Building or Remodeling your quilting/sewing room

[Anne B.]

Here are the best things I did:

Installed full-spectrum fluorescent lighting. I have sixteen 48-inch tubes. I also have full-spectrum fluorescent task lighting at my sewing machine. I hate track lighting, because it creates shadows punctuated by pools of light that you block with your head when you lean over your work.

Installed electrical outlets in the ceiling over my ironing board and my cutting table. There are no cords to trip over on the floor! Of course, I have to stand on a chair to plug anything in, but that's okay. And I can see from across the room whether the iron is plugged in.

Had an L-shaped sewing cabinet custom made (for my sewing machine and serger) with bookcases underneath the table top on three sides. In one place, across from my machine, I've interrupted the bookcases with a knee hole that just fits a rolling cabinet with a seat on top. Guests can sew there, or I can work there when I don't want to sit at my machine. Both my sewing chair and the guest stool have drawers beneath the seats.

Had my sewing table built so the machine and serger both set down into it, flush with the table top. This gives me a perfectly flat work surface at a level that's ergnomically correct for me. I have a Sew Steady Portable Table for my Featherweight, and while it's very nice, it's too high to be comfortable for long periods when it sits on a regular table or desk.

Had a long wall cabinet built with heavy-duty doors that hold an 80- by 80-inch design wall. The doors are oak covered with donacona (insulation board) that I can stick pins into, and then covered with gridded flannel (adhered with 404 spray). One of the cats thinks it's a giant scratching post, though, so I've thumbtacked clear vinyl over the bottom three feet. In four years I've never had to take the vinyl off to use the bottom half of the design wall, but one day I might.

Had my cabinet built with shelves that are 12 inches deep and 20 inches wide. This is just the right size to hold two stacks of fabric (dark on the left, light on the right) that's been folded into quarters lengthwise and then fan-folded into 9.5-inch-wide piles. I can count the folds to see how many yards I have.

Had a wood-slat pegboard-style surface built along one end of the wall cabinet, to hold rulers, stencils, etc. I wish I'd had one built on the other end, too. It doesn't look like a pegboard, though, and I don't know what it's actually called. But it sure is handy!

Bought a high-quality (i.e., sturdy) drop-leaf cutting table whose drawers open on both sides of the table. I don't have to walk around the table to get into a drawer.

Co-opted the family room for my studio. Since it adjoins the kitchen, I can get a few stitches in while dinner is cooking . . . when I actually do cook, of course.

Anne in Vancouver, Canada

[Paula D.]

The thing is, the more space I have, the more "stuff" I accumulate. Wire baskets will overflow, shelves will be crammed to the max. Personally, I think it's quite hopeless! Every time I straighten up my fabrics (somewhat), I find I can't "stash dive" without messing the whole thing up. I sold real estate for many years, and often after showing a house the listing agent would pester me for "feedback". I would finally get them off my back by saying "too much closet space". Anyway, for me it's a big challenge, and yes, I've gone out and bought something I KNEW I already owned, simply because I couldn't take the time to find the darn thing. But gosh, I love to mess it up!!! ops: Where's my chair?? :shock:

[Myra U.]

It's too late!!! ops: I already have soooooo much stuff that it's in every room of my house (except the kitchen). That is one reason my husband is building the addition (besides the bedroom on the main floor of the house -- we both have arthritis in our knees and using the stairs has become a painful journey :x -- our orthopedist says we have the "kneezles :? ). I have been better since he showed me that every room had something in it from the quilting standpoint (oh, yes, and the bathrooms don't have stuff [yet] :lol: ). And the UFO's!!!! Last count was 22. I haven't bought any more 'stuff' since I counted them. I am working on reducing that number, also.

[Anne B.]

I forgot to put in my posting that I had a separate circuit brought in for the iron. That way I never have to worry about plugging it into the same outlet as my sewing machine and blowing a fuse or frying the machine. I saw that happen to a brand new machine at a retreat once. There was a huge “POP!” and the smell of burning electronics. Needless to say, the machine was destroyed. :P

Good luck with your renos! Be sure to read _Creating Your Perfect Quilting Space: Sewing-Room Makeovers for Any Space and Any Budget_ ( http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/...wing+room%2527 ) and _Dream Sewing Spaces: Design & Organization for Spaces Large and Small_ ( http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/...d+pletsch%2527 ).

And look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/athomesewing , which someone mentioned in another thread. That woman has some terrific ideas, and completely furnished her studio from Ikea.

Geez, I sure wish I could put punctuation right up against URLs and still have them activate! :P

Anne in Vancouver, Canada

[Myra U.]

Thanks for that link. I really like her cutting table. Did you read where she put a different top on it so she could sit by it? I like that idea, too. My husband has a woodworking shop on our property. He looked at that and told me it wouldn't take a lot of sweat to make the top just like that! The room is also so airy and bright. That's exactly the way I want mine. Again, thanks to all who have helped -- you are the BEST!!!