The Undercover Scrapbook Room

As an addicted scrapbooker, I naturally entertained the idea of creating a scrapbook or craft room in my house...a place dedicated exclusively to housing and showcasing my multitudinous scrapbook tools and supplies. I shopped for chic storage systems at the local A.C. Moore and Michaels stores only to sigh in discouragement at the exorbitant price I would have to pay to buy all of the components I needed.

I don't have an actual "craft room" in my house. Instead, I scrapbook in my dining room. We rarely dine in our dining room, yet it's a lovely space with pretty furnishings and family heirlooms, and my husband and I really prefer the clean look of it to that of an obvious scrapbook room. So, I started thinking. What if I emptied out a few of the cupboards that contain items we rarely use and filled them with my scrapbook paraphernalia? Brilliance!

So yesterday that's exactly what I did. I spent several hours repurposing three dining room cabinets. When I pack everything away and close the cupboard doors, there is no evidence that this is my scrapbook room. When I open them up, I have easy access to all of my tools and supplies. My subtle system is more than adequate for storing:

• Scrapbook papers
• Scrapbook adhesives
• Bulky tools like the Scotch ATG and Xyron 250
• Paper trimmers
• Cricut machine
• Cricut cartridges
• Cricut mats & tools
• Stickers, ribbons, die cuts, embellishments
• Storage box of current projects
• Big scrapbooks
• Page protector refills

Here are some pictures:

 

 

I am pleased with the result. Granted, there are people whose scrapbooking needs are much more complex than mine, and this sort of subtle storage would simply not begin to accommodate their hundreds of stamps, spools of ribbon, and other crafting implements. Mine is a simple affair, however, and this suits me perfectly. I'm off now. Must go put my new system to use!