Crap Room to Craft Room (Part 1)

My sister and I have been trying (for what seems like an eternity) to turn our "crap room" into a proper, functioning Craft Room. Doing so on an almost non-existant budget can be a bit overwhelming... UNLESS you can think outside of your own ideas. LOL

Thrift stores and roadside freebies are THE best! Period. Remember those military-style metal desks? Your teacher had one, the bank was full of them, they had them at the library, etc. They are sturdy. They are big. They are bulky and weigh a ton. My sister and I just happened to luck into picking one up at the local thrift store for $25! That my friends, is a STEAL. Then a couple days later as she was out and about in town, she found one curbside for FREE!! Both are in immaculate condition.

This had once been a pull-out file system. The wire rack that the hanging folders were hung from, no longer exists. However, it was a perfect fit for mounting my sewing machine, almost custom specifically for it! You open the door located on the left, grab the platform and full forward.

Then you simply lift up and perch it on a lip located on the door, and the door becomes the leg for the platform. How awesome is that?? Now, when not in use, the sewing machine can be put away, but it's always ready and waiting.

The middle drawer is shallow, but wide and long with plenty of room for lengthy knitting needles, paint brushes, rulers and straight edges. There are three drawers on the left with varying depths but all are equal in length. I keep tools like hot glue guns, wood burners, engravers, my bedazzler and such in the middle one. The bottom one houses miscellaneous bins containing markers, gel pens, colored pencils and the like. The top one is the shallowest of the three and is designed with a built in "inbox" type slot system.

Both desks had hutches with adjustable shelving areas. (I think this was probably an aftermarket upgradeable option, oooorrrr, went to other pieces of furniture). The shelves were not with the hutches, but in my case, I was fine with that. I had come up with this idea for my hutch after seeing a ton of organizational pins on Pinterest. What else do you do with miscellaneous spools of ribbon and Duck Tape brand tapes?

Add another shelf above the hutch for extra storage and I've got an ideal workspace that is perfect for me.

There is still much to do to complete this room. I need shelving to house many, many, many beads LOL and my sister is still working on her own space to make her desk work for her.

All in all, our "crap room" feels more like a "Crafting Room", finally.