I'm still reeling at the opportunity my team and I had to organize the McGee home. It's truly an incredible space, and the creativity that went into designing it is inspiring (as everything Shea touches is -- see Studio McGee). I love that Shea wants to foster that same creativity in her own children, and designate space for precisely that, which is where we were asked to take on their craft room organization.
The craft room, nestled just off the kitchen, is darling. Its bright, natural light, soft colors, and kid-friendly features make it the perfect space for kids to create. The star of the room is this beautiful hutch. The top half is styled beautifully (of course) by Shea, and the bottom half has covered shelves, perfect for storing craft supplies.
Over time, all the crafting and coloring supplies became messy. The lack of organizational systems left the hutch disheveled and cluttered. Shea felt like she had run out of space and also that there weren't sustainable systems in place that her kids could easily maintain.
Craft Room Organization
The goal was to create a space where Shea and Syd's girls could craft independently, so the bins we used to house their supplies needed to be easy to handle; simple to open and close, and easy to clean up. Previously they had been using a lazy susan and a caddy to store art supplies, but bringing it from the hutch to the table wasn't working. The lazy susan was awkward and the supplies seemed to get messy and lost. Shea wanted to try something different.
Craft Room Organization Products
We used shimo bins to house sticker books, activity books, flashcards, notebooks, blank paper, colored paper, watercolor supplies, and coloring sheets. The softness of these bins plus the white on clear labels that Shea chose really went with the whole aesthetic of the room. We also used OUR shoe box and tall shoe box bins to hold pencil cases, a spirograph, yarn, scissors, paint supplies, easels, and craft tape. This line of bins is stackable, sturdy, easy to open and close and clean up beautifully when they get messy.
Styling a Craft and Play Room
Just outside the craft room is a built-in cupboard with drawers underneath that ended up being the perfect place to store crafting items that require some adult supervision. The cupboard portion of the unit, which is up high and mostly out of the girls' reach, now stores things like adhesives, kinetic sand, rainbow loom supplies (IYKYK), and a sewing machine with sewing supplies. Up top was the perfect place to put Shea's beautiful candle collection in clear acrylic bins.
Art Supply Organization
Underneath, in the built-in drawers, accessible to the kids, are things like colored pencils, markers, crayons, and glitter pens.
Perler Bead Organization
The drawer underneath these supplies was the perfect place to store all things beads, Perler or otherwise. Just look at the service you get when you hire RYN! We really do love to sort EVERYTHING! ;) Especially in great containers like this bead organizer.
Although we didn't get a picture of it, I love how we utilized the bottom drawer of this space. Using a drawer divider, we created two different sections for the McGee's two oldest daughters. Now they each have their own space to put finished projects that they want to keep. When the drawer gets full, Shea and Syd can go through it and edit it accordingly. Such a simple way to keep clutter and paper from becoming overwhelming.
Do you have a designated craft space for the kids in your life? I'd love to know how you keep it organized!
Jen is the founder of Reset Your Nest, a Professional Home Organizing Business in Utah (servicing Salt Lake City, Park City, Ogden, Alpine, Highland, Mapleton, and St. George). She loves creating order and systems out of chaos and is known for bringing a beautiful aesthetic as well as easy to maintain function to any space. She shares her tips and tricks on Instagram @reset_your_nest.
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