At Home with Her: A Place to Create

Tell us about your favorite spot in your home. Why is it your favorite spot?

We have a walk-in closet that we converted into an arts and crafts room. I wanted a space where the kids could create without me worrying about sweeping things away to make space for dinner or tidying up when visitors come over.

I love writing in that room because it is filled with color, creativity, and my kids. It reminds me we all have this inner artist that wants to seep out of us through drawing, pottery, crafts and more. The possibilities are endless.

The large displays of projects from years past remind my kids that they should be proud of all the different things they are capable of creating, whether dreamed up in their minds or suggested in an exercise from school.

Fostering creativity is important for people of all ages, and this room gives my kids space to explore materials, textures, colors, and all sorts of other creative mechanisms. Our craft room is a place of endless supplies, both expected and unexpected. From beads and pipe cleaners to clothespins and empty toilet paper rolls, anything that could be used in an artful way finds its way to the craft room.

Creating sharpens the mind. My kids amaze me with the ideas they come up with to create characters, build a contraption, or draw a backdrop for their Lego town. I love finding the kids in the craft room making fake money in order to play “store,” or drawing characters to attach to popsicle sticks so they can present a puppet play.

The reason I love this room the most is because it holds lots of memories, but it’s also a place where we create lots of new memories as we work on projects privately and together.

Is there a particular story about how this spot came to be arranged/decorated the way it is? 

When my daughter and I visited Waco, TX, to see the famed Magnolia Market, we happened upon a really cute craft shop in town. On the wall, the shop had ribbons that held greeting cards and other crafty items. I thought to myself, that would be a great, cute, and easy way to display our kids’ artwork.

When I set up our art room, I added ribbons all around to clip artwork to. I added old empty picture frames from local antique stores to mix up the display a bit.

The room has lots of drawers for storing things. The deeper cubbies have sketch pads, coloring books, wads of fabric, and balls of yarn. The smaller drawers hold paint brushes, scissors, glue, popsicle sticks, and smaller supplies that might get lost in the cubbies.

Have there been particularly inspiring or moving moments in this corner of your home? Or, is there a particular feeling you get when you are in this space in your house?

I think this room reminds our family of endless possibilities. It’s a place where we can walk in without a plan or agenda and walk out with a new creation. Sometimes those creations are worked on alone, and other times it’s a collaborative effort. Our art room may be small in size, but it’s big in possibilities.

Editor's Note: At Home with Her is a Readers Write column. This column highlights favorite spots in our homes—spots that give us comfort and inspire us, or that have been the backdrop to meaningful and fun moments with family and friends. If you'd like to share a glimpse into your favorite spot at home, review our Readers Write guidelines.