We moved into this house in Newton, Kansas, in 2004, when the youngest of our children was just two weeks old. Over the next seven years, we renovated every inch of this 1903 home while raising our five young kids there. It was such a great house for a big family. It had five bedrooms and only one full bath. Our family of seven shared that one bathroom for many years.
We eventually added two more bathrooms and tripled the kitchen size by combining the existing kitchen with an enclosed porch.
Through those remodeling and young mom years, I found an outlet in blogging about my daily life. I shared crafts I made and crafts with my kids, recipes and house projects, and it resonated with women all over the world.
In 2011, we made a choice to move to a new community, but we didn’t want to sell this house that we loved and had worked so hard remodeling. The year before the move, I’d gone to a large artist conference that was held at a hotel. There were creative workshops and a few speakers. The conference was good, but definitely not my vibe. It stirred something in me of wanting to provide a similar experience but on a small scale and much more personal: like having a crafting night at your home with your friends, but one that lasts several days.
I wanted to try using our home as a venue for hosting art retreats. With the base of readers I had from blogging, I was able to host full retreats that we called Craft Weekends. Women started coming to Kansas from everywhere for our weekend retreats. Eventually, we had a waitlist with over 2,000 crafters hoping to attend a Craft Weekend.
After hosting over 30 Craft Weekends, we switched to an extended weekend retreat with guest artist instructors and a speaker. We call it Camp Create and I host those a few times a year. My blog was called Whatever, which is how the home came to be named the Whatever Craft House.
I wanted to create a space for women to gather and meet other people who love to sit for hours and create like they do. We hear quite often that many women don’t have friends in their everyday lives who like to craft and create. So, when they come to a retreat, they end up finding their people.
In 2014, we began opening the house for groups to rent when wanting to host their own artistic getaways. It is set up like an Airbnb or Vrbo, where you rent the house and no one is onsite. You are responsible for your group’s food and entertainment, but the lodging we provide is superb. Now in 2024, it’s booked almost every weekend a year out.
We have groups of quilters, seamstresses, scrapbookers, card makers, stitchers, bible journalers, crafters, cookie decorators and authors — and even a reading retreat. And sometimes it’s just groups of friends having a weekend away. Over the past decade, we have had thousands of women come through the doors. I’ve heard many times “Forget Disney – the Craft House is the happiest place on earth!”
A favorite feature for guests is the painted rainbow staircase. It was a big project that was so much fun to complete all by myself. I’m really proud of that project. New life was breathed into that dingy back staircase. It’s everyone’s favorite photo op when they visit. How can you not smile when you see a set of rainbow stairs? If the front staircase wasn’t so big, I would paint it rainbow, too! And maybe I still will!
Every bed has a handmade quilt, vintage flat sheet and pillowcases, and a granny square afghan. I am not a quilter, but I wish that I was! I am in awe over the details and time spent creating these antique quilts. I love that every bed has a completely unique quilt. By mismatching the linens, the beds look different every single week. Mixing patterns, colors and textures brings me joy. Staying at the Craft House is basically one big slumber party — or like summer camp for grownups. We have 16 antique twin beds and one queen.
I have always loved rainbows. They are a theme throughout the house in every room. Grabbing your morning coffee is happier here when you get to choose a rainbow mug from our huge collection. I’ve collected them for years and am thrilled when friends gift them to me.
Our crafting room has space for people to individually spread out to craft and still be all together in one space. I made the rainbow bunting that goes across the entire room. This room always looks like a party is happening.
My husband covered the hearth with chippy painted old boards we bought from the back of a barn. I love old signs with great fonts. The huge Red & White Foods sign was from a local antiques store where I used all my birthday money one year.
The walls are filled with vintage crewel stitcheries that I cannot stop collecting. I have thrifted them for as little as $2, but they are much harder to find now and cost much more. Almost all of my crewel collection is pictures of flowers. I love when the maker stitches their name and the year in the corner. I love all of their different textures. I appreciate the hours of work that each of these took.
I haven’t tried stitching crewel yet, but I do have a few vintage kits in hopes of someday learning.
One bedroom had a closet where we used to keep my kids’ toys. This closet was closed off by a bed we had in front of it for many years, until recently, when I decided I wanted to use the space. After I demoed the old closet, I realized it would make the perfect sleeping nook. I covered the wall with daisy wallpaper and put a bed inside with inches to spare. It is the coziest little space and delightfully unexpected.
I was prepping to hang wallpaper in another closet, when I realized it already had wallpaper that had been painted over. I started to pull on the 90s painted-over wallpaper. Under it I found a whole wall of a very old floral wallpaper that was so perfectly aged. It was such a lovely surprise and changed my decor plans that day. Wallpaper in the closets is another layer of detail, on top of many other layers, that makes staying here more memorable.
“Details matter” is something I say all the time. I care about all of it. I have filled this house with things that make me happy, which in turn make our guests happy. It is filled with color, pattern and texture, which translates to the joy and love put into each detail. I say it’s like having a real-life Barbie Dreamhouse that I get to decorate any way I want!
I set out to create a comfortable and beautiful space for women to stay. Any time I am at the house while a group is there, I look around and notice everyone is smiling. My hope is that women leave their weekends at the Craft House feeling refreshed from their time with new and old friends.
It provides a place for creativity to flow freely and friendships to bond quickly.
♦♦♦
From Lori Siebert | I had the extreme pleasure of teaching at the Whatever Craft House twice!
When you walk in, you feel like this home/retreat venue is hugging you. From the vintage crewel work adorning the walls to the granny square blankets and handsewn quilts on each bed, you are surrounded by color and coziness. I knew that this lovely place Meg has created just HAD to be shared!!!
We moved into this house in Newton, Kansas, in 2004, when the youngest of our children was just two weeks old. Over the next seven years, we renovated every inch of this 1903 home while raising our five young kids there. It was such a great house for a big family. It had five bedrooms and only one full bath. Our family of seven shared that one bathroom for many years.
We eventually added two more bathrooms and tripled the kitchen size by combining the existing kitchen with an enclosed porch.
Through those remodeling and young mom years, I found an outlet in blogging about my daily life. I shared crafts I made and crafts with my kids, recipes and house projects, and it resonated with women all over the world.
In 2011, we made a choice to move to a new community, but we didn’t want to sell this house that we loved and had worked so hard remodeling. The year before the move, I’d gone to a large artist conference that was held at a hotel. There were creative workshops and a few speakers. The conference was good, but definitely not my vibe. It stirred something in me of wanting to provide a similar experience but on a small scale and much more personal: like having a crafting night at your home with your friends, but one that lasts several days.
I wanted to try using our home as a venue for hosting art retreats. With the base of readers I had from blogging, I was able to host full retreats that we called Craft Weekends. Women started coming to Kansas from everywhere for our weekend retreats. Eventually, we had a waitlist with over 2,000 crafters hoping to attend a Craft Weekend.
After hosting over 30 Craft Weekends, we switched to an extended weekend retreat with guest artist instructors and a speaker. We call it Camp Create and I host those a few times a year. My blog was called Whatever, which is how the home came to be named the Whatever Craft House.
I wanted to create a space for women to gather and meet other people who love to sit for hours and create like they do. We hear quite often that many women don’t have friends in their everyday lives who like to craft and create. So, when they come to a retreat, they end up finding their people.
In 2014, we began opening the house for groups to rent when wanting to host their own artistic getaways. It is set up like an Airbnb or Vrbo, where you rent the house and no one is onsite. You are responsible for your group’s food and entertainment, but the lodging we provide is superb. Now in 2024, it’s booked almost every weekend a year out.
We have groups of quilters, seamstresses, scrapbookers, card makers, stitchers, bible journalers, crafters, cookie decorators and authors — and even a reading retreat. And sometimes it’s just groups of friends having a weekend away. Over the past decade, we have had thousands of women come through the doors. I’ve heard many times “Forget Disney – the Craft House is the happiest place on earth!”
A favorite feature for guests is the painted rainbow staircase. It was a big project that was so much fun to complete all by myself. I’m really proud of that project. New life was breathed into that dingy back staircase. It’s everyone’s favorite photo op when they visit. How can you not smile when you see a set of rainbow stairs? If the front staircase wasn’t so big, I would paint it rainbow, too! And maybe I still will!
Every bed has a handmade quilt, vintage flat sheet and pillowcases, and a granny square afghan. I am not a quilter, but I wish that I was! I am in awe over the details and time spent creating these antique quilts. I love that every bed has a completely unique quilt. By mismatching the linens, the beds look different every single week. Mixing patterns, colors and textures brings me joy. Staying at the Craft House is basically one big slumber party — or like summer camp for grownups. We have 16 antique twin beds and one queen.
I have always loved rainbows. They are a theme throughout the house in every room. Grabbing your morning coffee is happier here when you get to choose a rainbow mug from our huge collection. I’ve collected them for years and am thrilled when friends gift them to me.
Our crafting room has space for people to individually spread out to craft and still be all together in one space. I made the rainbow bunting that goes across the entire room. This room always looks like a party is happening.
My husband covered the hearth with chippy painted old boards we bought from the back of a barn. I love old signs with great fonts. The huge Red & White Foods sign was from a local antiques store where I used all my birthday money one year.
The walls are filled with vintage crewel stitcheries that I cannot stop collecting. I have thrifted them for as little as $2, but they are much harder to find now and cost much more. Almost all of my crewel collection is pictures of flowers. I love when the maker stitches their name and the year in the corner. I love all of their different textures. I appreciate the hours of work that each of these took.
I haven’t tried stitching crewel yet, but I do have a few vintage kits in hopes of someday learning.
One bedroom had a closet where we used to keep my kids’ toys. This closet was closed off by a bed we had in front of it for many years, until recently, when I decided I wanted to use the space. After I demoed the old closet, I realized it would make the perfect sleeping nook. I covered the wall with daisy wallpaper and put a bed inside with inches to spare. It is the coziest little space and delightfully unexpected.
I was prepping to hang wallpaper in another closet, when I realized it already had wallpaper that had been painted over. I started to pull on the 90s painted-over wallpaper. Under it I found a whole wall of a very old floral wallpaper that was so perfectly aged. It was such a lovely surprise and changed my decor plans that day. Wallpaper in the closets is another layer of detail, on top of many other layers, that makes staying here more memorable.
“Details matter” is something I say all the time. I care about all of it. I have filled this house with things that make me happy, which in turn make our guests happy. It is filled with color, pattern and texture, which translates to the joy and love put into each detail. I say it’s like having a real-life Barbie Dreamhouse that I get to decorate any way I want!
I set out to create a comfortable and beautiful space for women to stay. Any time I am at the house while a group is there, I look around and notice everyone is smiling. My hope is that women leave their weekends at the Craft House feeling refreshed from their time with new and old friends.
It provides a place for creativity to flow freely and friendships to bond quickly.
♦♦♦
From Lori Siebert | I had the extreme pleasure of teaching at the Whatever Craft House twice!
When you walk in, you feel like this home/retreat venue is hugging you. From the vintage crewel work adorning the walls to the granny square blankets and handsewn quilts on each bed, you are surrounded by color and coziness. I knew that this lovely place Meg has created just HAD to be shared!!!
