare bedroom that’s fully furnished as a guest room with nowhere to put hobby stuff right now.

Both rooms offer a wealth of space if you’re prepared to do a bit of switching things around. For instance, you could put the big dining table into self storage, replacing it in the room with a smaller drop leaf table and a workbench. You’ll still have a dining table should you need it for meals, but also have space for a craft table that you won’t mind getting sticky or covered in knife marks.

If you don’t need quite so much space, empty a cupboard of things you’re not using (rent a small self storage unit for a few boxes if you don’t want to clutter up the house), and earmark that cupboard space just for small craft materials.

Vertical Storage Ideas

Sometimes it’s not so much floor space you need, as somewhere to keep tubs or tools. If you have kids, putting these out of reach is safer and can save your sanity by preventing things getting ‘borrowed’.

Some suggestions:

• Fix a pegboard to the wall above your workspace. You can kit it out with hooks for scissors or other hanging tools, create small shelves on it, or hang jars and pots for paint brushes or pencils.
• Install a tall shelving unit and fill it with transparent boxes so you can see at a glance what’s inside. Alternatively, use pretty baskets if you want a more aesthetically pleasing storage area. A small label printed out in a fancy font makes identification easy.
• Make a display shelf or hanging area. Creative types are often inspired by what they see, so don’t hide your work in cupboards and boxes. Frame and hang your photographs or sewing projects. Mini easels are lovely for showing off paintings.

When you know exactly where everything is, life gets a whole lot more creative. You can dive straight in and get some instant gratification by bringing your ideas quickly to life.