My husband can box in the ducting - we plan to do trim and small finishing projects in these rooms, this summer.

I agree having washing/dryer on the opposite side will make them look nicer.

Sounds like you're on your way to a plan Steph. Keep us in the loop if you don't mind. How lucky you are to be able to do some of the work yourselves!

I will try to do an update as we start making progress. Thanks for all the insight

Good luck! I'm sure you'll end up with a space that really works for you.

Ideally, the glass door from your living room into the craft/office area should rest on the laundry room wall. I do understand that the current door set-up may not allow for it, so you may just live with it as is. You mentioned replacing the exterior door with a half-lite glass door--I think this would be a great idea and would allow more light into the space.

A door to the laundry/utility area, such as a swinging solid door would be best to block out the noise of the HVAC and water heater more so than a glass door. I would suggest one in a 36" door to accommodate anything that may need to be moved or worked on in the future. I could see a sliding door option (in a open rail style) on the outside of the laundry room as a possiblity, if you could find something that could fit in that tight area.

Your suggestion of privacy screen may be the your best option to block out the "view" of the HVAC and water heater, plus offer ventilation and access to those utilities. Maybe you could find some old doors (possibily louvered?) that could be hinged together as a portable wall.

@Steph Hammel I threw together a layout in "zones" based upon what you expressed as your priorities for the space--craft, office, and storage and tried to utilize most of the existing furniture and cabinets--I did include a table on casters that could tuck away under the counter when not in use.

Hopefully this will inspire you!

crafting zone:

office zone:

@ankpow-thank you so much for putting this together-this is so very inspiring! The visual of the layout speaks a thousand words to me!!! I’m envious of your skills!

A few questions :
•my husband looked and we can switch the glass door to swing into the laundry wall -

•but not sure we also have room for a 36” door into the laundry - would the funky split door work?

•is there an ideal rug size for the office/craft area?

•what kind of lighting would be ideal for painting? And maybe ambiance?

Thank you so much!!

Oh, I also just realized, the “office wall” has pull-down stairs over the far right, so I can’t have a cabinet taller than 60” - like the drawing. Should I just run the floating shelves all the way to the door since I can’t hang a cabinet there?

There are folks who really like the Ott lights for crafting. They're available in a number of configurations. They're flexible so you can move the light around.

https://ottlite.com/collections/craft-and-hobby

• Door to laundry room: it appears that the opening is 30" wide and maybe 7'-0" tall. (Are your ceiilngs 9 ft tall?). A sliding or bifold door could work there to say you space.

• Rug: A 4x6, 5x7 area rug or a runner would work best in the craft/office area.

• Lighting: natural light is best for painting, so the window location would be ideal. You have rececessed lighting in the ceiling it looks like for overall room lighting.

For tasks, I would add a desk lamp that is adjustable on the craft counter that you can move around as you need while working on projects; under cabinet lighting in both the craft, office and laundry areas would be nice as well (like what they make for kitchens).

For ambient mood lighting, I would suggest a small table lamp to go on top of the white file cabinet and maybe another one to go in the corner to the right of the window--this would balance the lighting in the room w/o having to have on the overhead ceiling lights.

As far as light bulbs, LED is the way to go.. You typically want between 4000-5000K for task lighting.

You're very welcome! Glad I could help. :)

I made some quick changes to the layout based upon the attic door access. I think you have have two options when it comes to the office wall--either do floating shelves above the desk and file cabinet or do shallow (think kitchen wall cabinet depth) cabinets above the desk and floating shelves the rest of the way.

Also think you could do a shallow wall cabinet above the craft counter (left of window) and this would give you reach in space that you could easily access smalls. This also leaves over 2 of the existing cabinets that you could be utlilized elsewhere. It would have been nice if they would fit in the laundry room for a cleaning/vaccuum storage, but they are too big as as..

Oh great, thank you so much! I like the idea of a shallow cabinet over the desk section, and maybe another above that for extra decor storage, since it can go all the way to the ceiling as well.

On the craft side, I might leave that wall section empty/instead of a narrow cabinet so I can hang inspiration photos or a canvas.

That’s been the tricky part is how to do a drying rack…….of course the cat likes to step on anything that’s fresh/wet lol

I’m always thinking of ways to keep things out of the wet. Like suspend a pull-down drying rack from the ceiling. I play around with different surfaces like, floppy canvas, framed canvas, paper

Also, the fun part is styling- I’m looking at these knobs, they are so unique and fun. And I might build custom doors floor to ceiling, so it’s easier to see what I have - and either painting or wallpapering a large mural ……here’s an inspiration photo

Craft zone w/ open wall space to left of window for artwork, etc; drying racks on the on side of tall stack of cabinets. Yes, I understand the cat wanting to walk on wet masterpeices in progress. A drying rack from the ceiling could be cool as well. They do make large pull-out vertical drying racks meant for laundry--you could make something similar for art drying.

Office zone w/ double stack of shallow (kitchen depth) cabinets over desk and floating shelves

Love the hardware! You can really dress up those large cabinets with molding, paint and texture. Excited to see how these turn out.

Oh lala! Yes that visuals are so great. That’s exactly my view out back over our property.

And I’m super exited to see the function of drying racks - so much to decide! And clean-up/projects to get done.

I wonder your thoughts on the current cabinet vs something not as deep? These are pine cabinets with adjustable shelving- they are 31” wide x 20” deep - 32” tall (the bottom
Cabinet is 36” with feet

I love how this project and space planning is coming along…this room is so functional and yet so nice looking in these renderings 😍

Love the knobs! And the mural idea is wonderful in a creative space where you don't have a lot of free space for hanging artwork, etc.!

I just came across a layout issue - we have a wall heater on the short wall where the office side is. It’s 15” from the door, so the existing cabinet would not work.

Should we move the heater (and where?), or could we lay out differently?

Not always as easy as it sounds, but can you just scoot it over a few inches closer to the door. I'm sure it will depend on where the ducting is coming from. You have a lovely family!

I laughed when I saw I accidentally shared a photo too, can I delete that? lol

I’ll have to ask my hubby if we can move it. Maybe under the window? This room gets cold because it’s the original garage with cement floors.

You can edit it out. Just hit the edit button under your post, put the cursor under the picture at the beginning of the next line, and backspace to get rid of the picture.

Will the heat under the window be blowing on your legs when you're sitting at the desk? I'd find out where the duct work is coming from first then decide where to put it. If possible, you could do this under one of the cabinets.

I wish we had ducting, but this is a converted garage so we have installed hard-wired wall heaters.

We might just leave an enough space by the existing one to slide a slim ladder or broom. That way we don’t have to relocate it!

You definitely want to avoid moving it if possible. I think you can still make it work though. Just may need a bit of tweaking.

These give me a lot to think about!!! I love all the creativity. I’m going to look into some more of the IKEA cabinets with all the drawers. Thank you!

IKEA cabinets offer such versatility in storage options. And drawers offer much more efficient storage than cabinets.

Update: we did an IKEA field trip and found matching cabinets that are only 12” deep. I think that’s too narrow for most things I store (but I will have to use these over the computer because of the stairs that pull down.

I’m also playing around with the short wall (with computer), and trying to decide if I should maybe put the computer in the far left cabinet - so then I could have more counter top space. We won’t use the computer too much.

I drew out the wall to scale, which always helps me!

Also- does anyone know how tall the counters should ideally be?

I like your sketch! No sense having the computer take up counter space if you don't use it often. Do you want your counters to work as a tabletop? If so, 30" would work, unless you like working at counter top height, which is 36" like the kitchen.

I guess I’m not quite sure how I’ll use it. I think I might park my sewing machine here so I can quickly do mending/alterations.

So maybe 30”, but I’m so short I think a desk height is closer to 26” for me!

I'm a both feet on the floor kind of person so table height always works better for me. I think I would consider doing 30" for the sake of sticking with the norm. Perhaps a chair for you that is adjustable so you can raise it to whatever height is comfortable. You could always keep a little footstool under the tabletop to rest your feet! Although I guess you'd need to be able to get one foot on the ground to reach the sewing machine pedal ;)

I think that’s wise. A 30” standard height and a foot rest if needed. Thank you!

You're welcome Steph! When do you plan to start your project?

I'm slowly working on it each day! I'm currently moving cabinets and emptying cabinets to get them laid out. And then we will be purchasing some slimmer uppers once we know what we need. I'm aiming to have this project completed by the fall.

I found a cool set of drawers at an Estate sale this weekend, and I remember someone saying craft supplies are easier to store in drawers sometimes. So I'm reworking everything to see where it can fit since it's pretty tall. I might just use it next to my existing adjustable desk/sewing top on the shorter wall in this photo. It's 52" Tall x 22" Wide x 16" Deep.

I'm sure you have a lot of organizing to do before you move forward. Big projects take time! The cabinet you found is great. Paints, paint brushes, glues, etc. can be stored there. I use a rolling cart with drawers to store some of my craft supplies. I'm sure you'll get a lot of use out of it.

A small update on the laundry room.

We are planning to do double cabinets 20” above the washer/dryer (is that the right spacing?). And we want to customize a moveable return that is 23”x77” and put 2 laundry baskets underneath - I could hang some fun art above as well.

Thanks for everyone’s help along this journey!

Looking good! 18" above countertops is usually standard in kitchens for uppers but 20" could work if you're tall enough to comfortably reach. Since you have a higher backsplash on your counter on the w/d, 20" might be a good choice.

I realize the focus so far has been decorating and cabinetry, and most commenters on this website are not versed in building design. So, not to be a downer in your thread, but it is important to bring some life safety issues forward.

You have gas appliances (furnace, water heater, and probably clothes dryer). Those require combustion, ventilation, and dilution air. Exactly what those terms define, and to properly allow your atmostpheric venting to perform (the flue exhaust going up the metal pipes through the roof).

If originally this was a garage, those appliances were in an open, airy space (much like they are in basements when a house is first built). That explains why your water heater is on an 18" pedestal, for a garage. Often, this allows enough space to comply. However, since your garage was converted, probably without permits, and rooms enclosed, the appliances do not comply, because I do not see any ductwork, openings, or vents anywhere in the walls or ceiling. Please verify. In case you are lacking those, I will explain options using exact calculations from code (IRC G2407). For the following examples, I will use an 80,000BTU furnace and 36,000BTU water heater, with 75% net free area for metal grilles. These are just rough estimations to give you an idea so you can visualize things:

• Adding louvered doors to enclose the appliances is not compliant unto itself. It would be "borrowing" air from all adjacent spaces that are open to each other (meaning no doors). The calculation would require 5800cu/ft, or a 24'x30'x8'ceiling room (how unfinished basements do comply, but yours would not).
• Or, if you wanted solid doors to close off the appliances, or maybe just a door for the Laundry/Mech Room, and had enough cu/ft space in adjacent rooms (which you wouldn't as above), you could add (2) vents sized 16"x10" at both high and low into the adjacent room.
• Or, if you wanted to provide outdoor air, with or without doors covering the appliances, you could add (2) 4"x10" vents at both high and low directly to outside or an attic that has access to outside.
• Or, if you wanted to provide outdoor air, with or without doors covering the appliances, you could add (1) 6"x10" vent up high to outside or an attic that has access to outside.
• So, you can see it's not too intrusive if you provide outdoor air. An HVAC installer (not just a service tech) should be able to help you with this.

A gas clothes dryer adds complication to the above calculations:

• If it is rated >200cfm, then it's BTUs must be included in the combustion, ventilation, and dilution air, which increases the sizes of all openings.
• Or, you could exclude it by providing it's own makeup air, which is required anyway for a dryer >200cfm. I will assume your dryer is <200cfm and does not interfere with the operation of the furnace and water heater.

Some other things I notice:

• The furnace and water heater require permanent clearance around each appliance. I'm not sure that your proposed laundry basket table will be movable in the true sense. Manufacturers set the clearance, but consider 30" in front as a common dimension. And, if you are to enclose these appliances with doors, those doors must allow that clearance in front and access to the sides/filter as prescribed by the manufacturer.
• The electric wall heater requires clearance. Manufacturers set that, but consider at least 8" in front as a common dimension. I can't tell if your proposed IKEA cabinetry is clear.
• The water heater should have a pan. Otherwise, at it's end of life, it will leak and ruin your floors and cabinets. Also, can't tell if the TPR valve piping is routed to outside or discharges to floor.
• The proposed cabinets over the front load W/D requires a longer reach over them. If that is uncomfortable, a trick is to build a "false" wall behind the upper cabinets to bring them forward.

All great points! We have electric washer/dryer with a ceiling fan that’s vented through the attic. We are in the process of replacing HVAC. I believe Water heater is new.

My hubby is familiar with the requirements so we are taking all that into account.

The return counter will be moveable and we won’t have any upper cabinets blocking the HVAC either.

Appreciate your expertise!

@3onthetree's suggestion to build the cabinets further forward is a good one. I know I can barely reach the first shelf over my washer and dryer. I need a step stool for the second shelf. Maybe a 15" deep upper cabinet would work better for you. (I believe IKEA's upper cabinets are 15" deep as a standard. They also make all sorts of pull down shelves for uppers to make things frequently used easier to access.

I’m actually looking at mounting 20” deep cabinets in the laundry room and that is much more reasonable for me to reach, if I also Mount them 20” up, I have decent head room. (Plus I already have the cabinets!)

For the shorter wall in the craft area, I’m looking to use narrower cabinet (15” deep), over the desktop area. They will be easier for me to reach since the desktop will only be 24” deep.

20" is great. Although you'll probably still need a step stool to get anything in the back of them! I'm excited to see it done.

Update: I got the cabinets all cleared out and organized. Moved 3 cabinets out. It’s A LOT more spacious without all the stacked cabinets.

What do you think about the drawers by the door? Should I use them there?

Next Steps:
•build foot kicks/base for cabinets instead of feet - so they will look built-in once painted
•remove adjustable desk (I think it’s way too deep at 30”)
•hang cabinets above desk area (might just use the 20” deep since they hold so much more and we already have them, thoughts?
•Add laminate countertops under window and across space where desk is (and in the laundry)

Also, got a slim, lightweight ladder that is perfect!

Tons of progress! It looks so much lighter. More breathing room.

If you're going to hang 20" deep cabinets over the desk, I'd consider keeping the deeper desk. You don't want to feel like cabinets are hovering at your forehead while you're sitting and working.

Maybe you could raise the lateral file onto a box base to raise it to the same height as the other cabinets. Then you'd have one long, straight run of counter space.

That's a great ladder to keep tucked away. I'm sure it will come in handy.

Are you saying I should build a 31” base and put the drawers on top of that? I did get a little disappointed couldn’t have a long countertop run there…..but don’t see any other place for the drawers - which DO hold a lot more art supplies than the cupboards.

I also think

I also think it might look funky to have a 30” desk and 20” uppers and then the 16” drawers drawers?

I also had fun making a couple Ai photos for inspiration with everything painted cohesively. Do you like the color?

Would it make more sense to find a different set of drawers that was the height of the counter?

Just a quick suggestion for your laundry area. You mentioned adding space for 2 laundry baskets. We "stacked" our baskets next to our base cabinets. This gave us room for an additional base cabinet, as well as a countertop for folding laundry. It was a very easy project.

PS: Your craft area is going to be fabulous!

I like the color. What color did you use?

No need to find a different cabinet-the one you have seems to be the same depth as the cabinets. Just grab some 2x6's or 2x4's, depending on what you need to get it to the same height as the other cabinets, and build a 4-sided base for it to sit on. You might want to throw one in the middle of the base for added support. Then just add a toe kick across the whole thing to unify it.

Where would the 16" drawers be?