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Spare Room Makeover Reveal: Modern Craft Room + Homework Station

Drumroll please – the spare bedroom makeover reveal post has arrived!

With the writing of this post, I’m proud to say that I’m wrapping up my first adventure as a One Room Challengeâ„¢ participant. And what a ride it has been.

Spare Room Makeover: The Reveal

Remember what the view upon entering the spare room looked like when we embarked on this ORC journey seven weeks ago?

spare bedroom with random folding tables, garbage bags and items on the floor.

It looks a wee bit better now:

View from hallway into the new craft room.

Think that’s a dramatic change? Feast your eyes on this one:

FOCAL WALL – BEFORE

bedroom wall covered in black damask wallpaper.

FOCAL WALL – AFTER

stenciled focal wall with wall to wall homework desk and shelving installation.

Let’s dig into the craft zone first.

Craft Room Tour

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As you can see, all of my craft storage wishes have come true. With the addition of this fabulous IKEA Kallax cube storage system, we have more than enough room to relocate all of the craft stashes from around the house to this central storage mecca.

And no more DIY projects at my dining room table or wrapping gifts on the guest room bed. This new IKEA craft table with adjustable legs provides a huge, dreamy flat surface on which to do All The Crafty Things.

You may recall from the design plan and my craft room configuration update post that we had originally intended to connect the table tops to the storage cube system. That plan changed pretty quickly when I realized that it would be next to impossible to access the items located in the far left storage cubes (heh heh. I told you I was spacially challenged).

So I ordered a second set of IKEA Olov table legs in order to create a set of freestanding tables. This makes so much more sense, as it gives me the option to vary the configuration of the room as needed, depending on the project I’m working on.

craft room with project table, cube storage and gift wrap organizer on wall.

Since we’re now storing gift wrap in the craft zone with the help of our handy dandy gift wrap storage solution, it only made sense to relocate gift wrap ribbon from the closet to the adjacent Kallax storage unit.

storage cube full of gift wrap ribbon.

I went back and forth on whether to invest the extra money in these Kallax drawer inserts. Let me just say that it was the best decision I made in this room makeover.

These drawers serve as the storage workhorse of the craft zone, providing the perfect spot for all of my scrapbooking supplies (that formerly lived in my hubby’s office.)

inside view of Kallax drawer inserts in a Kallax storage cube with scrapbooking supplies inside.

Of course, my kiddos have their fair share of crafting supplies that were lurking all over the house. Now they too have the perfect home.

Ikea Kallax drawer insert full of kids' craft supplies.

Did I mention how the teal-grey high gloss finish of those drawers makes my heart go pitter patter?

close up view of Kallax storage cube contents in new craft room.

And every time I catch a glimpse of this wall, I find myself itching to start the holiday gift wrapping extravaganza! This DIY gift wrap organizer is not only functional, it serves double duty as wall art by providing a golden opportunity to add fun pops of color.

wall mounted gift wrap organizer full of gift wrap.

Above the storage cubes, I created an informal gallery wall using a mix of store-bought framed prints, free printables I discovered on Pinterest, and one that I DIYed myself.

I happened to have this extra IKEA Mosslanda picture ledge on hand, which I used to pull it all together.

Picture ledge full of framed art.

Here’s the printable that I created using Canva:

close up of framed art on white picture ledge.

Because homework can sometimes be a drag, I wanted to fill the space with inspirational quotes that conjure up good vibes and happy thoughts whenever the kiddos are working at their homework stations.

close up of white framed "It's a Beautiful Day" printable.

Speaking of homework, let’s leave the craft room zone for a bit and stroll on over to the new homework station.

Homework Station Tour

In this photo, you can catch a glimpse of the new light fixture, as well as the area rug that came to my rescue and serves as the perfect camouflage for that little paint disaster that occurred in week 3.

Homework station created with Elfa storage system.

Ever since they first laid eyes on these Elfa utility boards at The Container Store, both of my kiddos begged us to install them on their homework stations. Their wish was my command.

homework station desk featuring Elfa pegboard.
homework station featuring wall-mounted storage using Elfa pegboard.

What’s not to love about a vertical storage solution that frees up your desk space from clutter?

close up of vertical office supply storage in a homework room.

The Container Store offers a variety of attachable hooks, shelves, and storage accessories that you can use to customize your utility board to the hilt. And that’s just what we did.

close up of wall-mounted office supply storage on homework station desks.

Remember back when I showed you my daughter’s unruly stash of random papers and art work that was living on the floor next to her bed? Well all of those papers finally have a new home here on these shelves:

close up of Bigso storage products on homework station shelving.

Each kid has their own set of drawers for storing office supplies and other miscellaneous items (such as my daughter’s GoPro and GoPro accessories).

I created labels using Canva and inserted them into Elfa label holders, which attach to the outside of the drawers. There shouldn’t be any confusion as to whose stuff is whose. Right?!?

labeled Elfa drawers in a homework room.

What kind of professional organizer would I be if I didn’t subdivide the heck out of those narrow drawers with drawer dividers (one of my Top 10 organizing product picks).

Elfa drawer full of organized office supplies.

And there’s more inspirational quote art to be had on this side of the room:

homework room shelving featuring a display of framed motivational printables.

This modern clock was another design element that was sourced by my daughter, and I’m truly loving it!

modern white clock hanging on wall.

I’ll wrap it up with a few more of my favorite images from the reveal photo shoot:

wide shot of colorful modern homework room.
white framed art on wall mounted art shelf.
navy blue Bigso storage products displayed on homework room shelves.

It’s unbelievable how much this room has evolved in just seven weeks! In case you missed the previous posts in this series, you can catch up on the week-by-week transformation here:

Week One  |  Week Two  | Week Three | Week FourWeek Five  | Week Six

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Spare Room Makeover: Sources

PAINT COLORS

collage of paint colors used in room makeover project.

1 – Benjamin Moore Mountain Laurel  |  2 – Benjamin Moore Gray Owl  |  3 – Benjamin Moore VanDeusen Blue

FURNITURE & ACCESSORIES

Click the links below to shop the post:

Spare Room Makeover: Project Tutorials

Click the links below to see related tutorials for all the projects you see in this room:

It feels SO GOOD to cross those last remaining tasks off of the project checklist:

  • Sell bed
  • Sell light fixture
  • Donate/Sell CD collection
  • Remove wallpaper
  • Purchase & install new light fixture
  • Repair & paint walls
  • Apply wall stencil
  • Purchase homework zone wall shelving & desktops
  • Purchase desk chairs and assemble desk chairs
  • Decide on craft storage/table configuration and purchase
  • Install wall shelving/desks for homework zone
  • Build craft zone furniture
  • Source & purchase area rug
  • Assemble IKEA storage boxes & drawers
  • Build DIY wall-mounted wrapping paper storage solution
  • Install picture ledge
  • Accessorize (clock, storage containers, etc.)
  • Relocate craft items to new space

I hope you love this hybrid modern craft room + homework zone l as much as we do!

If you’re sad that the Challenge is over, don’t fret because there’s much more room makeover goodness for you to drool over!

Grab a beverage, cozy up on the couch and take a look at the amazing transformations by the One Room Challenge featured designers, as well as the other guest participants.

One Room Challenge Guest Participant logo.

Finally a HUGE thanks to Linda at Calling It Home for hosting the One Room Challenge. We had a blast transforming this space during the spare bedroom makeover process. What a ride!

I’m already dreaming up plans room for yet another room makeover for the Spring version of the One Room Challenge…

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collage of room makeover after photos - text "Modern Homework/Craft Room".

22 Comments

    1. Ha Ha! Well, my kids got to spend much more time in it than I did. It is such a happy space though!

  1. Natalie I am loving what you did to your guest room. It looks so organized and well put together. The colours all look so great together. You did such an amazing job! Enjoy?

  2. Oh Tim, I feel your pain! Although this space was in great shape, the rest of my house looks like a bomb went off…which happens every time we have a big home decorating project! Can’t wait to hop over to your blog to see your reveal!

    1. Aw, thanks Mary! Yes, I feel like I’m in a dream actually having a space in my home specifically devoted to crafting/DIY projects. It’s a dream come true for sure…

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