Kathie's Craft Space

This week we head to Berlin in Germany to take a tour of Kathie from Curious and Catcat's craft space and office.

"I think my favorite thing about my craft space is the desk. It got a huge make-over when we moved here. I painted the tabletop white and stained and painted two simple trestles from IKEA, which made them look kind of high-quality. I put a lot of work in this desk and I love the new look. It's my favorite piece in this room."

Tell us about your space?

My craft room is in Berlin, Germany. Me and my boyfriend have been living in this flat for just 4 months now. There are only two rooms apart from bathroom and kitchen, so the smaller one is our bedroom and the bigger room has to be multi-purpose. It solves as my craft space, my boyfriends place to study and work, and as our living room. So naturally it's the room where we spent the most time in, be it to work, craft, sit with friends, or to snuggle up in front of the TV (read: laptop) for a movie. It has been quite a challenge to address everyone's needs on just 14ft x 17ft! I believe we managed that quite well, but in the 4 month we lived here I have rearranged everything at least 3 times and it will probably look different in another 4 months. It's by far not the living room (or craft room) of my dreams, but we made the best of it.

Is this also your work space?

Of course I use this room also to "work". I do paperwork on my desk or study for my master's degree. Picture editing and blogging happens there, too, as long as the desk isn't flooded with all kinds of craft supplies. In that case I move on to the sofa or the kitchen table. That's also one of the things I like about our multi-purpose room - the ability to move around. I like to do crochet or embroidery projects on the sofa, sewing projects on my desk, paper crafts and bigger projects on the floor. I even painted furniture in this room!

What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
Even with two work spaces in this room, I didn't want it to feel crowded or shapeless. We painted a part of the walls in a deep dark bordeaux (In retrospect I would've chosen a dark grey instead, but that's another story) which really helps to optically separate the living room area from the rest of the space and makes it feel cozy and warm. For my craft space I chose white as the main color and I love how bright my little space gets with the light from the window next to it. I filled the space with plants and books and I always keep colorful craft supplies and fabrics on display, they're a great source of inspiration and it makes me happy just to look at them.

How do you keep organized?
Thank god I have such a large desk! There's plenty of room for supplies and stacks of paper and the sewing machine all at the same time. Somehow I usually manage to end some projects and tidy up before I have to take over the window sill and the next shelf and the floor to keep my crafts "organized". I also like to spread out craft supplies on my desk just to look at them for hours and envision future projects. But apart from that, everything has it's place on the shelves or in the cupboards and tidying up is always quick and easy.

Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?

I love my peg board to keep my stuff organized. I can arrange and rearrange craft supplies and tools or use it to just get things out of the way. Storage in open shelves works great for me as well, and adds pops of color to my space. I use transparent boxes in the cupboard and for the supplies that I store in the bedroom. When we moved here I gave every single item in my craft corner its designated place and try to stick to it - And I really have give myself a pat on the shoulder for that, it saves so much time when looking for something or tidying up!

Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?

I love my cantilever sewing box. I find myself opening is more often than I really need, because it looks just too beautiful and it's the cutest storage place for some of my colorful yarns and buttons.

Another favorite is the cross stitched portrait of my brothers and me on the shelf over my desk. It always makes me smile.

And I already mentioned my desk. I love my desk!

How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?

I have a notebook or two which I carry everywhere I go to collect my ideas and sketches as soon as they come to my mind. I use my clipboards on the wall to keep inspirations on display, and everything I find on the Internet goes directly onto one of my Pinterest boards.

Where do you look for inspiration?

I'm a huge Pinterest addict (but who isn't). It's an endless source of inspiration for me as are blogs and (web) shops or magazines. Sometimes only looking at my supplies or a beautiful fabric brings up ideas. But the times when my brain almost bursts from ideas are those when I have to study for the final exams and have no time to craft. It always reminds me of Picasso who once said "Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working."

If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream craft space?

First, I would get it out of the living room. I wouldn't mind sharing the room with my boyfriend, but as a work and craft space and not more. Second, it would be in a large room with big windows and a lot of light. Third, I would add a little tea and coffee bar and a huge comfy chair.

Make sure to check out Kathie's blog, Curious and Catcat »