Art area for kids

[nicolewi]

We're still slowly slogging through trying to clear out parts of our finished basement to make it cool for teens/tweens. We have a lot of random art stuff in our house. Paints, markers, special papers, ribbon, beads, cards you can design, etc. Shrinky dinks. Specialty coloring books and activity books.

I was thinking of condensing it into an art area in the basement by putting labeled bins on shelves with a table and lamp nearby. We are lucky to have a big finished basement (that is underutlized currently).

Do you have a little dedicated art area? If so, do your 10+ age kids USE IT or would it just sit there? Would I better off continuing to just store stuff in random cabinets and get it out as needed? 

[countthestars]

We have a dedicated slime area that does get used! DD is 11.

[maudefindlay]

We also have a finished basement. I took an old dresser we had and I really sorted thru all our arts and crafts supplies and put them away with like things in their own drawer. We have it next to a table that is used for games and puzzles too. DD, age 12 next month, is the main one who uses it. Having everything pared down and sorted into one slot means DD is independent in getting out what she needs. DS2 really only uses it for school work as needed/projects. DS1 never uses it. DD uses it enough on her own to make it worthwhile.

[meanie]

My kids are 9 and 11, but the 11 year old is the one who is obsessed with crafting. I am moving the art area to our unfinished basement because she is always cutting up cardboard, painting, hot gluing, etc at the dining room table.

Although it goes against my style, the art stuff is stored in clear containers and a glass cabinet. It gets used almost daily because they can see it. We do have some craft kits in their old playroom, and those have gone unused for over a year because they forgot about them.


These are some things we have that have worked for us -

We have this cart, which has been great for smaller items - it needs to be decluttered a few times a year but generally corrals tiny things pretty well
www.amazon.com/dp/B09DV916G7/?coliid=I3R2LGEUFENN41&colid=1VMK74GBCPZ35&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it_im

These clear bins with lids are great, I like the lids so they can be stacked and then the kids just grab whatever bin they need
www.ikea.com/us/en/p/samla-box-clear-40102978/

DD has a hot glue gun similar to this one, it is cordless and has an automatic shut off
tinyurl.com/3t75pu6n

[waverly]

I think it is cute. DD mostly does art at her desk in her room now, so we chose not to do art in the basement tween/teen hangout. But we also have a laundry area, work out area, and the teen area in the basement, so we were kind of out of room to do art stuff there.

[expectantsteelerfan]

Sept 24, 2024 9:23:29 GMT -5 countthestars said:

We have a dedicated slime area that does get used! DD is 11.

This is what I was going to say.  DD transitioned from general art stuff to slime specifically for a few years.  She is mostly past that now at 13.  But the table (that we got for free thankfully) where she did the slime is trashed.  It involved glue, glitter, paint, lotion, shaving cream, etc.  She left bowls of mixed 'stuff' out that spilled and dried.  I probably should have policed that area more and made her clean up after herself, but it was the only thing she enjoyed doing on her own for a while, so it is what it is.  

She then went through a painting phase and had a ton of canvases and different kinds of paints, so I let her do that on the same table.  We still keep general art supplies around for things like making cards if needed and whatnot, but mostly she's wanted specific stuff as she's gotten older.