Fitting a Hobby into a Small Home

Hobbies take up space. There can be lots of supplies or equipment that are required and finding a place to store them - let alone actually use them - can be a challenge in a small place. Our solution?:

Make a place for it. Even in a small home, if you designate space for your hobby, you're more likely to do it often and enjoy it. If you have to haul said hobby out of boxes, the closet, or from underneath the bed before you even get started, it's likely to just dwindle away. Instead, keep your hobby out in the open (just keep it organized and looking good). It's a chance to express yourself and more comfortably do what you enjoy. Some examples:

1: Without the space for a separate painting studio, Hugh set up an easel and drafting table in the living room of his one-bedroom flat in London.
2: The sewing area of Christine from Lavender and Limes
3: Storing and displaying equipment on the wall keeps the limited floor space clutter-free and looks cool, too.
4: Granted, there's no way to store a piano up off the floor, but having an upright helps. This one is in an 800 s.f. apartment. Its surface is being used to hold a stack of favorite books and that bench could be handy for extra seating when lots of people are over.
5: This 550 s.f. apartment has a designated space for a recording studio.

Comments (11)

What lamp is the one of the first picture? I wuv it.

Thanks for sharing this! I'm working on creating a "studio" in my laundry room. :)

Totally agree about having your hobby space out in the open. If it's not readily accessible when creativity strikes, it's never going to happen.

My problem is too many hobbies :( There will be no editing of hobbies in this household... and it's true, if you put the stuff in a closet you'll never use it. Between my husband and myself we have a soldering "station", recording studio, art studio, sewing table, record collection, office desk, and a workspace with the big tools. I do schoolwork at the dining table. At this point, every time we sit down we should be accomplishing something.

I think the key is being able to quickly store it away and quickly get started again. When I lived in a 600-s.f. apartment and wanted room to sew, I bought a vintage sewing machine that folded down into its own sewing table that acted as a bedside table when not in use. I kept my supplies in a tackle box and a rubber tub. A large piece of cardboard on the bed became a makeshift cutting table.

This post reminds me that it's OK to actually live in your home! I too often want this put away and out of sight when actually your hobby is part of who you are. Be proud to display your hobbies!

LowBrowLawnParty:

I think we live in the same house.

These are great tips! This fall I'm going to have to fit my many crafts into an office & share it with my hubby as we're hoping to move a baby into my current luxuriously craft-exclusive room: http://craftscafe.wordpress.com/category/craft-spaces/ Our office is very narrow so it will be a challenge!

I'm still trying to figure out how to set up a workbench and a couple of sawhorses so I can continue with my woodworking hobby. Also, we have wall-to-wall carpet (I know, I know, but what can you do), so that makes dealing with sawdust painful.

@matchbookhymnal If you have a patio or balcony, I purchased a Black & Decker workmate back in the day. Add a 2'x4' piece of plywood and it was great for a temporary table. Also something I could keep once I had dedicated workshop.