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Revealed: A Basement Craft Room

by - Monday, December 03, 2012

I like white rooms. And throughout this basement renovation, I thought I would end up with a white basement, much like the images I've been pinning on my Pinterest board. But here's the thing - in reality, I find a white room kind of boring. It looks great in photos, but when I'm surrounded by white walls with neutral furnishings and little contrast in fabric or decor... I feel like something's missing. And when you're creating a basement craft room, pure white will just not do.

So that's how it went with the basement. We had the white cabinetry, the whitewashed walls, the greyish floors, and everything was very monotone. I added the harvest table and was just about to paint it white - but instead, I added in some red and surprisingly it all came together and now we have this fun and vibrant craft room in the basement.

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You can't have a craft room without a good craft table. The harvest table (which I searched years for) is finally in place. I wanted the table that was worn, interesting, and had character. It is the softest shade of spring green on the base. The top has bits of blue grey paint, sanded down to reveal the wood beneath. No need to worry if Chloe marks up the table; the dings will only add to its charm.

basement craft room, basement craft room ideas, basement lighting

basement craft room, basement craft room ideas, basement lighting

Then there's the craft room chairs. I knew I wanted modern chairs to contrast with the rustic table and searched high and low for them. I needed something comfortable enough for kids or adults that could also resist paint spills, glitter, glue and whatever else we could throw at it craft-wise. I could not find anything that fit that long list of requirements.

basement craft room, basement craft room ideas, basement lighting

Then I received a PR notice that O.co / Overstock.com was now shipping to Canada. Interesting! I've read about some of my American blogger friends getting great deals on Overstock so I was familiar with the site. A few minutes of searching and I found these red metal side chairs which could not be more perfect. I reached out to the PR company and they did provide the chairs, however, I was so pleased with the product that I've actually personally purchased more items from O.co recently. Shipping can be pricey with some of the bulkier home furnishings but they can be hard to source locally (as I found) so take that into consideration when you're cross-border online shopping.

The chairs arrived on my doorstep within days, fully assembled. They are just the right height to slip under the table and very lightweight too so Chloe can move them around on her own. The slight contour in the seats make them really comfortable to sit in and the red powder coating means clean up is a breeze. I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but in a craft area, metal chairs really are the way to go! I also love how the slats don't obscure the view of the table...


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and how the red picks up on the same red tone in the Alanna Cavanagh print down the hallway :) When using colour in your room design, keep things cohesive by repeating that colour 2-3 times throughout the room.


The craft zone is located right next to my basement office space. The craft table is placed just far enough away that I have room to swivel and move about in my desk chair but still close enough that I can spin around to grab a peek at what Chloe's working on when she's at the table. That was always my intention... I like things to work double-duty in small spaces! I could have used a longer table but we're keeping the opposite end of the banquette and floor as free  space for Chloe to play with her cars and blocks etc.

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A few other fun things: there's the awesome pillow I received when I won the People's Choice Favourite Pinspiration Award at the One of a Kind Show last week. Its by Identity Apparel and goes so perfectly with the other cabin-y pillow I made. And there's my vintage Coca-Cola crate that's now used as our craft carry-all. The Oh Joy banner is from Minted's new line of party decor. We'll be having a Christmas craft party with Chloe's cousins soon so the banner adds a festive touch to the basement.

basement craft room, basement craft room ideas, basement lighting

As you can see, there's still more niggly things to take care of in the basement...we need window coverings (I'm having the hardest time deciding what to put there!) and we need a permanent solution to hiding the electrical panel. I know this is turning into the longest.basement.renovation.ever - but at least we now have a space to get our craft on. That makes this mama of a messy 3.5 year old budding artist very very happy :)


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