Värde Cabinets for the Craft Room (Former Kitchen)

This all started because I needed to hem a shower curtain for the bathroom and as I cleared off some space to work, I thought, ‘eh, I should make this area nicer.’ Now here we are with a 3D model of the whole room! Makes sense.

As a reminder, here’s what we started with.

The stove and fridge were both donated and are gone. I’m not attached to the built-in wooden shelves and cabinet, so I’m not sure if they’re staying or being replaced (as in the model). They aren’t particularly nice, but I know people love them some built-ins. If it goes, one of our IKEA Värde cabinets will replace it — we have three: one with twelve drawers, another with two doors, and one with three drawers and two shelves. The entire line has been discontinued, but we brought ours with us from our last house.

I confess, I still haven’t taken out the metal sink cabinet that’s in the space now. Once I do though, one of the above units will replace it. I’m planning on keeping the plumbing and hacking one of the cabinets to fit a sink — pretty handy to have a sink in a craft room! IKEA used to sell a base with a stainless steel integrated sink and countertop, but I’ve seen some hacks for adding a sink to the butcher-block topped units.

• Värde/Domsjo Sink Hack (Repositioning Drawers for an Apron Front Sink)

• IKEA Värde Sink Hack as a Basement Kitchenette/Bar

• From Kitchenette to Kitchen: Värde Ikea Hack w/ a Sink

I haven’t chosen a sink yet. An apron front or vintage drainboard would be awesome, but I don’t know if I want to devote that much space to a sink when it’s really not going to get heavy-duty use. It’s more for cleaning messy things like paint brushes, or maybe the occasional glass. I’m entertaining the idea of popping a mini fridge up there with a little freezer component so I can keep drinks and ice cubes up there. It’s not that hard to walk down to the kitchen, but hey. Crafting works up a thirst, and I’m lazy! If we were keeping this as a kitchen, I’d want a cute little Smeg fridge, but I don’t think I can justify it for a craft room.

Photo by Nadine, Herz-Allerliebst

Anyways. Once everything is laid out, there will be a whole lot of painting. These units look pretty fantastic with a little modification.

• The Workroom, Ready to Work, Yellow Brick Home

• IKEA Hacking the Värde Unit, Lindsay Stephenson

• IKEA Hack: Wrapping My Värde Kitchen Island in Bead Board, Angie in the Thick of it

• The Leigh Cottage Kitchen Renovation, Jane Donnely

• Little Greene ‘Retrospectives,’ The Little Greene Paint Company

• My New Room, Posie Gets Cozy

They make a good base, right? This is going to be fun.