New 52 | Week 21: New DIY Craft Island

Well, just call me Martha.

As you may know from my blog post last week about the mini-book I made, that I am venturing back into the world of paper scrapbooking again. I still love digi, but paper and hybrid are fun too! And sometimes it's just fun to work with your hands and get them dirty. Part of the reason why is I love feeling the different textures and thickness of a physical mini-book. The tactile sensations combined with photos + stories make me extremely happy.  :)

A few weeks ago, when I was beginning my journey back into crafting, I realized that I did not have a viable work surface in my craft studio. I wanted a big work surface AND I needed more storage. So I looked about on the interwebs for some craft studio storage and work station inspiration. I fell hard for the Pottery Barn Bedford Project Table. But as you can see by the $1,099 + taxes + shipping price tag, me and the Bedford wasn't to be. So I googled around for some Bedford knockoffs and found some here and here. $600 is definitely better than $1,099, but I still wanted to pay less than that. So I googled "Bedford table hacks" and "DIY Bedford table" and found out how I could make a DIY knockoff for about $140-170. Heck yea!



I essentially followed the instructions in this article: How to make a designer-style project table or craft table for less than $150. Mine cost a little more because I bought some canvas storage bins that go into some of the cubicles. Here are my materials and cost. I bought everything at Home Depot.

• Martha Stewart Living 9-Cube Organizer {2 x $44.97 each = $89.94}

• 3/4 In. x 49 In. x 97 In. White Melamine Sheet {$36.62}

• Martha Stewart Living 10-1/2 in. x 11 in. Fabric Drawer {in light blue and brown, 6 x $6.87 each = $41.22)

This came to a total of around $168.  When you purchase the sheet of white melamine, Home Depot will make two cuts for you for free.  So I asked the guy to cut one side to 41" and another side to 55".  As you can see from my photo above, the edges on the sides are not finished, so I will still need to get some "edging" to cover the raw melamine.  If anyone has any good ideas about what to use for that, please leave me a comment!  ETA:  Actually, I have an updated post about how we used white iron-on melamine strips to finish off the edges of the table.  Looks fantastic!

UPDATED photo here:

I like working at the table both standing up and sitting on our bar stool.  Both positions work great for a table this height.





I also have an old rolling storage cart that I put under the workspace.  The first drawer is my current projects.  The middle drawer has white and kraft cardstock and some essential cutting tools.  The bottom is a mish mash of ribbons and stickers and other embellishments that I still need to organize and sort. 




I'm extremely pleased with this DIY craft island/table, especially at this price.  My craft studio is still a work-in-progress.  I need to label everything and perhaps move things around until I'm happy with my workflow.  But for now, I have been super-creative in here and I can't wait to evolve with it!  :D

I want to thank my husband Todd for actually putting the cubicles together.  He is an expert at that and did an awesome job!

While I was researching, I found instructions to actually make the Bedford table knockoff from scratch!

Craft Table Build
Craft Table Top For The Modular Collection

This person was WAY more DIY and handier than me, but it was great inspiration.  The site even includes the project plan with tools you'll need, and materials and cuts.  What I LOVED about this version is that they also built two drawers into the bottom of the table top.  BIG drawers that you can shove your projects-in-progress and supplies into, to keep the table top neat!  I may need to make the drawers as an addition to my table top.  Some day!

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About This Project

New52 is a project started by Peppermint and I to encourage each other and others around us to try something new every week in 2011. The "new" each week doesn't have to be something big. It could be something as simple as ordering a new dish instead of old standbys at your favorite restaurant. It's simply opening your heart up to NEW possibilities.

Don't worry if you're late getting started on joining in. It's totally OK if you miss a week here or there. We encourage everyone to keep an open mind about trying something new. This is a life project, and a photography/blog and even scrap challenge if you wish. If you participate this week, please leave a link to your blog post in the link list below. You can also post images to our New 52 Flickr Group! We would love to see what you were inspired to do.