My kids and I just had a discussion about this very topic over lunch! Drawers are nice, but we came to the consensus that for a craft room, we prefer some open storage for see through jars and bins. It's nice to see everything at a glance and not have to dig through multiple drawers to find what you need. Now, since you are planning for more than just crafts, it makes sense to keep the cluttery look to the minimum and enclose some of that storage. Drawers for games are a pain, been there done that. The game the kids will want is probably at the bottom of the drawer. Either that, or you forget that you have it because it's buried.

pinterest has oodles of craft room, wrapping paper, games and storage ideas.

You're right - it's all about what you will be storing. Unfortunately, in your space the storage needs might be completely different in 5 or 10 years, so you want to be as flexible as possible.

First off - wrapping paper isn't going to fit well in a drawer or cabinet. Long tub under the bed is the only way to go!

Board games - doors and shelves for sure. I would include enough shelves that games aren't stacked too high. You may or may not want a drawer on top, if you have a drawer stack - or perhaps you don't need a drawer stack, but drawers over doors will be sufficient. Though eliminating a drawer above gives you more flexibility for shelving.

Smaller jigsaw puzzle boxes could be stored in a drawer on their sides.

Small things - scissors, tape, etc - are definitely best in drawers, with dividers to keep everything organized.

With a counter above, what prevents the clutter on top? I have a storage cabinet in my family room, and I can keep it cleared off for about 3 days, then stuff starts to accumulate!

I have added roll-outs to several base cabinets, in my Mom's kitchen and a few places in my house. I used Blum Metaboxes, which are pretty easy to assemble, and not terribly expensive. In your case, where your needs may change over the years, that might be the best bet. Yes, it's more of a pain to open doors then pullouts, but these won't be accessed as often as kitchen cabinets (or will be used by kids, who have plenty of time and energy).

By putting so much thought into this up front, I'm sure you'll come up with a terrific solution for your storage needs. Well done!

Thank you ladies. You have given me many things to consider and just by reading comments it has helped me get a better mental picture of what most makes sense. I think doors with the possibility of adding roll outs later will allow for the most flexibility. I love my kitchen drawers and would never go back but for this space it just didn't feel as useful and for games really a no go.

I am leaning toward a cabinet base with the one drawer on top for 2 of the cabinets and possibly just 2 full door cabinets to maximize the shelving. A taller cabinet without a drawer will give me 2 moveable shelves making 3 shelves total. I really don't see a use for many drawers with what will be stored there. I can use the couple drawers for those few things that would not get lost like scissors and tape and bobbins/thread.

annkh-oh the wrapping paper woes. It overflows my under bed bin and I can't even get the top on. :( I loathe it. That said a drawer wouldn't be a great solution for it either. I think for this space what will prevent the clutter is that it's not in or near a drop zone of any kind and it will be less used stuff so not a frequent access point. I am wanting to pull them forward 6" so it will be a bit deeper counter so if I am working on something I can really spread out. Good to know that DIY assembly for roll outs is doable.

Thanks again for your input. Now back to exciting kitchen talk.

Regarding wrapping paper... since downsizing I've sought out ways to minimize everything (some folks think too much.) I've minimized wrapping paper by only using plain paper now. Tied with colored bakers twine and a paper tag it can look really pretty, though I appreciate it's not everyone's taste. Anyway. This cutter has been in my amazon wishlist for a while. It hangs on the wall and I think it could look cool. paper cutter

benjesbride-that sounds very doable in terms of simplification but I'm not sure in practice I could do it. Currently I wrap the kids gifts in different paper and don't label them for obvious reasons - which I realize I could do with different twine but not sure I would really DO It. That leaves the rest of the gifts we purchase and wrap and I'd need to always use twine or something else to gussy them up and I'm not that creative. I let the paper do the talking, lol. Having one paper though sounds really practical and you'd always have enough to do whatever size box you've got going on. I do like the paper cutter gadget. That is slick!

As I continue to mull it over and was thinking about laughable's craft comment I realized I do own a hot glue gun and a few other small crafty type gadgets that would be nice for a drawer as well as coloring books and crayons which although we are past that stage we still have them and do use them here and there.

The dreaming continues...