Sewing room dilemma
Is it too soon after my son announced his engagement to start planning my new sewing room?
Prior to purchasing our current home my sewing space was the dining room table. All of my sewing supplies and fabric were kept in a mid sized cabinet. So imagine my excitement when we purchased a 4 bedroom home.
Today my 10′ x 10′ sewing room is in the back corner of the house. If you missed a previous post, we live in an earth home. The front of the house is exposed with a window in each room. The sides and rear of the home are below grade so there are no windows to allow natural light or fresh air. It has been a struggle over the years finding lighting that did not require rewiring.
Halogen lights were great, they were bright and warmed the room during cold months. However, the same heat in the summer was unbearable. We tried floor lamps and clip on lighting with and without LED’s. There was little improvement with all the variations. Finally, I purchased a couple LED 4′ shop lights. One hangs over my cutting/iron table and the 2nd hangs over my work station and sewing table. They are wonderful!
My sons room is slightly larger than my current sewing room. While I may not be gaining more space I am however gaining a window. So what’s the dilemma? The window. It took me a couple years between the lighting and furniture placement to reach my happy spot. The current layout seems to work well for me and has remained unchanged the longest.
This is my current layout. The draft shows the window, closet and entry in the new room. As you can see I don’t like facing the wall when I work.
My cutting/ironing table is my office door. It was removed so my quilting frame would fit. The door is supported by my mil sewing cabinet and a 3 door chest. On top of the door are 2 pieces of drywall. Each wrapped with batting and cotton duck cloth. I can remove my cutting mat for ironing larger pieces of fabric or quilt tops before quilting. I’d love to give credit to the website where I found this wonderful tip. However there have been too many to recall. If you don’t need an interior door removed from a room you can purchase a hollow door cheaply. Support it with must keep sturdy furniture. You may need to add lumber on top of your supporting furniture to level it or add height for comfortable cutting.
The work table was given to me by a friend. Its about the size of a dining room table and has fold up legs, roughly 3′ x 5′. My sewing machine table buts right against it and forms a great workstation. On top of the work table I have another ironing board that is 45″ wide. The cutting mat is usually about 6″ away from the edge to allow ironing while I am piecing. The gray section of the table is open for whatever. Sometimes its home for pieced templates, my laptop if I need to view something while piecing, like I said, whatever. At this moment I cannot think of a better layout.
So my question is:
What type of floor do you have in your sewing room? Ceramic or vinyl? Wood? As soon as my son moves his remaining items the carpet is coming up. Should I keep it simple and scrub the concrete floor and keep it or cover it?
Hey Denise! I have wood floors in my sewing room. I agree with you on grout – ugh!!! Excited for you on your son’s upcoming wedding, and your gaining a bigger space!! It’s a win-win!!
Right, I’ll take the space even if its just a couple inches. BTW, off white grout is the worst to clean in high traffic areas.
Lovely space…but where is your quilting frame? Do you get another room for that? I have carpet on my floor in my studio and I can’t dump it. Having a hard surface to stand on is hard on your body, so no matter what you get as flooring, you will need to get some sort of “soft” under your feet for your cutting/pressing station. I would also want something warm under my feet where I am sewing – I always have cold feet!! I hope you post pictures of your new studio when you get it set up!
The quilting frame will remain in my office as I have not other option. The only rooms large enough for it is my bedroom or the living room. My floors are cool in the summer and warm in the winter so no worries there. When I am sewing my feet are off the floor. I purchased a treadle sewing machine for the frame. My husband cut down an old wood coffee table a friend passed on and place it on top of the frame. He cut a hole out and added a shelf for my machine to sit flush with the top. My foot pedal is on the pump section of that frame.
After my recent bout with sciatic pain I purchased a pair of Crocks. I dont wear them in public, they are only house shoes. They’re great to wear when quilting at the frame and standing at my cutting station. Comfort wise, softer than standing on a mat behind a barber chair. Or like the mats many quilters place in front of their quilt frames, just much cheaper. Of course I will post a photo when i am done while the room will be in its cleanest and most organized state.
Hmmm. I might put vinyl flooring. Something where small pins can’t get stuck in cracks or tiny openings. I am envious of your space.
My current room has ceramic tile and I dont need more grout to clean for sure. Wood I have to worry about scratching when I move things around. But you have to be careful with vinyl too and moving heavy furniture. Its a good thing I have lots of time to think on it. As for the space, its nice having the separate space. It’s very challenging making it functional with the size.
I agree…..