It's pretty obvious by now that I'm not the type to just "wing it" when it comes to design. I like my rooms planned ahead, thought out, and I like knowing exactly what the end product will look like. Renderings (I've put these together using Keynote) are so helpful in that regard, especially when it comes to deciding on colour scheme and materials. You can really get a good sense of the look and feel of a room just by putting together a rendering.

Selecting Cabinetry Doors

As with any kitchen, craft room, or organized space, it all starts with the cabinetry, the biggest and most permanent element in the room. We had already decided on the Thomasville line available at The Home Depot Canada so the next step was to choose the door profile. In order to keep within our budget, we opted for MDF doors which are durable and come in a wide variety of styles and painted finishes. We wanted something simple but not too simple like a Shaker door. I wanted it to have panel trim on the interior, just to add that bit of detail and really tie in with the transitional look we have throughout our home.


We decided on the Thomasville Nouveau Chandler which is clean-lined but not boring. Once we decided on the door style, it was time to select the finish. I desperately wanted blue cabinets but alas the painted blue finish was not offered in this particular door style. It was offered on a wood door but that was beyond our budget and sometimes you just need to compromise!

We could have opted for an all-white craft room but we had that with our last craft zone and our last kitchen and I wanted something a bit more daring. Plus, as the craft room is a pass-through space and not one that we're constantly in, I felt we could be more bold with colour. In the end, we selected Gypsum, a warm white for the uppers, and Black for the lower cabinets. I'm loving two-tone cabinetry for kitchens and thought that look would be so unexpected for our craft room.

Selecting Hardware and Lighting

The small details are so important in design. Choosing just the right hardware and lighting can make or break your design scheme. To achieve a modern coastal look, I wanted a mix of brass and matte black finishes. For the cabinetry hardware, I choose the Martha Stewart Awning Cup Pull and Martha Stewart Goblet Knob in brass. I can't tell you how glorious this cup pull is - it's substantial, not too shiny and feels so good in your hand.

Coastal lighting has a definite look with caged lights being one of the most popular styles. I opted for the Titan Lighting Seaport 1-Light Sconce for over the bench seat and the Bel Air Lighting 1 Light Black Wall Lantern for the central light fixture. In a room like this where there is no natural light, its important to have various lighting sources. The recessed pot lights, centre fixture, and sconces will give us the flexibility we need to do detailed crafts or general tasks.

Room Colour Scheme

Once I had the basics of the room figured out, it was onto the fun details - paint, wall treatments, furniture, and accessories! To figure it all out, I needed some inspiration.


This image I took on our recent Hawaiian vacation was exactly that. I have plans to use some of our vacation photos to make large-scale art for the basement. The colours feel fresh to me, especially that true blue shade above the clouds. I hope to bring in that colour through pillows and the paint on the entry door. I'll also bring our striped bistro chair into this room as extra seating.

The other hues - the billowy white clouds and rugged warmth of the rocks - will be translated into the room as well. Brighter white shiplap walls will bring out the coastal feel of the room. I've loved working with Metrie on our living room and knew their new Option M MDF Shiplap would be just right for this project. We'll be using it to clad the two cabinetry walls to add dimension and really create a focal point around the bench seat.

There will be natural tones as well. I'm in love with the Smoked laminate flooring from Beaulieu Canada in this space. In truth, at first I thought it was too "creamy latte" in colour when we first put it down, but seeing it now with the cabinets, it sets just the right beachy tone. We hope to add some wood floating shelves and I  plan to sand down our harvest table top to natural wood and paint the base black to blend in with the black bench cabinets.

So that's the design plan for the room... what do you think???

There's no turning back now. The cabinets are in place, we've put up some of the shiplap and lights have been installed. We've still got to install the doors, paint, and wait for the countertop (another 4-6 weeks, ugh!) but we're over the half-way mark. I'll be sharing more peeks on my Instastories so head over there to see the room in real time.

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Disclosure: This project has been sponsored by The Home Depot Canada. All opinions and writing, as always, are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands I admire and use in my own home!