Craft Table

I realized while doing all these crafty type things lately that my current "craft table" (aka, my desk moved around from bedroom to living room) was simply not doing it for me anymore.


And it's not exactly like I can afford to buy something new, or have the room for something big enough for quilting to stay in my living room on a permanent basis.

So what's a gal to do?

Mods. That's what. I added spiffy new things to my desk to give more organization space and an extra large work surface when needed, while still being able to fit through my bedroom door for when I have people over.

Plus, what better way to make it extra mobile than casters?

Maybe I'll even get to use my handsaw again . . .

So this is what my "craft space" currently looks like. A hot mess, with stuff on the floor and on the couch and just about everywhere. 

How to transform my lowly computer desk (that I got from Wal-Mart years ago for $25) into something worthy of the name "craft table"?

Ikea shelves, a piece of 3/4 inch particle board, casters, and a set of heavy duty drawer slides, that's how. To get the right size of particle board, I measured the distance between the legs of the desk and had them cut it at Lowe's. The drawers slides need 1/2 inch of space on either side (the package tells you) so I had them cut it one inch shorter lengthwise. It's also a few extra inches deeper than the desk, I just needed to make it narrow enough when the extra work space is pushed in to fit through my bedroom door. Having the extra workspace (ie, the particle board) on drawer slides means I can slide it in to save room when not in use. It also means it's not as sturdy as the desk part, so I'll never put my say my sewing machine on it, but for cutting, ironing, and to catch big projects as they spit out the back of my sewing machine, it's perfect.

It's also a great place to store my rotary cutting mat. 

To begin with, I wanted it all mobile. Which means casters. $10 for a 4 pack from Ikea attached to the desk legs with 2 inch screws was the first step. Then, I decided I wanted the additional workspace to be slightly padded, like an ironing board. So that I can iron on it, of course. To do that, I used spray adhesive to attached a thin layer of batting to the particle board.

Then I flipped it over onto a piece of spare fabric with two inches overhang of fabric on all sides. Pulling tight, I secured the fabric with a rigged combination of nails and spray adhesive. It would work so much better with a staple gun. I kind of finagled the corners into something that didn't look terrible.

Then I installed the drawer slide according to the package instructions. It was super simple.(Hint: the particle board is the "drawer component" and the desk is the "cabinet component")

As for the shelves . . . I wanted shelving on the table itself so I could easily grab whatever I needed. But I didn't want closed shelves. The piece is large and I didn't want to clutter my small living room when it's out here. HGTV has succinctly informed me that openness can make a small space seem larger. So I wanted open shelves. Ikea to the rescue! I got 6 wall shelves with their brackets for $3 apiece. I then installed them to the legs of the table just like I would to a wall, with the top shelf flush to the desktop.

And that's it. It's done. A half day of drilling and I had myself an awesome new craft table.