poll - options for setting up an arts & crafts space

[Noreen Claire]

Background info: I have a small table in the kitchen that the younger four boys use to eat breakfast, lunch, and bedtime snack. Sometimes the youngest two also use it for playdough/puzzles/coloring while the other two do school work in the dining room. We cannot do schoolwork at the kitchen table because it is too small. The dining room table is used for school work during the day (almost always finished before lunch), chromebooks (typing, coding) in the afternoon, and dinner in the evening. I would like to create a better arts & crafts space for my younger four boys. I have three options:

option #1: I can put art supplies onto a rolling art cart (Ikea raskog) and roll it into the kitchen for kids to use at the kitchen table. This could cause problems with eating at this table, if projects are not finished/dried/cleaned up. The younger two are often still picking at breakfast during school time, and I don't allow eating at the school table in the dining room, so the art supplies couldn't come out until they finished eating. We could easily move lunch & snack to the dining room, freeing that table up for the rest of the day. The table is small, though, and would limit amount of materials on the table at a time. Also, it is in the corner and DS4 sits in the corner seat, which he has a hard time getting into/out of if the DS6 is also sitting at the table.

option #2: I can move a small bookcase from another room into the dining room for art supplies. Arts & crafts could only be done in the dining room after school work is completed and must be finished/cleaned up before dinner OR after dinner and must be cleaned up before school starts the next morning.

option #3: I can rearrange a bit in my bedroom so I can move my (heavy) desk upstairs, clearing a corner in the living room. I can purchase a small-ish second-hand table & stools for a permanent art space. Not sure where the art supplies would go, as it's not a big space (probably the rolling cart?) and I'm not sure if it could fit all four boys at the same time. This would put paint, glue, etc very close to the couches (eek!) and also be harder for me to keep an eye on during school time. 

A possible 4th option for the warmer months would be to talk DH into making an art space in our tiny garage (which is already full of stuff). This wouldn't be a viable option for the colder months, nor would the younger boys be allowed to be in the garage without supervision while I'm working with DS10 & DS6 in the house.

[HS Mom in NC]

We have our craft table set up where a kitchen table would be.  I hate redundancy, so we always eat at the dining room table and we always have craft space set up over tile for easy clean up in the kitchen.

[Arcadia]

We have this IKEA cart for supplies except we have six small drawers instead of four small and one big one in link. Our multifunctional laser printer sits on top. https://m2.ikea.com/us/en/p/algot-frame-with-5-boxes-and-top-shelf-white-s69276181/

[klmama]

With those options, I'd go with the cart.  As they get older and more trustworthy, you could move it to the garage, a laundry room, etc.  

[Ausmumof3]

I voted other.  Mine have tables in their bedrooms so they can make giant craft messes and I don’t have to look at it or walk through it and it’s not in the main living area.  I do have pretty messy kids though so that’s a factor.

[Ravin]

I would make the dedicated space for them.