Maybe you stepped on paint one too many times. Or found countless markers missing their caps. Perhaps you are constantly breaking up sibling ruckuses because the youngest is “borrowing” art supplies from the oldest and not putting things back. Whatever the case, you know it is time to make your girl her own art space at home.
Lucky for you, the talented Jany Lee at Savvy For Life has several ideas on setting up a fun and functional art space geared towards young children. Affiliate links are used in this post.
ArtSpace Top Needs
- A durable table that is stable and easy to clean
- Storage for creative materials such as markers, crayons, chalk, washable paints, glue, tape, stamp pads, stamps, twine, ribbons, scissors
- Place and materials to display artwork and creations
- Task lighting, which provides increased lighting for tasks (think lamps)
ArtSpace Color Schemes
- Red represents courage, strength, and excitement
- Yellow represents creativity, friendliness, optimism, and confidence
- Blue calms the mind, helps with concentration, and is great for creative exploration
- Purple enhances the imagination and inspires creativity
- Green is associated with balance, creative thinking, inventiveness, and innovation
Storing Supplies
- IKEA is Lee’s favorite shop for organizing tools, and her top choice for bookcases is the IKEA Kallas (you must secure the bookcases to the wall, they can be laid horizontally or vertically, and you can customize the cubes with different boxes)
- Mason jars are very affordable containers for holding materials, as are small tin buckets or flowerpots
- Woven baskets on the floor or under an easel can provide easy storage
- Closed boxes are great for storage, and they are stackable, so you can use them to hide clutter (labeling boxes on the exterior helps you keep track of what’s inside)
Displaying Art
- For a cork bulletin board, Lee loves the IKEA HEAT trivet, and she made a helpful video about this simple IKEA hack
- Another fun IKEA option is partnering the IKEA DIGNITET wire with the IKEA RIKTIG curtain hooks to hang art
- You can use floating shelves to hold various framed pieces
- Art can also be tacked up on a giant magnet board; my family and I use one to also display magnets from our travels
ArtSpace Supplies Ideas
- Durable table
- Activity table & storage
- Sidewalk chalk
- Markers (washable)
- Finger paints (washable)
- Crayons
- Sketch Pads
- Tabletop easel paper roll
- Pencil sharpener
- Drawing pencils
- Paintbrush set
- Paint (washable)
- Sponge brushes
- Paint cups or Mason jars
- Modeling clay
- Easel
- Art mat
Be cautious about offering young children materials that could be choking hazards.
Whatever your choices, Jany stresses any art space must give youngsters plentiful opportunities to explore their creative side. There will still be messes, but they’ll be worth it when you look through your cherished collection of masterpieces.
Jany Lee
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