Does anyone have a favorite pastime or hobby they enjoy? If so, you may want to incorporate a hobby room into your home. Whether it be music, sewing, painting, sculpture or whatever makes you feel joy, a hobby room is the perfect place to call your own. Let’s take a look at some great ideas on how to create a hobby room for yourself or a loved one.
First you need to think about your hobby and how you need the space to function optimally for that pastime. Will you require additional electricity or lighting? Do you have items that need to be stored like paper, musical instruments or books? If you are a painter and will be creating masterpieces, will you need additional ventilation? If you are a crafter, you need to think about the surface that you will be crafting on. The table needs to be sturdy with good support. You also need to think about how you craft. Do you sit or do you prefer to stand? Are you going to have multiple “work stations”? I had a desk chair on casters that allowed me to roll from one area to the other. It certainly made me more efficient. These are just a few things to consider upfront.
If you don’t have an extra room to spare for your special place, a room that can serve dual function can work great. When my girls were little, many years ago, I was fortunate enough to be able to stay home with them and sought a space to fill my time when they were napping. Yes, with twins I was very busy, but sometimes I craved that creative outlet that I was missing, and I found a hobby that I still do to this day: scrapbooking! We had a separate office in our house, where I nudged my way into one side of the room and made it my scrapbooking area. Oh, my goodness I was a scrapbooking fanatic. I had paper, punches, decorative scissors, and so many supplies to create beautiful pages for my scrapbooks. I made one book for their first year and then got really creative and made multiple pages for so many different outings that I ended up making two complete scrapbooks for each year until the twins were about seven years old. I still have them all, albeit a little worn. The girls used to look at them a lot when they were younger, and they have all held up well. Having all of these supplies means that I needed quite a bit of storage. I had drawers for all of my paper punches and ribbons. Pretty stackable boxes that held my different glues and adhesives. I had stackable shelves for my paper and on and on.
Let’s take a look at a few hobby rooms that can inspire you to create a similar space in your home. As shown below, Practical Perfection is a great website with suggestions on organization and how to keep your hobby room or craft room nice and neat.
Speaking of hobbies, what about a music room? Growing up, I had several family members that were musicians. They had a room in the back of my grandmother’s house where they would practice. There were musical instruments everywhere (keyboards, trombones, saxophones, guitars and even a flute.) My younger brother and I would hang out and listen to them play all the time. They had storage for their music stands, microphones, amplifiers and of course their instruments. Yes, I did get a few out from time to time when no one was around! They had it well organized, and everything had its place. It was so much fun to watch them practice.
If you don’t have a room in your house, what about your attic? Sometimes there is a great amount of unused space in the attic that can be transformed into a music or other hobby room. Alternatively, think outside the box and use an extra closet that is not serving any true purpose. A closet redo can serve nicely for a little hobby room. For instance, I wish I had a gift-wrapping station. The closet would be a perfect spot for that. As ArtsyCupcake recommends, measure and note all your supplies so you can have the proper storage, especially important in cozy places. Sketch out how you envision your space looking with the required storage and then get ready! The best thing about using your closet is when you are finished with your gift wrapping, you can simply close the door and the contents are hidden. Perfect!
Houseplants have become a hobby that one of my daughters fully embraces. She has enjoyed visiting the different nurseries around town and trying her green thumb. It’s a talent that I do not have. She has all kinds of plants and containers to put them in. Some with stands and some without. Some hanging and some in a window. Beyond the pretty aesthetics, plants present many benefits to health as well. They also reduce stress, anxiety and fatigue. They purify the air and boost your mental well being, just to name a few advantages of indoor houseplants. Hobby rooms like the one below take the hobby room to a new level. My plant-loving daughter is leaving the nest and moving to Austin soon and her plants are going with her. I have enjoyed all of her plants in our living room and may have to try my hand at growing a few on my own!
A hobby room isn’t frivolous. It can be an expression of your creativity and a rejuvenating place to escape and reduce stress. Anything that helps you become your best self can’t possibly be a waste of time or space. So, the next time you decide you’d like to create a hobby room for yourself, try implementing some of these tips and let the creativity flow or contact us and we’ll help you.
Until next time, let your creative juices flow!
Danna
